HR Corner In-house training spawns extraordinary results by Charles Mak Integrated communications giant committed to developing 15,000 existing staff plus 300 new recruits Many aspiring youngsters opt for careers with reputable enterprises. The reasons are obvious: they seek opportunities to learn the trade, develop specialist skills and build on personal capabilities in preparation for future challenges. In light of this, Asia's leading ICT player PCCW Limited is a wise choice of potential employer. Historically, PCCW has prioritised staff training and demonstrated a firm commitment to staff development. The company has a strong in-house training and development team of over 30 staff that is responsible for the design, development and delivery of top-of-the-range training programmes and workshops. "All of our training and development officers are professional and qualified trainers," says Christine Chow, head of group human resources, PCCW Limited. PCCW's diverse business portfolio comprises services such as fixed-line, mobile, Internet, IPTV, ICT solutions, infrastructure and global communications. Under its umbrella are well-known household names including NETVIGATOR, now TV, PCCW mobile, 0060, Yellow Pages, CASCADE and PCCW Solutions. Ms Chow notes, "This means that vertical and horizontal development opportunities are wide open to talented staff who also have the passion to go the distance." "We aim to groom our people into specialists as well as generalists" Early start PCCW's learning culture runs through the entire organisation and it begins from the very first days of employment. For example, the company's group management trainee programme prepares fresh graduates for a promising career. Besides the week-long orientation and the extensive hard and soft skills training, young graduates eagerly anticipate the six months of job rotation placements across the company's business units in engineering, IT, sales and business management. "Job rotation starts early so as to give new recruits a fuller picture of our business," Ms Chow says. The company's 15 other graduate trainee programmes such as the engineering, IT, sales and marketing trainee programmes also help nurture around 200 young aspirants every year. "With 300 junior vacancies being opened currently in Hong Kong, we must make sure that there is also room for them to grow," Ms Chow stresses. With a keen focus on equipping staff with the best practice and technical know-how in the fast-paced local and global business environments, the company tailors an array of specialist training and refresher programmes for its dedicated workforce. These include training in products and systems, business and management, sales, technology, communications and compliance. "We aim to groom our people into specialists as well as generalists. They are expected to become well versed in the technical aspects of the jobs and develop into innovative team players who are excellent customer-oriented communicators," Ms Chow emphasises. In 2006 alone, these industry-focused programmes have helped the company's professional staff attain 1,900 industrial accreditations. The company's trainee engineer scheme and marketing curriculum have also received accreditation from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and Hong Kong's Chartered Institute of Marketing respectively. Top of the class At PCCW, every member of staff, regardless of rank and function, has the opportunity to polish and develop their skills through ongoing training. Viewing executive excellence as key to business success, an elite team of senior executives leads people development forums to review the company's executive leadership progress. Managers are also involved in offering guidance, support and advice to aspiring managers undergoing "Challenge21" a 15-month leadership development programme. Newly appointed managers undertake a people management training programme and a team leadership programme which further enhance leadership skills and executive competency. Experiential training programmes are also designed to boost self-confidence and team spirit and reinforce leadership skills. With business expansion plans in the pipeline, the company continues to allocate substantial resources to in-house training. Ms Chow notes that given the infrastructure and capability of PCCW, its own training and development team and career development centre can manage the company's people development needs effectively, explaining why external training remains scarce. In addition, an in-house learning portal "Aladdin" has also been custom-built to facilitate learning. Since 2005, thousands of staff from all over the globe have accessed and benefited from the 360 English and Putonghua programmes designed to improve skills and knowledge in ICT, business and management. "Over the last year, we provided more than 48,000 man-days of training. Our endeavours to develop people aren't simply about instilling skills and knowledge. It is about achieving mutual growth that benefits all stakeholders," Ms Chow concludes. Salient points Learning culture runs through the entire organisation In-house training and development team comprised of experienced training professionals Keen focus on equipping staff with the best practice and technical know-how Industry-focused programmes help professional staff attain accreditations e-learning portal facilitates effective learning Taken from Career Times 12 October 2007, p. A20 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]