Project Description
Background
Learning plays an important role at Essilor, a global opthalmics optics company with over 64,000 employees worldwide. Therefore the company decided to try a new way to develop employee skills, build teams and help employee onboarding while also creating value for a non-profit organisation.
AWARE, Singapore’s leading gender equality non-profit, wanted to improve its already exemplary practices to provide the best possible work experience for its staff. With limited budget and capacity, they were open to solutions to get structured and well-managed outside help.
What We Did
NEEDeed, having discussed AWARE’s need for a comprehensive overview of its human resource practices, suggested that a corporate team define the exact scope of the planned overview which would enable AWARE to use its resources in the most efficient way.
We approached Essilor for a multi-expertise HR team to deliver the scoping of AWARE’s human resource reshuffle efforts. They gathered a team of four with various human resource expertise who all wanted to test their knowledge outside the corporate context.
From start to end, NEEDeed was part of the team to nudge both sides to define and deliver a project which brought tangible benefits to the non-profit while also being manageable for the corporate team. As Corinna Lim, Executive Director of AWARE, said,
“It’s very different to have a reasonable and experienced mediator, like NEEDeed, to guide both sides in a pro-bono engagement and to balance the needs of the non-profit organisation and the corporate team. The Essilor team was professional, super committed, very personable and friendly. NEEDeed was key to ensuring the benefits to both sides.”
The Results
The Essilor team conducted a series of interviews with members of AWARE, analysed results, consulted with the Executive Director and the Board to refine conclusions and then delivered a workshop to AWARE’s management team to initiate problem-solving. At the end of the project, AWARE had a clear understanding of the 2-3 key issue areas they had to prioritise to improve organisational practices.
The clear benefit to the Essilor team was a solid teamwork that developed during the project, a practice of consulting-type engagements and organisational intervention, insights into decision-making and employee motivation and, of course, the appreciation they received for their work. As Darlene Uy, Assistant Director, Global Learning and Development from Essilor, remarked,
“NEEDeed’s approach was fresh and challenging as we, as a corporate team, were tasked with a real case. The project has built skills in our team and delivered a tangible outcome for AWARE, the non-profit beneficiary. It is a great way for MNCs to share resources with non-profits while developing their own talent.”
