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HR Leaders Meet at the Offices of Microsoft in Kuala Lumpur and Discuss HR

Hosted by: Microsoft

The Chapman Consulting Group (ChapmanCG) continued its APAC HR leader’s series with a gathering of 25 HR Heads in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, co-hosted by Microsoft. Graham Tollit, a Director with ChapmanCG chaired the session and Ben Davies, a Managing Director with ChapmanCG also attended.

The group were treated to three thought provoking mini case studies from attendees and our host. Overall themes included the simplification of HR, including removing redundant processes and procedures, thereby allowing a focus on quality conversations between employees, managers and HR. Our presenters discussed the following topics:

  • “Innovative Approaches to Diversity & Inclusion” Microsoft
  • “Experimenting with a Strengths Based Approach to Employee Engagement in Malaysia” DHL
  • “Intel’s Recent Experiment with Performance Appraisals” Intel

Key learnings were:

  • Innovative performance appraisal approaches with no rankings/grading can work using only two grades; an acceptable or not acceptable performance definition. This was found to drive closer management by line managers on reward, as well as bring HR into a true partner relationship to coach the business through reviews.
  • Diversity and Inclusion must be driven from recruitment and performance management, as well as across HR. Ensuring a longlist of diverse candidates for all external hires was key. The shortlist/hire had to be the best for the role, but a diverse longlist was helpful.
  • Implementing a half yearly appraisal focused on strengths and including a manager (with HR) had greatly improved engagement. Asking ‘are your strengths being used?’ and ‘are you motivated in your role?’ created plenty of forward thinking conversations.
  • While using engagement surveys is common practice, ‘pulse’ versions with less questions and more data around mood, motivation and personal worth are making a difference when planning Talent Management and HR policies.

The next HR Leaders Gathering in the 2013 ChapmanCG HR Leader Series will be co-hosted at Accenture in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday 12th June.

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Key Contributors:

Graham Tollit

Senior Director

Consulting Team
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Consulting Team

Graham Tollit

Senior Director

Graham is a Senior Director with ChapmanCG based in the United Kingdom. He is passionate about building long-term partnerships and his current focus is on European and global search mandates, working with the team to identify high-calibre HR talent across EMEA and internationally.

With over 20 years in executive search, Graham has a successful track record delivering across multiple industry sectors and specialist functions with many of the top global multinationals. He has a deep interest and knowledge of the HR profession, future of work, and is a big advocate of the importance of mental health and wellness in the workplace. Before a return to the UK in 2017, Graham spent seven years based in Singapore.

Graham’s personal interests revolve around his family, and you could find him either on the golf course or exploring a new city or coastline somewhere.