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Case Study

Hong Kong Broadband Network: An integrated approach to talent management

By Shlomo Ben-Hur and Ivy Buche

24 pages

October 2016

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Reference: IMD-7-1673

Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) charted a success story starting out as the smallest new entrant in Hong Kong’s highly competitive telecom industry in 1999 and went on to become the second largest provider of residential broadband within 10 years. State-of-the-art fiber network infrastructure allowed HKBN to offer high-quality high-speed telecom services at competitive prices. However, the company soon realized that its technological edge could be easily replicated. Its competitive advantage was actually vested in its 2,500 employees – all referred to as Talents. HKBN instituted a unique co-ownership scheme whereby employees were invited to invest up to two years of salary in the company. It also made sustained investment in talent development through well-designed learning programs coupled with significant empowerment on the job. The case outlines the importance of leadership and talent management as key drivers of growth for the company. HKBN listed in early 2015 and embarked upon its next phase of growth with the aim of becoming the largest broadband service provider by 2019, overtaking its largest competitor and entrenched incumbent, PCCW. HKBN looked to its Talents to rise to the challenge once again.

Learning Objective

To identify ways of linking the talent management strategy to the business strategy
To outline different ways of embedding the talent strategy at the core of an organization
To build a high-performance organizational culture through people practices
To discover management models that not only result in returns for shareholders but also take into account employees as key stakeholders

Keywords

Team Leadership, Human Resources, Strategy, Talent, Responsible Leadership, High Performance, Organizational Culture, Co-ownership, Continuous Learning, Continuous Development, Empowerment, Employee, Value Proposition, Work-Life Balance

Settings

Eastern Asia, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Broadband Network, Services, Telecommunications
2015

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note, Video

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