Madrid, 20 October 2014 - Human Resource Directors from more than 40 companies discussed their practices in leadership, learning, performance, succession and careers at the HR Summit organised by Top Employers at Campus Repsol in Madrid. During four simultaneous interactive workshops on Friday 17 October, these company leaders put emphasis on the need to move toward a culture of learning, leading by simply managing the complex, and making the employee the protagonist of his own career.
Moving towards a learning culture
During the workshop on learning and development led by Pilar Jericó of Be-Up, companies shared their experiences as Top Employers and discussed trends in the field. For example, the skills honed during training programs, such as curiosity, creativity, perseverance or network performance, were discussed.
The HR managers present at this workshop brought into focus the need to "change the model of paternalism by the responsibility of the employee" and that employees voluntarily decide which internal training programs to participate in.
Some of the future trends include leveraging internal knowledge and using technology so that training can be ubiquitous. "We must move toward a culture of learning and generously sharing; that has nothing to do with age," said Jericó.
Leading by simply managing the complex
José María Gasalla from Talentum moderated the workshop on leadership development, in which 11 companies explained their best practices in this area. Some examples include leadership workshops based on the real activities of these companies, alignment of all HR processes for comprehensive leadership development, and the creation of an internal network of certified coaches to support the blue chips.
The Human Resources Managers Workshop participants considered it a priority for each employee to work on improving his own leadership and for the president’s involvement in the company to develop in conjunction with the business. "Just so they make sense," Gasalla pointed out.
When discussing future challenges, participants exposed the need to foster a multicultural and diverse leadership consisting of different generations. "Managing complexity requires simple solutions. When leading, we need to simply create environments in which people can flourish," Gasalla summarised.
The employee who starred in his own career
HR managers participating in the workshop on career management and succession prioritised the need to identify key business positions and to define plans that take into account functional and geographical mobility.
Best practices for proper career management and succession that were presented included having a table with 3 candidates for each critical position and changing each area manager every five years for mobility management.
The workshop participants highlighted the importance of good communication with middle management and members of the organisation who have not been selected for the talent pool. Furthermore, from their point of view it is increasingly important to consider diversity in career management and succession. "The employee will have to be the star of his own career," they claimed.
Performance management to have the best team
The Human Resource Directors of the 8 companies who interacted with Top Employers in the workshop on performance management, moderated by Alfonso Jiménez of People Matters, concluded that this movement away from the "one size fits all" mentality should serve to discriminate between performances and employees. It should be a useful tool for contributors to achieve their objectives, and to make this possible it must be linked to compensation and training.
"Employees need to understand what performance management is and thus help them in their development. The goal should be to have the best team ever," said Jiménez.
If you are interested in summits like these or you would like to know more about the Top Employer certifications please contact us at info@top-employers.com
