Key Strategic Talent Development

2021 Wistron's Organizational Strategy and Learning Development

Strategy 1: Digital talent cultivation to accelerate digital transformations

Wistron activated the digital transformation for factory automation in 2014. To accelerate the Company's full digital transformation, Wistron established the digital transformation strategy blue print in 2019 with three main strategies, namely “cultivation of digital talents”, “digital culture formulation”, and “empowerment of digital work for employees”. A digital transformation academy, named the DnA Academy (Digital and Analytics Academy), was also established to develop the talent needed for digital transformations. The structural and digital transformation courses of the DnA Academy include “general digital training and education”, “cultivation of key digital talents”, and “digital RPA talent cultivation”. The courses utilized online and offline systematic structures to conduct digital transformation knowledge and tool training, while forming a digital culture for the organization.

• SMAC：Scrum Master Accredited Certification

In 2021, 8 major academies were established according to the subject for talent cultivation, which include the Enterprise Architect Academy, Data Engineer Academy, Data Scientist Academy, Cloud Architect Academy, Data Governance Academy, PO Academy, Translator Academy, Tech Lead Academy.

1. DnA General Training Talent Development

[General Digital Learning] Using Micro-Learning to Quickly Create a Digital Culture

In order to continuously deepen Wistron's digital culture and thinking, the DnA Academy produced and promoted 15 “digital transformation micro-learning courses” and 10 “digital competency micro-learning courses” in 2020. The courses were divided into 3 major categories, including digital thinking, working methods, and digital skills. The online cloud academy provided an easy and simple way for employees to quickly understand the basic concepts of digital transformations and form a digital culture for the organization. In 2021, 18,203 people were trained in Taiwan and abroad. A total of 16,263 people were trained in the greater Chinese region. A total of 1,940 people were trained in non-Chinese speaking regions, including India, Mexico, and Czech Republic. The overall completion rate was 96% and the average test score was 92, with a satisfaction score of 4.5 (out of 5). In order to strengthen the working methods of the employees, the application of talent after training was accelerated. Additionally, agile express training courses were developed and combined with agile project management tools. The topics include agile development spirit, agile framework, and industry digital case sharing. As of 2021, a total of 139 employees completed the agile courses.

Wistron Digital Transformation Micro-Learning Courses

Results of digital transformations

Furthermore, in order to further drive digital transformations with data and connect the digital projects to data-related applications, Wistron worked with a consultation company in 2021 to conduct basic knowledge workshops through the data governance “basic infrastructure ABC and 6 steps for scenario loops” method. Information definitions were done for areas such as human resources, manufacturing, supply chain, R&D, and finance. The information dictionary and information standards were established so that information from a single source of truth can be “searchable, viewable, and obtainable”. In 2021, the data governance academy held 2 train-the-trainer sessions, 1 train-the-coach session, cultivating 5 coaches and 27 trainers to plan and execute 12 scenario loops and identify 884 data items. 5 application projects and 3 result presentation were organized, which drove the trend for follow up data application related events, such as Low code/ No Code citizen data scientist promotion, hackathons, etc.

2. DnA Key Talent Cultivation

[Professional Digital Competencies] Training Key Digital Talents for Different Projects

In our implementation of digital transformations, Wistron requires the cooperation of key talents. 9 key talents have been defined through our partnership with the consultation company. The DnA Academy uses systematic methods to train digital project development teams. Currently, the professionals that have been trained and certified include Translator, Product Owner(PO), Tech Lead, Data Engineer, and Enterprise Architect.

Before training, the various talents are nominated internally for their potential from the different fields to participate in the audition and the selection is based on merit. The best are selected for the training program that lasts 2 to 9 months according to their expertise, including lectures, class evaluations, after-class assignments, on-stage presentations, and end-of-term presentations. Some courses included hackathons, design thinking seminars, online/offline dedicated courses, experience sharing for digital cases, case scenario practice, and 1 on 1 coaching. The courses aim to strengthen the digital skills of the students, business related solutions, and business model optimizations in order to help promote the implementation of transformation examples. After completing the training, the talents will be able to introduce new technologies and techniques into their original sales, R&D, and manufacturing applications, providing technical solutions and structural vision planning. They will lead technical teams in driving output and continue to create business value.

As of 2021, 613 digital key talents have been trained, including: 373 translators, 84 product owners, 79 tech leads, 61 data engineers, and 16 enterprise architects. After training, the talents combined the digital theories with their existing business expertise to invest in project development related to R&D, manufacturing, sales, and the supply chain, totaling 338 projects.

3. RPA Talent Cultivation

[Introduction of Process Automation] Improving Development Capabilities, Work Efficiency, and Accuracy

Robotic Process Automation (Robotic Process Automation) talent cultivation is aimed at training the digital novice to use visualized development software with minimum amounts of code, actively realizing the automation of office processes and procedures. In order to improve the digitization capabilities of employees, Wistron has introduced the development of automation. During training, trainees must attend 43 training courses and complete theoretical tests and real operations before they become RPA team members. To improve members' development skills, we launched monthly team RPA technology forums, with 933 participants. In order to promote developer exchanges, Wistron has organized 110 centralized development events by using Scrum. A total of 357 RPA talents were trained in 2020, with a completion rate of 85% and investment utilization rate of 40%. As of 2021, 267 RPA students were added, with each person completing an average of 53 training courses and a completion rate of 100%. The average satisfaction score was 4.4 (out of 5). A total of 63 RPA key digital talents were certified. 393 annual projects were introduced for RPA (robot) assisted office processes automation.

4. Digital talent training results in 2021

• Note: The Kirkpatrick Model was used for review. L1 was response assessment, L2 was learning assessment, L3 was behavior assessment, and L4 was result assessment.

Strategy 2: Management Talent Leadership Development

Supervisors are the core talents for business operations. By training and developing the leadership abilities of supervisors at every level to improve the management skills of managerial teams and enhance the level of succession preparation, professionalism and cohesion of teams, to lead innovative transformations for the team and increase diversified overall organizational competitive advantages. When supervisors are trained, they learn about the talent cultivation strategy of the organization which will help them learn about the Company's “people-oriented” core values and put them into practice. In 2021, Wistron invested an average of 17.4 training hours per person in the management training for the Taiwan headquarters, representing an annual growth of 16% compared to the previous year.

1. Strategy Managers - Light House Project

The Light House project is the result of a partnership between Wistron and a consulting company. The consulting company provided intelligent, marketing, and consulting services and deployed talent cultivation plans based on the three major aspects.

2. T-UP Development Project for Mid-Level and Senior Managers

In response to the external VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) environment and the requirements for internal digital transformations and global deployment, besides investing resources in the cultivation of key technical talent, consolidating the core organizational management team is a key strategy for talent development within the Company. The talent cultivation for the succession of mid-level and senior managers in 2021 introduced the external, internationally recognized Potential Plus Test. The managers in the greater China were used as the benchmark to understand the attainment of target positions by the evaluated employees. The level of preparation and training program for the professionals were determined, and individual development program (IDP), group development program (GDP), and “managerial level training courses” were implemented.

3. Front line manager - Performance Management

In order to effectively promote an open, fair, and transparent performance management system and improve the performance management abilities of managers, Wistron hosts performance management related courses every year based on the performance management PDCA cycle. The topics include goal setting, performance communication, performance improvement and skill development. When managers value two-way and instant communications with their subordinates during daily management, they also implement the virtuous cycle of continued development for employees under fair, just, and reasonable performance management.

Each topic is based on the daily management cycle. “Goal Setting” is implemented for the early stage of performance management. “Performance Review” is implemented for the interim stage of goal execution evaluations. “Managing Performance Problem” is implemented for the final stage of performance development. The topics allow the courses to meet the requirements of managers and strengthen the opportunities for practical applications, in order to achieve effective training. In 2021, apart from the continued implementation of the three-part performance training program, “Goal Setting” and “Performance Review” online courses have been introduced for managers who have completed training to improve their management skills. The courses use the revision of knowledge and content to strengthen performance communication skills. In 2021, a total of 1,233 people participated in the performance training, with an overall satisfaction score of 4.7 (out of 5).

In order to ensure the actual implementation of daily performance management behaviors of managers, besides providing the knowledge and skill training described above, Wistron conducts periodic surveys related to the conditions of manager goal setting, interim performance evaluations, and final performance evaluations. The surveys showed that the management and leadership abilities of the managers had significantly improved. The 2021 manager performance and management survey showed that the performance review was 96%. The daily coaching satisfaction score was 4.4 (out of 5). The leadership competency 360-degree evaluation score was 4.5 (out of 5). These achievements prove that managers can implement managerial actions related to performance review with employees, forming a virtuous cycle in the corporate culture.

4. Management training results in 2021

• Note: The Kirkpatrick Model was used for review. L1 was response assessment, L2 was learning assessment, L3 was behavior assessment, and L4 was result assessment.

1. Improve the Language Skills of International Talent

In order to improve the basic skills of our global deployment, Wistron uses its subsidiary, TibaMe learning platform, to work with the Live ABC group to organize online English courses, which included 3 TOEIC accelerated courses and 1 business English course for employees. 4 times English livestreams were also organized to provide diverse learning. By working with lecturers online, employees can flexibly plan their courses and practice their skills according to their progress.

In 2021, 768 employees participated in the courses and 1131 employees attended the livestream lectures. Compared to the previous year, 209 employees attended the TOEIC in-person lessons, and self-learning grew by 3.7 times. The average satisfaction score of the students was 8.6 (out of 10). The net promoter score (NPS) was 64%. The online mock test scores improved by 120 on average. In order to periodically review the language skills of our employees, Wistron organized annual English exams at the end of the period. A total of 687 employees participated, with 49% of the employees showing improvements in their test scores.

2. Improved Cross-Culture Communication Skills

As we improve the language skills of our employees and become an international organization, Wistron has organized cross-culture communication courses. The cross-culture lectures were conducted in a period of 4 months, with 2-hour lectures being held every month. The topics included “sensitivity and communication of international business cultures”, “cross-culture scenarios and management strategies”, “cultural, rights and interests, and conflict management”, and “organizational reforms and changes”. During the pandemic, the overall learning will continue to the first quarter of 2022 through livestreams hosted by the lecturers. As of the end of 2021, 116 supervisors have participated in the courses, giving an average learning satisfaction score of 4.6 (out of 5).

3. Sustainable Talent Reserves

To strengthen sustainable development vision, fulfill corporate social responsibilities, promote economic, environmental, and social advancement, and attain sustainable development goals, Wistron established the ESG Committee in 2019, which used “sustainable development” as a key strategy for the next 20 years. With this strategy, Wistron has set various tier-development targets. These targets include carbon reductions, supply chain management, employee support creation, labor rights protection, and circular economy. In order to reach these major targets, a team with “sustainable development” knowledge must be established within the organization for implementing the organizational goals and adopting international sustainable development trends.

In order to accelerate sustainable developments in the organization, Wistron invited external consultants and talents to organize 31 talent cultivations and coaching events related to ESG in 2021. The topics included ESG vision and goals, business risks, carbon disclosure, human rights risk management, social welfare/charity performance evaluation, greenhouse gases, product life cycle assessments, etc. Furthermore, sustainability indicator refinement coaching was organized to improve the awareness of sustainability and the meaning of external institution ratings among employees. We encourage team members to actively respond to major ESG issues and achieve the tier targets. A total of 1,077 employees participated in the abovementioned training and coaching events, completing the deployment and training of a sustainable development seed team for the organization.

With regards to the various ESG evaluation results in 2021, Wistron’s DJSI score increased from 63 to 81 and we climbed to 7 places in the Excellent in Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, from 25th to 18th. We also received the Taiwan Sustainability Report Silver Award (Bronze Award in 2020). Apart from representing Wistron’s dedication to improving the various dimensions of ESG, the awards show that Wistron’s employees are gradually learning to necessary knowledge and skills to promote internal management reforms and adopt international indicators. We continue to raise awareness of the importance of ESG among Wistron employees and understand the relationship between life and work.

4. Global Talent and Sustainable Talent Training results in 2021