COMPANY POLICY SPECIAL..We Select People Who Are Resilient - Dow Corning

We Select People Who Are Resilient :Dow Corning

Dow Corning, the US-based multinational corporation that specialises in silicon and siliconebased technology and products, is driving its talent strategy with people who are overqualified. Says the HR director for Asia Marie-France Van Vooren: “That way, our talent is ready for the new challenges. They will never have a problem executing tasks.” This prepares them for the next cycle of growth, she adds.
In its 12 years in India, the company has fine-tuned its leadership strategy along these lines. Of the company’s 250 employees in the country, about 7% are highpotentials. However, it’s not enough to be a performer to make it to the top. Resilience matters. That’s because in the innovation driven world, failure is inevitable. “We need people who are adaptable and resilient because our business, especially the innovation part of it, isn’t easy,” says Van Vooren.
Cultivating these high-potentials is a priority. Dow Corning puts its leaders through an experiential learning process, which constitutes about 80% of what its HR team does in terms of grooming leaders. “We encourage leaders to get involved in projects or run particular businesses for a while, with an eye to the behaviours, skills and culture we want to develop,” says Van Vooren.
The leaders-to-be also get a chance to argue and present their case (for selection as high-potentials) to a top management team. They are asked to prepare presentations about who they are, their accomplishments, their dreams and what they want to achieve during their careers – and then place this before a senior leadership team of 8-10 members. “It’s not often that you get a chance to verbalise who you are and what you want to do, and also have your senior leaders’ complete attention for an hour,” says Van Vooren.
The presentations are followed by a discussion on what follow-up actions the company can take. “Sometimes, we move our leaders-in-the-making into certain positions to give them a chance to develop or demonstrate a skill,” adds Van Vooren. The company also swaps people between emerging and mature economies. The idea is that they will study the business in the host country; and provide a different perspective to people in that location. They are expected to share their learnings with colleagues and become, as the company sees them, “transportation vehicles,” The strategy seems to be paying off. “Our attrition rate has been 5-8%, and we rarely lose any of our high-potential performers,” says Van Vooren.

LABONITA GHOSH MUMBAI

ET120814