Cultivating a Global Mindset, Nurturing Local Impact – The New Era of People & Organisation in China and Asia

We were delighted to bring our Global HR Leaders Forum to Shanghai in partnership with Richemont. We gathered over 30 HR leaders from well-known organisations such as Air Products, ASML, Avery Dennison, Biogen, Bosch, BP, Citi, Coca-Cola, Clover, Danone, DNE, Edwards Vacuum, Goodyear, Halma, Herbalife, Henkel, Hilton, Höganäs AB, IBM, Ingredion, JLL, Kimberley-Clark, Mattel, Nike, Roche, TE Connectivity, and WestRock.

This was the first time our HR network met in person since the pandemic began. We had insightful discussions on the current and future focus of people and organisations, digital transformation, and the need to enhance global and local connections in this new era.

Here are some key takeaways from the session:

Despite the challenges faced in some sectors, China is still a growth market for many businesses, and our network emphasised the need to maintain a balance between buying talent and developing it internally.

With changing global dynamics, HR and business leaders in China must be more outwardly focused, lobbying and influencing at a group level to shape the organisational strategy and foster a more profound understanding between East and West. Communication and partnership are vital in this regard. Internal talent mobility plays a significant role in enhancing communication and collaboration; hence, grooming more global leaders from China and attracting more international talent to China has become a key focus for many organisations.

While driving growth is essential, productivity has become a key focus for many organisations. HR leaders from IBM, Roche, and Nike shared their experiences of HR transformation. Although they embarked on the journey at different times, there are common themes underlying the new way of working, such as leveraging technology, building new capabilities within the HR organisation, and re-imagining careers to promote talent mobility. The participants also noted that the role of HR Business Partners is evolving to bring real impact and value creation to the organisation.

China has led the way in digital transformation, providing valuable experience to other regions. Some organisations have made an effort to equip their leaders with the right digital insights and competencies and, in turn, nurture a digital culture. As HR becomes more digitally focused, organisations are taking a proactive approach towards data protection to ensure a sustainable strategy with both local and global considerations in the long run.

Thanks again to all the HR leaders who joined us and shared their valuable experience, especially our co-hosts and presenters – Neal Yang, Human Resources VP at Richemont, Ann Shen, Vice President Human Resources Greater China at IBM, Ronnie Chen, HR Vice President at Roche Pharma China, and Jane Wong, Head of HR Greater China at Henkel.

We look forward to hosting many more insightful gatherings for our network over the next few months. Stay tuned for updates on our upcoming sessions in Brisbane, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Osaka, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Zurich here.