Suite talk

Kazuhiro Ozawa, President and CEO, Canon Hongkong Company

For someone who didn’t expect to work for so long at Canon when he first joined 33 years ago, Kazuhiro Ozawa has had a riveting career journey.

After graduating from Waseda University, his first role saw him as a sales trainee, cold-calling and going door-to-door to seek new customers. While the rejections frustrated him at first, he refused to give up – and instead focused on building up a liaison network with customers as well as his own database.

His hard work was rewarded by his superiors and peers, and the rest as they say, is history. Tracy Chan finds out more about his career journey and the leadership lessons he has learned along the way.

Throughout the past three decades, what were the most memorable experiences you have had at Canon? For me, there were two memorable experiences: becoming the President and CEO of Canon Marketing Philippines in 2017, and being a founder member of Canon Middle East.

For the latter, I was one of the five founder members under the President. With limited resources and only a few staff, we established the business together in Dubai. After two years when I returned to Japan, Canon Middle East had already developed into a corporate with more than 100 staff. That was a satisfying experience.

There was another challenge when I became the President and CEO of Canon Marketing Philippines. Before I joined the office, one of the business units had suffered a loss in profit for many years and certainly needed a reform.

To do so, I recommended the new recruitment of top management. Together we built a foundation and overcame different issues. After five years of effort, in 2021, Canon Marketing Philippines finally made a record profit after 24 years. Those challenges became a terrific opportunity for me as well as my precious milestones. With stints across the globe, including Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, what priorities do different talent have in the various markets? European talent are more concerned about optimising their tasks, and they always target getting off work on time. Asian talent, and even some Middle East talent, do not mind staying in the office a bit longer, if necessary.

Therefore, when we come to employee engagement, we have to tailor activities according to the talents’ needs. For example, talent in the Philippines welcome corporate events on Saturday and Sunday, and we can also invite their family members to join.

However, talent in Japan view their private time as precious and prefer to enjoy the weekend of their own will. For employee engagement, we must first understand our employees’ preferences and habits.

How closely do you work with your CHRO, and what skills should future-forward CHROs possess to navigate the future talent landscape? For the talent landscape, the most important thing is not the skill set, but the mindset of the talent. At the top management level, improving the approach of the talent will make more impact, and crosstraining can help achieve this.

Cross-training can help to change the mindset of the management, and thus, make a more considerable proportion of the staff change their mindset, which will help to strengthen the company.

How would you describe your leadership style? I think I have an approachable and open leadership style. I enjoy discussions and arguments, and don’t want to put pressure on others, even if they report to me. I try to understand others’ situations, and I like to think together with my team.

People always ask top management to make decisions, however, there is always hidden information that makes it difficult to make judgments. So, throughout those years, I learned that asking is the key to success. We must ask for more opinions and solutions from our colleagues and discuss them to find the best way out. That’s why discussions are so important.

How do you take care of your wellbeing outside of work? I like to play golf, sing, and meet friends. I used to go to a karaoke bar or karaoke box in Japan to enjoy singing. I would have liked to have been a musician if I was not in this career … more precisely a singer.

HOW SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC CREATES SUSTAINABLE CAREERS FOR EMPLOYEES

Believing great people make a great company, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation empowers its people to grow to their fullest potential in a meaningful environment.

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation with a global presence in over 100 countries and regions, thrives on its purpose to empower the world to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. And this mission can also apply to its people strategy.

Seeing people relations as a journey of “value co-creation”, Jimmy Chong, Human Resources Director, Schneider Electric Hong Kong, believes human resources (HR) plays a critical role in traversing this journey for employers and employees. “When we develop a campaign, a policy, or a process, we should always ask ourselves: What kind of value can we bring?” said Chong. “How can we bring the most value out of this?”

Schneider Electric has well-demonstrated how to strike a balance, or what it calls ‘dynamic equilibrium’, through its ways to hire, develop and retain potential and passionate talents, and build a sustainable future for both employees and the company.

One of its focus areas is strategic hiring. Schneider Electric has tapped into targeted social campaigns and strategic partnerships, including alumni and referrals, university/campus partnerships as well as other outreach campaigns such as ‘Go Green’ and ‘Global Student Experience’, to engage potential fresh graduates and strengthen its efforts in employer branding.

It has also leveraged automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to elevate candidate experience and free up energy in HR. For instance, a new tool ‘HireVue’ was introduced to support talent identification and reduce layers of interviews; and a new CRM system ‘iCIMS’ supports better organisation and segmentation of talent in the pipeline.

In line with its ‘Life is On’ mantra, Schneider Electric’s workforce is energised through developmental opportunities. To groom young talents into future leaders, a series of local and global programmes have been launched, such as the Sustainability Consulting Leadership Programme, Global Marketing Graduate Trainee Programme alongside its ongoing Graduate Trainee and Engineering Trainee programmes. All these programmes aim to provide adequate platforms to nurture talents in their specific domain and create a sustainable talent pipeline.

Focusing on graduate programmes doesn’t mean current employees are forgotten. Its AI-driven career development platform ‘Open Talent Market’ opens the door for internal mobility and provides employees visibility into a variety of opportunities available within the organisation. Employees are encouraged to apply for part-time projects, mentorships and open positions across different regions to equip themselves with necessary skillset for future developments. The platform will match employees with personalised opportunities based on their profile and development aspirations.

As a continuous effort to bridge gaps, reskilling and upskilling employees have become an increasingly important topic at the centre of its people strategy. Schneider Electric provides a bite-sized digital learning platform ‘My Learning Link’, enabling learning on the go. Webinars based on the learning needs of different teams and functions are made available, allowing employees all over the globe to learn together, connect and engage virtually.

“At Schneider Electric, we believe all employees are talent,” emphasised Chong. “We empower our people to grow to their fullest potential, develop new skills and build sustainable careers for today and tomorrow.”

Growing employees to their fullest potential also includes their wellbeing. To cultivate a more agile, inclusive, empowered and trusting company culture, Schneider Electric has implemented a hybrid work model, allowing employees to have a flexible working arrangement depending on everyone’s needs.

Schneider Electric also believes in constant recognition – after all, a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way in building trust and creating a caring environment. For this purpose, Schneider Electric has rolled out the ‘Step-Up Recognition’ platform for employees to recognise and be recognised for the extra miles taken in different projects and initiatives, and redeem incentives, anytime and anywhere.

“We believe that great people and partners make Schneider Electric a great company,” concluded Chong. “Our commitment to innovation, diversity and sustainability ensures that ‘Life is On’ everywhere, for everyone and at every moment.”

BETTY LAM MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES DBS BANK (HONG KONG) 15 minutes with ...

Can you share a life moment which made you who you are today?

Working in banking and insurance for more than 20 years, what do you see as the trends and challenges in terms of managing talent in these sectors?

As the job market evolves, I’ve noticed that talent at all levels now looks to have more freedom and options in their career development journeys as well as their personal lives, and places a greater emphasis on work-life balance. They are also more proactive and open to exploring different opportunities, such as in job mobility, where we see more talent being willing to consider working outside of Hong Kong.

All this leads to a new mix of requirements and expectations from talent, which in turn, means businesses now need to be more thoughtful and agile in their approach to both hiring and retention.

We at DBS are particularly proud to be recognised as a future-ready and progressive employer, with effective hybrid-work practices, and a holistic focus on employee progression and wellbeing.

In November 2020, we were one of the first organisations to implement a permanent hybrid work policy, where employees can work up to 40% of their time at home. We also offer flexibility for employees at different life and career stages. For example, parents with young children have the flexibility to work from home 100% for six months beyond their paid maternity or paternity leave.

As a result of our efforts to create a positive and engaging journey for our employees, we’ve been able to attract and retain talent across the globe. In my early career, I relocated to Shanghai to work in a global FMCG company. Though they were my first, and possibly my last, non-financial services employer, it was an inspiring and fruitful adventure.

Everything was new – the FMCG industry, competing for talent in one of the world’s fastest growing markets, speaking a different language, and experiencing a different culture. This precious adventure enabled me to grow and develop both professionally and personally.

My advice is to dare to come out of your comfort zone, try something new, and challenge yourself. This will make you more ready for your next endeavour.

How would you describe your leadership style?

As a leader, it is my job to set my team up for success. I encourage everyone to provide and receive candid and constructive feedback. I believe in the importance of being a role model and creating an environment of trust, where people feel safe to speak up, and are willing to take the time to listen to, as well as understand each other. I truly believe in partnerships where we work together for the greater good.

I always tell my team – there are no silly questions, please ask and speak when you do not understand or do not agree. I do not know everything and I am always learning and unlearning from my team every day.

To navigate the digital era better, how do you upskill your workforce?

Long before the pandemic, DBS began its digital transformation journey in 2014, when we focused on cultivating a start-up culture among our employees. We wanted to make sure they would be future-ready by giving them the ability and resources to acquire new skills and knowledge to cope with the evolving landscape.

In 2017, we launched DigiFY, a mobile learning platform designed to help employees upskill for a digital age in areas such as work agility and digital technologies. Since then, some 90% of our DBS HK colleagues have completed at least one stage of the curriculum.

We also have learning road maps in place, which are based on the projected future needs of different functions and businesses across the bank, designed to nurture the bankers of tomorrow. All this has culminated in a shift in skill sets across the bank. Today, DBS has twice as many engineers than bankers.

By behaving more like a start-up, more like a techie, being more sustainability focused, and less like a “traditional” bank, we believe we can be a bank for the times.

WHAT GUIDES AIA’S EMPLOYEECENTRIC DECISIONS AND ACTIONS

Underpinned by its employee value proposition ‘believe in better’, the insurance company strives to build a workplace that enables everyone to thrive at work and in life.

With the largest number of policies in Hong Kong and serving over 3.4mn customers, AIA stays true to its purpose of helping millions of people live ‘Healthier, Longer, Better Lives’. And this is not only a commitment to its customers, but also to staff.

“Employees are at the heart of AIA and we are committed to engaging our people and empowering them to succeed,” affirmed Maylie Lee, Chief Human Resources Officer, AIA Hong Kong & Macau.

AIA’s human-centred approach to employee wellbeing is based on its four ‘Work Well Pillars’, which cover initiatives around physical health, mental health, community engagement, and financial planning. These include an in-house developed employee engagement app ‘AIA ONE’, COVID-19 support, employee assistance programme (EAP) and wellness-themed activities, charity and sponsored events such as online hackathon ‘hackUST2022’, employee share purchase programme (ESPP), and retirement plan. All of these aim to help employees ‘live well’, ‘think well’, ‘feel well’, and ‘plan well’.

While emphasising wellbeing, AIA is also making continuous investments in employee learning and development to help people develop meaningful careers.

For example, ‘Curiosity Lab HR’ empowers employees to experiment with different ideas, test, and learn. Even during COVID when face-to-face interaction was not feasible, AIA continued leadership development by leveraging VR technology to carry out training on unconscious bias, emotional intelligence, and leading in uncertain times. One of AIA’s targets is to ensure an average of 24 learning hours for every employee per year by 2024.

Recognising different employees have different career aspirations, AIA also offers dual career streams, allowing employees to choose their career paths and grow into specialist or managerial roles. Lee reiterates: “As an organisation, we are continually evolving and finding new ways to provide an even better employee experience and create a diverse and inclusive culture to support and enable our people to shape their career.”

To cater to the next generation of talent, AIA has been evolving into a simpler, faster, and more connected workplace. Under its ‘Organisation of the Future’ (OotF) transformation programme, one prominent measure is streamlining the organisation to enable faster decision-making. “We encourage and empower our people to ‘believe in better’ – because together we can achieve so much more for the communities we serve and the environments we live in,” Lee shares.

Another effort is building a ‘new way of working’ culture. By adopting an agile way of working, the organisation acts as an engine to support cross-functional collaboration and business impact. Two agile tribes are in place, comprising members from different departments, to solve customer-related problems, as well as creating a ‘start-up’ style office to engage tribe members through interesting projects under a customised performance review mechanism.

In line with this progressive approach, Florence Tsang, Director, Talent & Sustainability, AIA Hong Kong & Macau, believes ESG and people sustainability will be the main focus for HR professionals; thus, AIA is leading the way by incorporating ‘people and culture’ under the umbrella of ESG.

“In the past, ESG was mainly about CSR, company policies and governance,” says Tsang. “In the future, HR professionals should think about how to merge people and culture into their ESG strategy.”

“AIA will continue to go the extra mile to maintain our leading position and focus on ESG and DEI to achieve our great purpose of helping people and the wider community to live ‘Healthier, Longer, Better Lives’,” she adds.

“AIA”, “AIA Hong Kong & Macau” or “AIA Hong Kong” herein refers to the Hong Kong Branch and/or Macau Branch of AIA International Limited (Incorporated in Bermuda with limited liability). “Hong Kong” and “Macau” herein refer to “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” and “Macao Special Administrative Region”, respectively.