Human resources professionals, managers and leaders will be meeting today to discuss trends, industry innovations and best practices at the Classified Post HR Conference 2015.
The conference, which will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong in Admiralty, will play host to discussion on a number of hot HR topics including workforce development, recruitment and retention practices, and employee engagement.
Guests will have the opportunity to hear from a line-up of expert speakers offering high-level, thought-provoking presentations with fresh perspectives on the industry that aim to empower resource-focused strategists.
Keynote speaker Jeff Eilertsen, vice-president of global services at Up Your Service – a partner of Classified Post’s executive training business CP Learning – will give his advice on corporate cultural practices in a presentation entitled “Improving corporate culture to gain a sustainable competitive advantage”.
He says that success is increasingly becoming a matter of developing a service culture to build relationships both internally and externally.
“In a world where customers and employees have increasing options, companies with a powerful service reputation and an ‘uplifting service culture’ are attracting and retaining the best talent, achieving market leadership and enjoying sustainable success.” Eilertsen’s presentation is designed to help companies build a service-focused corporate culture by establishing leading indicators for higher employee engagement. He will discuss global best practices and internal development strategies and promises to provide “take-away strategies to build a sustainable competitive advantage”.
In the case study segment of the conference, Alessandro Paparelli, vice-president of human resources at Kering Asia Pacific, will be sharing how his company’s motto, “Empowering Imagination”, is concretely applied in the workplace.
His presentation, entitled “Empowering imagination: the power of an effective 360 employee engagement” – referring to Kering’s numerically titled group intranet system – will focus on connecting with talent in dynamic business environments such as luxury, sport and lifestyle.
Paparelli acknowledges that employee engagement is always a challenge, but will concentrate on the particular complexities of a multitude of brands across the various markets in Asia.
It’s important to ensure that engagement is focused on the right populations, says Paparelli, who will be sharing Kering’s strategies for engaging employees across gender and age divides.
“Engagement works if it is practised at every level of the organisation, through global initiatives targeted at all employees to local initiatives targeted at specific populations or around specific projects and areas.”
Providing effective platforms for engagement is key, Paparelli says. “It’s important that they be technologically advanced, modern and user-friendly.”
He will also be explaining the importance of engaging employees in community activities and connecting with industry- and location-specific mentorship programs.
In the conference’s knowledge sharing segment, Tony Jasper, principal of global employer services at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, will discuss approaches for the management and operation of virtual workforces, which often pose a great challenge to traditional HR practices.
His presentation, entitled “How to manage geographically diverse teams”, will be of particular interest to HR practitioners tasked with overseeing sprawling groups of employees across a variety of global locations.
“Whether it be a group of partners in Southeast Asia, a lead office in New York or a service centre in Hyderabad, virtual teaming is a reality,” Jasper says.
Looking past geographical limits can provide companies with a competitive advantage, he adds. “Talent is not just the people sat in your office. There is need now to leverage a global pool of talent, to leverage diverse experiences and perspectives.”
Jasper aims to show that managing virtual teams is not rocket science. “My hope is that “I hope the session will prompt dialogue, and help those in the room change the lens on how we look at dealing with virtual teams.”
Following the individual presentations, A panel discussion entitled “Inspiring: The undeniable strategic driver of today” will see Eilertsen, Paparelli and Jasper join moderator and Great Place to Work in China CEO Jose Bezanilla to address how inspiration can be used as a key competitive tool.
To round out the conference, Eilertsen will lead a post-lunch workshop related to his presentation on the “Seven rules of service leaderships”, covering how leaders can engage diverse teams and lead a service culture change for both internal and external customers.
