Last April 22, 2021, John Clements Consultants hosted another episode of Weekly with JC with a very timely topic — “Redefining the Talent War in 2021.” Invited as guest speakers were John Kivel — Head of Asia Pacific Recruitment, GlaxoSmithKline; Chiles de Leon — Country Managing Director, QIAGEN Business Services Centre; and Nidhi Bose — General Manager, Quess Corp Limited. Grace Decena, Managing Director of De Carita Business Consultancy, moderated the Q&A session.
John Kivel is a global leader, with vast experience in design and implementation of talent acquisition strategies across Asia Pacific, North America, and EMEA, covering 20 countries, with over 5,000 hires per year. He has been living and working in Asia for the past 15 years and is currently based in Shanghai, China. John completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University of Massachusetts. During his talk, he noted that current social issues have affected talent acquisition.
Empathy and Action
In their organization, 90% of all employees, regardless of age, believe that empathy is an important workplace value.
Life Before Work
There should be a balance between career, family, health, friends, etc.
Talent Magnets
“Everyone in your organization is a recruiter.”
Diversity & Inclusion
“Diversity in Asia is complex, unique, and different in each country. Our focus is on gender (which we can measure), as well as increasing Asian representation in Asia and Global 0–4 roles.”
The second speaker, Chiles de Leon, has more than 20 years of professional experience in shared services and business process outsourcing operations. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Santo Tomas and completed a Leadership Development Program at the Asian Institute of Management, sponsored by Accenture. Chiles managed multiple teams with diverse profiles, diverse business domains, and specific talent skills sets.
QIAGEN Business Services Centre helps 500,000 customers unlock molecular insights through academic research, pharma development, molecular diagnostics, and applied testing. Its mission is:
- Identity — Strong Governance
- Inspire — Optimize and Streamline Processes
- Impact — Exceed Customer Expectation
During the pandemic, their company provided employees with:
- Paid COVID-19 leave credits
- Free RT-PCR testing
- Housing assistance for isolation
- Get-well packages
- Recovery care kits
- Daily check-ins
Since they have improved their referral program, 42% of their acquired talents come from employee referrals. Meanwhile, their talent magnets are good stories from employee experience.
The third speaker, Nidhi Bose, is the General Manager for Talent Acquisition of Quess Corp Limited and member of Diversity Council. She has more than 21 years of global experience in executive search, talent acquisition, HR outsourcing, and financial services outsourcing business operations. She finished her Accelerated MBA Program at Harvard Business School Executive Education, through John Clements Consultants’ partnership with Harvard Business Publishing. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Sri Venkateswara University.
Nidhi asked John, “How do you bring the feeling of belongingness?” John replied that during onboarding, which is currently done virtually, he simply asks how things are at home and listens. She then asked Chiles, “How do you retain talent?” He replied that since they strengthen employee experience in their organization, employees share good stories and become talent magnets.
Indeed, listening to insights from talent acquisition experts of the corporate world was an hour well spent.
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