amsung Electronics North America is on a new journey. Although well established
as a global organization, it wasn’t until 2007 that Samsung established a full-time
training function for its 10,000 employees in North America.
"We’re really just starting to look at things like providing
learning opportunities to employees at all levels, not just high-potential leaders,"
says Randy Mase, director of training and development for Samsung Electronics, a
North American subsidiary of Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung Group.
The company is making up for lost time. Samsung is increasing
its reliance on e-learning to buttress instructor-led classes. And possibly by the
end of 2008, the company plans to issue career maps to all employees.
"As you can imagine, that’s an extensive project. But we think
it’s going to give people a vision [for career growth] that will help us with retention—and
in the long term, with recruiting as well," Mase says.
These road maps will spell out the knowledge, skills and experiences
employees would need to pursue different assignments at any of Samsung Electronics’
eight North American subsidiaries. But employees who continually develop their skills
won’t necessarily be in line for promotion.
"There are lots of ways a person can progress and develop
within a job. What we want to do is make people’s jobs richer," Mase says.
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