Page 36 - HKMA Training Award 2019 Souvenir Programme

Bronze Award

Best in Young Talent Development

Millennials’ Favourite Campaign

“YoungSTAR Programme”
New World Development Company Limited

New World Development Company (hereinafter “the Group”) values human capital as one of the most precious resources for the corporate development.
A. New World University (hereinafter “A.NWU”) shoulders the responsibility of grooming talents to fulfil the business needs.
Apart from salary package or job stability, young talents are also looking for more about job satisfaction and development opportunities. Backed by The
Artisanal Movement's notion of "COLLECT, CONNECT, COLLIDE", YoungSTAR Programme enables the talents to:
COLLECT knowledge & experience through various bespoke activities;
CONNECT with senior executives, coach & talents from cross companies; and
COLLIDE with peers to brainstorm innovative business ideas.
The YoungSTAR programme is a 2-year signature talent development programme aiming at grooming high-potential supervisors and assistant managers,
and preparing them to take up more senior positions in the near future.
In order to ensure the YoungSTAR programme aligns with future direction of the Group and different business units (hereinafter “BUs”), top management,
senior executives, human resources department and talent development department of different BUs are actively engaged in the setting the objectives
of the programme. More than that, they would be invited to be the judging panel in selecting the high potential candidates through a full-day innovative
experiential selection process on top of the group panel interview.
After a high-pressure selection camp, the YoungSTARs would undergo an in-house developed 540-degree assessment, involving not just colleagues
but also external business partners. Through this exercise, both the YoungSTARs and we have gained a clearer understanding regarding their strengths
and development gaps. Based on these findings, the YoungSTARs would formulate their own personalised career development plan to be endorsed by
their coaches and training professionals from A.NWU during career aspiration interview. Furthermore, we have developed a series of bespoke learning
activities including but not limited to dialogue with executives, workshops, e-learning, peer learning and study tours.
Throughout the programme, the YoungSTARs from different functions and backgrounds would be grouped to act as internal consultants, by leveraging
their expertise and brought in new insights, to generate ideas and solutions to tackle business issues faced by different businesses units. Subject matter
experts were also assigned to teams as their Project Mentors.
Successful implementation of the programme required engagement of various parties. At the outset, a YoungSTAR Selection Committee consisting of
Group HR Department, representatives from A.NWU and senior management from different BUs was formed to select the best candidates. Line managers
were personal coaches of the YoungSTARs while senior executives would act as project mentors to supervise their group projects. Finally, a YoungSTAR
Club is established to serve as a platform to connect all new, existing and graduated YoungSTARs to continuously leverage different professional
knowledge and generate synergy in creating a better new world.
Comments from Adjudicators
The programme was strategic and ambitious with a straight-forward objective of grooming and equipping high caliber young talents with
­cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills to fuel the leadership pipeline.
The intention of the programme to grow the younger generations was promising. The innovative use of experiential selection approach to select
YoungSTARs was adopted. It was particularly impressive to see the assessment was performed including cross-department peers and external business
partners. YoungSTARs were encouraged to develop their own personalized career development plans. Its bespoke career path closely met the young
generation’s needs, while various workshops were aligned with business strategies to ensure there was a strong match on development between the
company and the young leaders. Close collaboration with various stakeholders laid a solid foundation for the success of the programme.
The results were influential in elevating the learning from operational level to strategic level. YoungSTARs acting as a think tank to generate new ideas
was also brilliant. The programme was tailor-made to meet the organizational needs.
The programme has become a benchmark for other talent development programmes within the Group.

34 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 2019