Reflections: 2015, Here We Come!

Photo credit (above): Francisco Antunes | Flickr

Compiled by KAREN NEOH

As we burst out into 2015, we hark back on the past 12 months reflecting on the highs and lows, the people we have met, lives we have impacted and how we can up our game in all our future endeavours.

1. Jermaine Bee on talent development

The year 2014 was great for learning as I led a team of 14 learning and development specialists responsible for business sales and growth.

Having a dynamic team of people constantly striving for greatness, I would say it had been a fulfilling experience journeying with the team on the various challenges we faced; building high quality processes, standards and competencies while we assisted organisations in achieving their people development goals.

Advice for organisations

On the external front, having met and understood the various issues faced by organisations from various industries, I would say one key issue that should be the focus for 2015 would be of “greater talent retention and development”. Not only will there be a scarcity of talent, there will also be the ongoing challenge to retain good talent; followed by the need for talent development.

With the trend of the generation to come, there will be a crucial need to ensure your organisation is equipped with the necessary preventive measures such as having a great and meaningful work culture as well as having the right standards and processes to stay relevant among the upcoming talents, whom I believe will bring sustainable growth to your organisation.

2. Andrew Lau on youth leadership development

The one big thing we learnt as a team was that bringing the best for young leaders would often challenge us to unlearn and relearn.

We had to tear down things, which we thought were great, and we had to build something new again.

While it would have been easier to remain at status quo, we want to hold on to the values of constantly pushing ourselves – the same values we ask young leaders in campus to aspire to.

For undergraduate talent, key human resources trends will revolve around companies creating external talent pools to be able to have a sustainable pipeline especially for top tier talent.

Part of the talent pool will involve investing in the leadership development of these students.

We see more and more companies doing this and achieving great results. The practice of picking and choosing ready-made talent is a thing of the past.

Advice for campus students and employers

I think we need to realise that both the students and employers need each other.

Both need to play proactive roles in bridging the expectation and competency gaps.

Companies shouldn’t just tell students about the gaps – but invest in the development of the students.

In return, students should see high value in joining companies who care about their personal development.

Jermaine heads the learning and development team in Leaderonomics, and Andrew heads the Leaderonomics Campus team. For more leadership content, visit www.leaderonomics.com

Published in English daily The Star, Malaysia, 3 January 2015