Learning and Development Programmes
Our multi-year trainee programmes help develop talent in building surveying, engineering and general management. Swire Hotels' 18-month international operations management trainee programme provides wide-ranging exposure to hotel operations in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and Miami, U.S.A.
This year, the Company also offered more online “off-the-shelf” learning courses, providing subscriptions to our employees to encourage an “anytime, anywhere” self-learning mindset. We established the Frontline Learning Resources Hub, an online learning platform on the Company intranet that includes topics on occupational health and safety, customer service and other compliance training to equip our frontline workforce with knowledge and skills related to their duties.
Other learning and development programmes across the Company include:
- On-the-job training
- Internal job rotations
- Mentoring opportunities
- Secondments in other markets where we operate
- Management and leadership training programmes
Evaluation Framework for Learning and Development Programmes
Swire Properties has developed a learning evaluation framework, with reference to the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model, to help us analyse and evaluate the impact of our different learning and development programmes.
This year, we continued a revamp of several training programmes including the Achieving Excellence Programme, a two-year leadership programme that aims to help our managers discover their leadership potential through workshops focused on developing leadership and communication skills, strategic thinking and performance management. During the revamp, we began adopting a multidimensional evaluation system which includes a 360-degree feedback mechanism that allows us to hear from individual employees on how our learning and development programmes have helped them in their career development and contributed to employee retention and work efficiency improvements.
We also developed two new structured leadership programmes in 2021 for our building management and portfolio technical services teams, the first leadership programmes ever held for these teams at the Company. Both programmes are designed to help supervisors enhance their people management skills and knowledge, and then apply those skills in workplace situations.
Average Hours of Training, by gender
Average Hours of Training, by employment category
The New Frontline Learning Resources Hub
Launched in April 2021, the Frontline Learning Resources Hub provides tailor-made e-learning materials for frontline employees presented as training videos and short job-related reading materials in categories such as customer experience and occupational health and safety.
The Hub was designed to improve the training environment and efficiency for frontline employees, allowing the Company to deploy e-learning materials virtually. Our frontline employees can study the materials on their own and complete an electronic quiz, streamlining the e-learning process and making it more efficient.
The aims of the Hub are to further encourage a culture of “anytime, anywhere” self-learning, while nurturing an innovative mindset and enhancing the learning experience through digitalisation.
Keeping Up with the Latest Trends: Our Digital Series Continues
We continue to host workshops focused on helping our teams learn about current and upcoming digital trends and strengthening their knowledge and improving their digital marketing capabilities.
In 2020, our digital marketing department hosted the inaugural Digital Series in the form of online workshops. Proving to be highly popular, the series continued in 2021, with several new elements designed to elevate innovation and encourage smart processes. The series welcomed a respected innovation coach who hosted sessions to explore how to generate practical ideas and apply them within a company. We also welcomed a user experience (“UX”) professional, who shared experiences and provided tips on how to enhance the UX of our products.
Finally, a number of masterclasses were held on such topics as “Social Media Trends”, “Hong Kong Digital Market Highlights and Priorities”, and “App Growth and Analytics”.
Building Management Team Leadership Excellence Programme
In late 2020, we launched a Leadership Excellence Programme designed to develop stronger building management team (“BMT”) leaders and create a more structured approach to employee training and development and the BMT leadership pipeline.
The programme is focused on enhancing BMT supervisors’ people management capabilities. Based on the findings of several focus group discussions, four modules were designed to address the top identified leadership needs.
We augmented the programme this year for the portfolio technical services (“TS”) department. Launched in November 2021, the six-module TS Supervisory Excellence Programme follows the same approach as the BMT programme but with customised content for the TS team. Both programmes helped supervisors learn or enhance their skills and knowledge in people management and helped them to apply those skills to workplace situations.
Employee Health and Wellbeing
We value our employees and work to improve their health and wellbeing through a wide variety of events and activities both in and out of the office. These events not only contribute to employee health and wellbeing, but also build rapport between employees and increase the level of employee engagement.
Supporting the Mental and Physical Health of Our Employees
Every office across our portfolios recognises the importance of ensuring the wellbeing of their employees. As such, our offices have created tailored programmes and campaigns which support mental and physical health in different and locally relevant ways.
We provide information to employees via the Company’s intranet, covering a range of topics relating to healthy work practices and office safety. We also conduct, on request, workstation assessments of our employees’ workstation ergonomics, screen illumination and visual comfort.
In addition, we provide counselling services and learning opportunities through our Employee Assistance Programme, which offers in-person counselling and 24-hour telephone support from relevant professionals. We also host regular events for our employees, such as luncheons and training sessions, to promote physical, mental and emotional wellness and work-life balance.
Highlights of Our 2021 Employee Wellness Programme
The mental and physical health of our employees is always a top priority. Throughout the year, we organised a number of activities designed to bolster the physical and mental health of our people.
The biggest activity was the “1 & All Sports Challenge” held across all our properties in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. The aim was to encourage everyone to get active, get fit and be healthy. Held in November, the challenge attracted 831 colleagues from 23 departments across our portfolios, who recorded the duration and number of calories burned during their exercise sessions. There were prizes for the top performers, as well as gifts and recognition when certain calorie milestones were hit. The results were encouraging – a total of 14,873 hours of exercise were performed by our employees, with over 3 million calories burned during the one-month challenge.
Earlier in the year, Taikoo Li Sanlitun held a series of events during “Wellness Month” in May to enhance the employee health and wellbeing. These included diagnosis and treatment by traditional Chinese medicine specialists, and workshops on healthy lifestyles and tea tasting. A team of specialists also performed comprehensive health checks and gave individual employees suggestions on how to stay healthy.
Cultivating Workplace Wellbeing through People-oriented Designs
An important component of wellness in the workplace is being in a supportive environment. Swire Properties embraced this concept across our properties in 2021.
In Hong Kong, a submission from our ideas@work programme resulted in the development of the “Inspiration Corner” at One Island East, a dedicated space where people can ideate and collaborate without distraction and in a relaxing environment. A breakout area was revamped with beanbags, high tables and chairs, and greenery, creating a haven where ideas can flourish.
At INDIGO in Beijing, we introduced “The Health Space” for all employees. The area contains wall stickers detailing various stretching exercises, balls suspended from the ceiling that people can jump to reach, and various posters on emotional and mental health guidance.