Photos and roundup: Training & Development Asia 2017, Hong Kong

Organised by Human Resources, this year's Training & Development conference in Hong Kong saw close to 200 attendees gaining insights into developing best practice corporate learning strategies through a series of keynote presentations, case studies, and panel discussions.

Back for its second year, the event was curated to bring together HR leaders and L&D specialists to discuss the latest developments in the field. Held on 7 July 2017 at The Mira Hong Kong; here are the photos and highlights of Training & Development Asia 2017, Hong Kong.

Check out photos from the event here.

Starting off the event was Kris Herring, director of learning, Hyatt International, Asia Pacific. Herring spoke about rebuilding company culture from within by transforming internal behaviours and attitidues through L&D initiatives.

He compared learning to running a marathon: those who have the best starting position will be miles ahead of the ones who start all the way at the back. So how do you offer all your employees the best starting position for them, he asked the room.

Next, the delegates enjoyed an in-depth panel discussion on encouraging a continuous learning and development culture in Hong Kong. Moderated by HR and organisation effectiveness expert Aalok Gupta, the panellists were:

- Leona Tse, deputy head of learning & development, Swire Resources;- Christina Tsu, assistant vice president – corporate human resources, Genting Hong Kong; and- Mui See Soh, manager of people Asia, National Australia Bank

In response to a question from the audience, the panellists discussed creative ways to deal with a limited budget. Tsu proposed you can gather a number of sponsors for your idea who can help you secure a budget by championing it throughout the business.

Summarising the value L&D professionals can bring to the table, Gupta said: "If you don’t train your people, you don’t have the skills; if you don’t have the skills, you don’t have the performance; and without the performance, you don’t have profit."

After a tea and coffee break, Judy Feng, head of organisational development at The Hong Kong Jockey Club, took the stage. Feng shared the company's journey to drive a transformation within the company by changing the behaviour and mindset of its leaders. 

Next up, delegates heard from Jason White, vice president – Asia-Pacific at Mannaz. White examined some of the factors that are fuelling change and uncertainty in the world and in businesses. "Technology is an obvious one," he said, naming things like 3D-printing, big data, and Blockchain as examples.

He went on to explain the concept of a multi-speed business, pointing out that we cannot simply apply one strategy to all parts of the business, since different parts may be evolving and operating at different speeds.

Check out photos from the event here.

Before lunch, Ceyda Kamhi-Ozyel, director – management and organisation development Asia at Philip Morris International, explored the outcome of implementing an Asia-specific leadership programme.

Patrick Lai, general manager – human resources shared services, Hong Kong Airlines, welcomed delegates back after lunch with a presentation on how technology is innovating L&D. He addressed both the opportunities automation brings with it, as well as the fear of automation that exists in some companies.

Following that, Rachael Lau, performance and well-being coach, and Michelle Chan – senior partner, from Transcend International took the stage. Drawing upon their professional as well as personal experience they shared insights into the relationship between stress and high performance.

Lau spoke to the room about stressors and our response to them. "Stress is good for us, to a certain degree. How much or how little stress you experience can impact your productivity," she said.

Next, delegates heard from Benjamin Wong, HR director, Asia Pacific for Knorr-Bremse. Wong started off his talk by considering employee experience and how different companies create theirs, providing some innovative examples.

Discussing some upcoming trends he touched upon the concept of bite-sized learning, suggesting this could be as simple as breaking up a one-hour training module into six ten-minute parts.

After a short afternoon break, delegates welcomed the next speaker, motivational speaker, corporate trainer and executive coach, Natalie Evie.

She spoke to the room about emotional intelligence and its value. She said: "In a way, it's about accurate data about emotions. And it's about analysing that data in terms of how it impacts relationships."

The final session of the day addressed the practicalities of adopting T&D initiatives in an on-stage discussion led by Human Resources journalist Laura Fransen. She was joined on stage by Dorothy Chan, regional head of talent development, BASF; and Laura Hunt, director – learning products & strategy, SAP Success Factors.

The discussion covered a number of topics including identifying learning needs, internal versus external training resources, budget, and ROI.

Check out photos from the event here.

The Human Resources team would like to thank all sponsors, exhibitors, and partners who contributed to the success of Training & Development Asia 2017, Hong Kong:

Gold Sponsor: Mannaz

Silver Sponsor:The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Exhibitors: CEIBSHarvard Business Publishing Corporate LearningOcean Park Hong Kong

Workshop Sponsor: Potential Project

Event Sponsor:PolyVision Eyecare Centres