Award For Excellence In Training & Development 2011 SUPPLEMENT
American International Assurance Company, Ltd. Learning, leadership and talent management strategies Callister Koh, Group Head of Leadership, Talent & Development; and Stingo Chan, Group Head of Culture & Synergy, at the American International Assurance Company, Limited (AIA) share their thoughts on what drives a leadership culture within the insurance giant.
up to deal with this. Chan said, “Making sure leaders understand the performance matrix, and ensuring the organisation supports those leaders is critical for success. ”The organisation has three key performance matrixes: EV, OPAT and VONB, which all leaders are made aware of through leadership conferences and on-going exchanges. Koh highlighted, “One of the fundamental policies has been to ensure that leaders don’t just get hung up on developing a few pre-determined key attributes, but rather look for different sets of leadership attributes that can be applied at different moments in time, according to their level of suitability.”
Embracing diversity in L&D Chan explained that in view of the diverse range of employees that existed with the organisation, likewise a diverse range of learning channels needed to be established and maintained. Describing the staff as ‘always hungry for more’, he was eager to adopt the Blended Learning Approach, set up more business acumen related programmes together with expanding and encouraging adoption of self-learning channels.
Callister Koh Group Head of Leadership, Talent & Development American International Assurance Company, Limited T&D evolution In recent years, organisations have had to evolve to incorporate more staff ‘development’ as well as traditional staff ‘training’ into their programmes. Koh pointed out, “Companies are evolving, so are we and there is a need to build a new culture in the new marketplace. We have now developed end-to-end solutions that encompass staff acquisition, onboarding, developmental needs of the individuals, helping them to become leaders, and ultimately helping them to develop the next generation of leaders. So there’s no end to the cycle.” On the difference between training, learning and development Koh explained, “Training might be defined as plugging skills gaps. Learning is not so passive, more facilitation based and puts accountability with the individual rather than the trainer. Development is an umbrella term for the whole system that embodies training and learning.”
Key qualities in trainers Energy and subject matter expertise are the two most important qualities required by trainers, according to Koh. In terms of energy, trainers need great interpersonal skills ad empathy in order to bring out the best from both trainer and trainees. With regard to knowledge, Koh said, “You need to know your stuff, as the impact of imparting quality subject matter knowledge on expertise programme is very immediate.” The Group also gains feedback from employees for ideas on enhancing training focus and this feedback is shared with trainers and consultants to help them with their own self-development.
Koh also pointed out the growing number of experiential learning programme that had been set up to allow staff to develop through business related projects, many of which were CSR related so the wider community could also benefits from them. One of the most innovative learning programmes has been the Management Associate Programme which allowed staff to work with Government officials in Xian, China to diagnose key challenges and propose solutions for on-going key infrastructure projects.
Cultivating innovation Koh pointed out that it was essential to have a firm foundation for talent management and that robust tools must be used to identify the right talent from the start. The company must then provide the right development tools for staff as they progress up the organisation adding value, and also to help them achieve their own career goals. He added, “Emotional intelligence is an important consideration and can be assessed to let staff understand where they are now, what their desired state is and how they are going to go about getting there.” He added that staff are encouraged to think outside the box, enhance their feeling of self-worth and given visibility so they have a means of giving input on a wide variety of projects. “We run an employee star award, and one category is just focused on innovation. Entries for this award allow us to collect and share success stories from throughout the organisation that have used innovation to drive business success and share them. This sharing enhances internal communication and helps facilitate new future business opportunities,” Chan supplemented.
Leadership strategies
14. HR M ag a z ine w w w. exce l m edia gro u p. o rg
AIA traces its origin in Asia back more than 90 years and following their Hong Kong IPO in October 2010, unique challenges and opportunities were created for AIA in terms of leadership strategies. As AIA became an independent and, more recently, a Hang Seng Index constituent, the bar for leadership qualities was raised significantly within the organisation. This also created the need for certain functions such as investor relations to be taken on board in house. Subsequently, new departments were set
Stingo Chan Group Head of Culture & Synergy American International Assurance Company, Limited