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How SMCP Asia achieved 20% rate of internal mobility or promotion in Asia markets
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How SMCP Asia achieved 20% rate of internal mobility or promotion in Asia markets

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This article is brought to you by SMCP

This is thanks to blending an organisational approach (of identifying risk vs ambition) with an individual approach (of identifying talents who most nourish the company, i.e., ‘key people’).

It was the union of four Parisian ateliers that led to the birth of SMCP, which comprises ready-to-wear brands, Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot, and Fursac. With a global presence in 43 countries, more than 1,684 points of sales, and more than 6,000 employees, SMCP Group has the ambition to be the global leader in accessible luxury, with the mission to inspire Parisian elegance around the world.

Accessibility isn’t, however, only restricted to its business model – it is the essence of the company’s philosophy around managing talent and enabling learning for its teams across Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, and Paris. Led by its CEO Stephane Ledru, SMCP Asia believes in blending an organisational approach (of identifying risk vs ambition) with an individual approach (of identifying talents who most nourish the company, i.e., ‘key people’). This has not only allowed the company to take better decisions at a BU-level, but also roll out a united SMCP talent culture that shares the same language, identifies the key people, and makes them stand out in front of the management.

A ‘9-Box People Talent Review’ awaits those individuals identified as the company’s key talent. This entails using a strategic platform to distinguish them based on their potential (motivation, capabilities, learning agility), and performance. Based on where they stand, they could be classified as rising stars, solid contributors, trusted specialists, and more. This classification guides their training into management leaders, as well as feeds into cross-functional talent review.

As a result of this approach, SMCP achieved better company connection across all departments and regions, as well as saw reduced employee turnover. Not only did the programme foster healthy competition and support inclusion, but stakeholders said it also helped to build strategic thinking in the organisation. In fact, in 2022, SMCP Asia achieved 20% of internal mobility or promotion in Asia markets, with seven nationalities and 87% percent of women within the group.

smcp asia 2022

While this programme focuses on key people, the rest of the organisation is equally cared for – and this is through ‘My Learning’, a new digital learning platform specifically designed to make staff onboarding a success and enrich the employee experience. This easily accessible, self-service portal focuses on both product training and personal development, and is supported by the leadership team who leads by example in launching the portal in Asia and engaging in activities such as ‘Digital Conference’.

Evidently, SMCP has been investing significantly in MyLearning, where training is aimed to be 100% accessible to its employees worldwide, anytime, anywhere. This was a key success factor, especially during the pandemic lockdown, where the team had the flexibility to control individual learning pace, resulting in higher learning efficiency and positive employee feedback.

Indeed, with 24/7 online coaching at their beck and call, employees have become the owners of their career journey at SMCP, learning through videos, interactive resources, quizzes, idea boxes, and more.

As a result, the portal has been positively received by all stakeholders. It is being credited as not only spurring administrative efficiency, but also overcoming space-time constraints, and achieving its goal of making people grow, with them having spent an average of three hours of learning.

As the SMCP HR team prepares its people innovation strategy for the year to come, SMCP’s CEO Asia, Stephane Ledru has a special message: “Hiring the right talents in an ever-changing environment and company is a real challenge (and a real talent also). This is why our HR team needs to be entrepreneurial and understand perfectly the difficulties that operational teams are facing.

“They need to dare, take risk, fight for their conviction, and give all the support that individuals but also business partners need in their daily life to achieve our ambitious goals.”


Photos / SMCP

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