How does the A.Entrepreneur Adventure Programme facilitate NWD’s The Artisanal Movement?
The A.Entrepreneur Adventure Programme (the Programme) is an unconventional talent acquisition programme, which we have launched to target candidates with exceptional entrepreneurial qualities, regardless of their years of experience and industry exposure. Through this programme, the candidates go through an Adventure Weekend in the form of a hackathon based on a specific topic, and work in their own groups as they tackle challenges and provide creative resolutions and suggestions.
It is also when our judges, coaches, and HR assessors look into each individual’s performance based on a number of attributes, e.g., innovation, leadership, communication and presentation skills, etc. All these are important talent qualities that drive “The Artisanal Movement” at NWD, as we continue contributing to our business ecosystem’s development and advocate our corporate philosophy of Creating Shared Value (CSV).
How does the Programme leverage its hackathon roots to acquire entrepreneurial talents?
The hackathon is commonly used in tech-related industries and winners are rewarded financially or even with a business partnership. The hackathon is also where all participants’ various attributes are put to the test, including the aforementioned entrepreneurial qualities. We have identified that this mimics the day-to-day operations as part of NWD’s innovative culture and rapid development, thus laying the foundation for us as we developed and launched the Programme with the aim to recruit these talents with such qualities.
What does the Programme have in the pipeline to incentivise employees to keep innovating?
As part of the Programme, we have further developed the Internal Entrepreneur Programme that is targeted towards the Group’s internal employees, as part of our talent development initiative. Utilising a similar hackathon set up, this internal programme provides a platform through which our employees can connect with their counterparts across the Group’s various business units, and more importantly, innovate and develop business ideas that go above and beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.
The Internal Entrepreneur Programme also serves as a platform for our employees to get out of their comfort zones, present their innovative business ideas to the senior management team, and even put these ideas into practice. A good example is RunForGood – a CSV project that connects people through different sports activities, developed by a team of employees from diversified backgrounds, including corporate training and sustainability.
