In some large international corporations employees can feel overlooked and uncertain about the direction their careers are taking, but that is certainly not the case with Jones Lang LaSalle. The New York-listed company, which specialises in real estate services and investment management, has made a point of introducing a broad range of people management programmes which keep business operations running smoothly and allow staff to track their own progress. With about 22,400 employees worldwide, of whom 12,400 work in the company's 38 offices in the Asia-Pacific region, the company has long regarded career development as a priority issue. 'We track the performance and motivation of our staff closely,' said Elsie Hui, head of human resources for North Asia. She said this then made it possible to 'identify specific aptitudes and to line up the most appropriate training programmes to groom our future leaders'. The company has a well respected performance management scheme which takes direct account of each person's achievements and links pay and promotion to the internal grading system. It also recognises outstanding performance with several group and individual awards, which even acknowledge the support and contribution of family members. Associate director for human resources (management solutions) with Jones Lang LaSalle, Charles Chan Yiu-kei, said each member of staff had the opportunity to devise a personal development plan, which the company would then help them to accomplish. The key thing for the system to run effectively was to ensure excellent communication. The company therefore encouraged staff to share their experiences and organised quarterly meetings with property managers and building supervisors to keep them fully updated on the latest developments. 'The company prides itself in its ability to acquire and retain talents who aspire to delivering high quality client service, being passionate about the industry and their work, and upholding high levels of integrity,' Mrs Hui said. This was done by means of a wide selection of training courses, led by both in-house and outside instructors, which cover everything from operations to soft skills, management and customer service. Mrs Hui said by valuing and taking care of its own people, the company had found it was also better able to serve its clients.
