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People-first AI, personalised career growth, and investment in next-generation talent are helping Schneider Electric build a more sustainable and future-ready workforce.
This article is brought to you by Schneider Electric.
Embarking on its new company positioning in 2026 to advance energy technology, Schneider Electric is strengthening its focus on reinforcing the capabilities, culture, and teams that enable a future-ready workforce.
These priorities have shaped the company’s workforce transformation strategy, combining artificial intelligence (AI), skills-based workforce planning, personalised learning and career development, and early-career talent programmes to help employees adapt to evolving business needs.
These efforts were recognised at the HR Excellence Awards 2026 in Hong Kong, where the company won gold in the Excellence in AI-Enabled Workforce Transformation category and silver in the Excellence in Next-Generation Recruitment/Development category.
“I would say our winning secret is simple: we start with real business and people challenges, not with technology,” says Kira Li, Human Resources Director, Schneider Electric Hong Kong.
“At Schneider Electric, technology and people move forward together. Whether we’re leveraging AI to help our people grow or nurture next-generation talent, our ambition remains the same: to build a future-ready organisation that creates sustainable and meaningful impact for our people, our business, and our community. We’re proud of this recognition, and we’ll keep going.”
“These two awards belong to every colleague who embraced change with us,” she affirms.
Making AI a trusted co-worker across the organisation
At the centre of Schneider Electric’s strategy is a skills-first approach to talent development. Through its ‘Global Career Architecture (GCA)’, the company empowers employees to discover internal opportunities, navigate career pathways, and take ownership of their professional growth based on job families, career levels, and critical skills.
AI plays a key role in supporting this ambition. Its AI-enabled ‘Schneider Career Hub’ brings skills, learning, career opportunities, and internal connections closer together. Employees can identify the skills required for both their current and future career aspirations, connect with relevant mentors, share knowledge, and receive personalised career recommendations.
The company also held the ‘Hong Kong AI Use Case Challenge’, encouraging employees across functions to showcase how AI can help solve business needs and improve operations. From tender review and sales workflow to market monitoring and product analysis, employees have demonstrated their ability to harness AI to drive productivity, innovation, and better decision-making.
Complemented by AI-enabled coaching solutions for leaders and sales colleagues, as well as ‘Jo Virtual Assistant’, which supports HR and IT enquiries, Schneider Electric is helping employees build future-ready capabilities while enhancing their day-to-day experience at work.
Keeping people at the centre
For Schneider Electric, AI is a powerful and trusted co-worker that can help people improve productivity, perform better, and stimulate new ideas. However, technology alone is never the answer.
“HR plays a unique role in connecting people strategies with business outcomes. To do that effectively, we need to understand the business challenges, ask the right questions, define what success looks like, and find the right data,” Li explains.
“AI can help uncover insights, identify patterns, and anticipate what may come next. But human intelligence remains essential. AI enables better decisions; it doesn't replace our accountability for those decisions.”
Schneider Electric believes trust is the foundation of successful AI adoption. This means deploying AI through strong governance, transparency, accuracy, and data privacy safeguards, while creating sustainable growth.
“Most importantly, remember that AI adoption is ultimately about people, not technology,” Li concludes.
“Technology enables the change, but people make the change meaningful. Always keep people at the centre.”
Photos / Schneider Electric
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices – head over to our Behind the Win section!
Want to be part of the celebration next year? If you’re ready to showcase your achievements and join the ranks of our winners, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to Gloria Yam to learn how you can enter the awards and stand a chance to win.
Are you a respected industry leader? We’re also inviting senior HR professionals to join our esteemed panel of judges. If you’re passionate about recognising excellence and shaping the future of the industry, contact Selina Kwok to explore judging opportunities.
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