Hirdaramani’sLeadership Development Programme (LDP) continues to support the development of employees
The Hirdaramani Group recently held a graduation ceremony to recognize employees who successfully completed the company’s 2014/2015 Leadership Development Programme (LDP). At the event, special awards were presented to high performerswho excelled in the programme, and the fourth edition of the LDP was launched for a new batch of over 200 employees. The Hirdaramani Leadership Development Programme was launchedin 2012 as part of the CARE (Career Awareness Resources to Excel) platform, and aims to support the development and career advancement ofemployeesthroughout thegroup. The ALDP programme was initiated thereafter in 2015, to ensure the ongoing development of LDPgraduates, and all graduates of the extension programme were also felicitated at the event.
The ceremony was attended by the directors andsenior management of the Hirdaramani Group, along with employees from all business units. T. BuddikaRathne, was awarded the ‘Overall Achiever’ and award for the ‘Best Innovation’, Mohamad Amjadh was recognized as the 1st Runner up and won‘Best Original Idea’ whilst Mahesh Pushpakumara was recognized as the 2nd Runner up. Shanaka Fernando received the ‘Best Environmental Impact’ award, whilst Indika Nawagamuwage won the award for ‘Best Customer Centric Project’.
The Leadership Development Programme provides employees from all businesses units across the Hirdaramani Group, with the customized training they require, to become future leaders of the company. The programme has shown significant results and has impactedthe career paths of the majority of its graduates. Approximately 40%of graduates from the 2012 batch have obtained promotions within the workplace, and 15% of graduates from the 2013 batch have also advanced in their careers.The projects implemented by the 2014/2015 batch as part of the final stage of their training, havealso already yielded a quantifiable financial impact on the company’s operations.
The Leadership Programme is a combination of self-learning, trainer driven workshops, educational forums, assessments and work related projects, all aimed at developing core leadership skills. As part of the final stage of the training, the participants have to develop and implement a project within their actual work environment. The entire training programme is facilitated by High 5 Consulting & Training, to ensure that employees receive a dynamic and engaging learning experience that is effectively monitored and tracked.
Commenting on the programme, VidushaNathavitharana, Destiny Architect, High 5 Consultancy stated, “Most organizations associate training with a single event, the difference at Hirdaramani is that they have embraced training as an on-going process. When we started this programme, we built a roadmap that laid out the journey of each employee as they grow and created a programme that develops the qualities that will enable them to reach their career objectives, and Hirdaramani has remained focused and committed to seeing this through. The programme is designed to measure ROI and value addition to the company, so the results for both Hirdaramaniand its employees are very real and even though employees are nominated to participate based on theirpotential, they then have to earn their place by making it through each stage of avery rigorous programme. This requires a great deal of commitment from each individual and really pushes them, bringing out their skills and capabilities. In return for the commitment shown by its employees, Hirdaramani continues to invest in this process, the introduction of the Advanced Leadership Development Programme (ALDP) as an extension of the LDP is yet another example of this.”
Commenting on Hirdaramani’s commitment to training, Chamindra Perera Dassanayake, Group Head of Human Resources, Hirdaramani stated, “Hirdaramani believes in growing and developing the leadership talent of each and every employee in the organization. We strive to empower our employees by giving them the opportunity to enhance their analytical thinking, decision making and leadership capabilities in their specific job roles. We believe that a title should never hold an employee back, and we encourage everyone to reach above and beyond their responsibilities to truly deliver an exceptional performance in the workplace.”
As part of its effort to build the next generation of capable, confident and motivated leaders, the Hirdaramani Group continuously invests in the development of employees across all levels of the organization. Each year, members of the senior management nominate employees with high potential to participate in the rigorous training programme. The training sessions are spread out over several months, and participants have to balance their ongoing workloads and pass assessment modules to remain in the programme. “Your Company, Your Future” is the slogan that drives Hirdaramani’s HR approach as it embodies the management’s recognition that employees are an integral part ofinnovation and success at Hirdaramani.
