Talent & Tech Asia Summit 2024
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Snapshot: Ian Choy, McDonald’s senior director, people resources

Ian Choy, senior director, people resources, McDonald’s Hong Kong on being a caring employer that provides employees with flexible arrangement and opportunities for career development.  

Please talk about your HR career. How did you get started and how did you move up to your current position?

I have spent over 10 years in HR and have worked in different industries, but my love has always been with restaurants where I have spent over half of my career, and I’m still loving it.

I joined McDonald’s Hong Kong in 2012 as director of human resources and my current position is senior director of human resources.

What do you love about HR and your job?

Engaging with people and nurturing talent to reach their full potential is an extremely rewarding experience. I feel immensely proud of my colleagues’ achievements and it has always been my greatest pride and joy to see them living a happy and fruitful life.

Having the privilege to work for a worthy cause is also something I love about my job.

Through my work, I can be part of a larger team that gives back to society through CSR campaigns and charitable activities. I particularly enjoy my work with Ronald McDonald House Charities, whose mission is to help ill children and families in need.

Please share an immense challenge you faced and how you resolved it?

Talent retention requires more effort than ever. At McDonald’s, we see employees as our greatest asset and have developed three employee value propositions of “family and friends”, “flexibility” and “future”.

With these propositions, we are committed to encouraging teamwork, offering flexible working hours and job rotations, and investing in training, continued education and career development opportunities.

Not only do we provide numerous career path options for talent of different skill sets, we also encourage our employees to participate in internal and external competitions to have their talent recognised.

There’s always a platform for our colleagues to shine. As our founder Ray Kroc once said: “We’re not just a hamburger company serving people; we’re a people company serving hamburgers.”

Inquisitiveness is a valuable quality for HR. We should always maintain a sense of curiosity and be observant of the people and environment around us.
What will be HR’s priorities for Hong Kong in 2016?

Uncertainties looming for the global economy in recent months may have sparked local market concern. In times like these, HR plays a crucial role in maintaining a stable, harmonious and high-performing working environment for employees.

At McDonald’s, we do that by upholding our 3F motto – “fun”, “firm” and “fair” at all times. Regardless of the economic environment, we always endeavour to present our colleagues learning and advancement opportunities to ensure our colleagues at all levels can continue to flourish.

What are the HR challenges for the Hong Kong market?

There is always room for innovation in the HR space locally. As a world-class city, Hong Kong is blessed with advanced technology and a mature business environment.

We as HR professionals need to leverage on this unique environment to devise new ways of maximising human capital so our profession will always stay relevant in the ever-changing business landscape.

In a recent recruitment event at McDonald’s Hong Kong, we introduced interactive touch-points for the very first time, giving job seekers an opportunity to experience first-hand the duties of our hiring positions.

The campaign was well-received and we earned positive feedback from the community. The result has been encouraging and we will definitely keep innovating and evolving for our colleagues, the same way we do for our customers.

In a recent recruitment event at McDonald’s Hong Kong, we introduced interactive touch-points for the very first time, giving job seekers an opportunity to experience first-hand the duties of our hiring positions.
What does HR need to do to future-proof its role?

Inquisitiveness is a valuable quality for HR. We should always maintain a sense of curiosity and be observant of the people and environment around us.

HR professionals with this quality are often eager to keep abreast of the latest developments in their respective fields of business and the world at large, and are able to motivate and lead colleagues to success by utilising their individual strengths.

With more than 15,000 McDonald’s colleagues in Hong Kong, our employees come from diverse backgrounds. We observe the characteristics of each individual, and tailor our HR policies to suit their respective needs as far as possible.

It is important to ensure that all colleagues feel valued, respected and that the company is a perfect match for them.

Image: Provided

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