The importance of talented human resources cannot be emphasized enough in corporate management. And the first step to successfully developing and continuously managing such talent begins with clearly defining the right people for the organization. Let's meet the Talent Strategy Team, which is responsible for establishing the vision of talent management at Amorepacific.

HR has traditionally been a backward-looking function focused on evaluating and rewarding past performance. However, HR today preemptively defines the competencies of talented individuals that can drive sustainable qualitative growth of the company going forward, and discovers and nurtures high performers accordingly.

This September, Amorepacific reorganized the concept of "creative masters" and the Code of Conduct that sets out the desirable working practices for all Amorepacific members, including desirable habits in work and life. This talent-forward strategy is designed to support the organization in moving forward with talents who share the company's values. The Talent Strategy Team which established in the group's HR Division in January 2014 performs a key role in setting the direction for talent management. The team is in charge of defining the competencies of individuals necessary for Amorepacific to grow into a global company, categorizing the types of talent required for various positions and duties, and preemptively selecting and managing suitable individuals.

"The Talent Strategy Team identifies the talent gaps against changing business environment and leadership requirements. To this end, we have established the Code of Conduct "AP Minds 10 to G1" along with a diagnosis of leadership competencies, which has been the team's main task this year. We also operate the "HR Session," a talent management council, to improve communication and work proximity in a bid to recommend and nurture talent."

Kang Seungmin refers to the Talent Strategy Team as a department that manages the talent pipeline. Various tasks, such as diagnosis of leadership competencies and leadership feedback, as well as the definition and management of talent types necessary for the company, the operation of a talent management council, and the development and management of talent indicators are all tasks that help the organization or people who manage them further develop for constant corporate growth.

The team consists of an internal expert who has performed HR duty for many years, as well as an expert in psychology and assessment, and those with consulting experience specializing in HR. New members with excellent global competencies have recently joined the team to support global expansion through the diagnosis of leadership competencies.

Leadership diagnosis is performed on an annual basis whereby executives and team leaders of the entire group request themselves and their team members to answer detailed questions about the six core competencies required by all leaders. The results are quantified in terms of the current level for each competency, provided for participants, and drafted into documents so that individuals can determine their leadership strengths and development points. This ultimately enables leaders to clearly determine their pros and cons and establish appropriate strategies for behavioral changes in response.

"We use the expression "leadership checkup" because, in the same way we get medical checkups, we must determine the precise situation of leadership once a year to make improvements, which will result in positive effects on individuals and the company."

The team strives to secure as much anonymity and convenience as possible in the assessment process. Every employee can easily participate in leader assessment online, and their anonymity is guaranteed: when providing feedback of assessment results to team leaders, the results are not provided in terms of individual opinions of team members, but in the form of the entire team's average, thereby producing more significant results by inviting more members to participate. Leadership diagnosis currently shows a participation rate of over 90%, and it has constantly improved and developed so that it can provide more substantial help for team leaders.

Two-way communication with employees is critically important for the Talent Strategy Team. From leadership diagnosis to talent pool management, the tasks require the process of providing necessary information and receiving the voices and opinions of people at the coal face. The system was computerized to increase accessibility for employees. This enabled them to more easily participate in leadership diagnosis and also view the results, thereby rationally establishing robust development plans.

The Talent Strategy Team reorganized Amorepacific's talent, "creative master," as well as the Code of Conduct to achieve that. Amorepacific's talent creative masters are individuals who focus on their work, while empathizing the mission of changing the world with beauty, and expanding the territory of beauty in a creative way through expertise in the field. "AP Minds 10 to G1" sets out the Code of Conduct to achieve that and the resolution to become members of a Great Global Brand Company.

"The significance of AP Minds 10 to G1 is as a resolution for AP members to keep, rather than a regulation of the employees' behaviors. Thus, it was extremely important to figure out what they think and how they live, as well as what they want to achieve through work."

The Talent Strategy Team Leader Kim Taeyeon recalled the tough process of establishing AP Minds 10 to G1 and emphasized their concerted efforts to convey the thoughts and visions, as well as dreams about work by various AP members. To accept internal opinions, the Talent Strategy Team listened to the VOE (voice of employees) by holding a workshop and conducting a survey, while also listening to the opinions of employees working in global branches. The team interviewed leaders in Korea and overseas to lay the groundwork to set the right direction for the company, and also met with countless employees in Korea and overseas for nearly a year.

"Meeting with AP members at the forefront, which is the moment of truth (MOT), is the most memorable experience. It was really touching to see them working intensely with passion from their pride in feeling Amorepacific's brand value. Seeing them talk about their dreams in association with their lives also made me think about the fundamental reason for why we work."

AP Minds 10 to G1 is a summary of these collected opinions reduced down to 10 items based on countless meetings and feedback from AP members. In the end, while the Talent Strategy Team took the lead in this process, its foundation lies in the voices and stories of employees themselves, which makes it a true outcome of work by all AP members. "We received consistent positive feedback about the first item, which is "I am the pride of Amorepacific," after the publication of AP Minds 10 to G1. I think they empathized with the fact that "I" am a precious being as the main agent of work and life."

The keywords that are considered most important by the Talent Strategy Team are "system" and "communication." The Talent Strategy Team is chiefly in charge of building a series of HR systems and indicators like Amorepacific's concept of talent or leadership competency model, and establishing and managing talent strategies based on the above. But, establishing, institutionalizing and implementing these systems would be impossible with only the power of the Talent Strategy Team. The entire process requires communication with the employees who use these systems in their daily work, and their opinions become the foundation for talent management.

The Talent Strategy Team will become a strategic "global enabler" that helps achieve the company's future vision. To enable all employees of Amorepacific to move forward to become the members of a Great Global Brand Company sharing the same dream and proceed untiringly, the team will solidify all HR-related systems and move together as one by constantly communicating like a pace maker in a marathon.