HR Corner Back for good by Mayse Lam International bank offers superlative opportunities for re-entrant workforce A company's success cannot be solely measured in terms of size, reputation or business revenue. In today's corporate environment social responsibility has become an essential feature of overall corporate success. "We believe in social responsibility which goes beyond the financial services we provide. This includes duty to society at large and respect and appreciation for multiple cultures, backgrounds, genders and ages," says Ran de Silva, regional head of diversity, UBS AG. With this firm belief in mind, UBS AG launched a "Career comeback" programme in association with the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST). The programme was designed for professionals with a minimum of five years experience and a university degree who, after a 15-month to five-year career break, seek to re-enter the workforce. "At first we were quite hesitant staging this in Hong Kong although we have held the programme in the US and Australia in the past to great success in both locations. Despite initial reservations, the response was astounding and the active support we received was quite surprising," Ms de Silva says. With the HKUST assisting with the candidate selection process, the 36 participants were enrolled in the programme and the two-day event went smoothly. "During the workshops we held, we tried to cover a comprehensive range of topics to help participants understand and plan for their future expectations. The programmes included seminars and discussion sessions that highlighted important business updates from leading professors in finance, marketing and strategy. We also offered professional one-on-one coaching for each individual, and at the same time an overview of current work and family expectations followed by the development of a personal action plan for re-entering the workforce," notes Ms de Silva. Major emphasis As an organisation that places great emphasis on social responsibility and corporate citizenship, Ms de Silva and her colleagues believe the "Career comeback" programme, offered free of charge to participants through funding from UBS AG, had a more fundamental purpose than simply meeting the company recruitment objectives. "Although the main rationale for organising this event in Hong Kong is to discover and recruit the untapped pool of talented professionals who have been away from the corporate limelight of late, our principle mission is to provide an array of career opportunities and alternatives for these individuals. We anticipate the programme will prove to be life enhancing while simultaneously pinpointing skilled professionals who can add diversity and alternative perspectives to Hong Kong's existing workforce," Ms de Silva explains. Since similar programmes have never been launched in Hong Kong, she perceives this as a great opportunity to encourage the financial industry and other sectors to pay special attention to this particular group of individuals. "In the end, even if the participants do not apply for a position with our company, we are delighted they can gain valuable knowledge and experience useful for future career development and that they are still serving the community as a whole, by providing professional services," she points out. Work-life balance The "Career comeback" programme is only one of the many initiatives Ms de Silva and her colleagues devised to foster a more innovative and diverse culture in her organisation. "As a responsible corporate citizen, we not only want to attract, develop and retain the most talented employees, we also believe that it is important to create and sustain an environment in which good, even radical, ideas and individuals from all cultures and backgrounds are free to prosper," she says. Company members were incredibly supportive of her vision. "The peer coaches that provided one-on-one consultation in the programme were all volunteers from our company who were eager to participate because they truly wanted to help," she adds. In addition, the organisation has also played an important role in engaging staff in socially responsible endeavours. "Through the various work-life balance programmes we run in our company, we demonstrate how much we value physically balanced employees. In the coming year, we will launch a series of training programmes and activities targeting all management levels, hoping to ensure all our employees benefit both physically and mentally," Ms de Silva concedes. "In the future, we will continue organising events similar to the 'Career comeback' programmes in the belief that one of our main social responsibilities is to ensure that our citizens prosper in a healthy and culturally diverse environment. Salient points "Career comeback" programme targets employees taking career breaks Programme delivered in association with HKUST Radical ideas and cultural heterogeneity encouraged Various work-life balance initiatives Taken from Career Times 28 December 2007, p. A12 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]