Talent Development

All participants will have the option of undertaking both an on-line psychometric evaluation, as well as evaluation as to their negotiation style, with full debrief documents will being made available, as well as an interpretation guide. In addition, HR executives from any participating company will be invited to attend 2 of the 5 stages so they can observes their teams in action.

All teams also have the option of retaining one of our training facilitators to provide both group, and one-to-one, briefings pre, and post, event. Should you wish to run this process internally, we will be able to provide you with detailed pre-event training guides, as well as post event summaries, to enable each individual, and firm, to maximise the benefits of participation. Please click here to downloads the post assessment guide from last year's event.

To find out how taking part in the event helped an MD identify his next generation of management click here.

Communication and Decision Making

The event will be a combination of at least 5 stages starting at 7pm on Thursday night and finishing at 5pm on Saturday night. The stages could be a combination of kayaking and code cracking, or night navigation and construction tasks. The uniqueness of the Challenge is the non-linear nature of each stage - the first across the finish line rarely wins.

Success in each stage is achieved by working out the right strategy for your team given its ability to solve complex mental problems, think laterally and take account of the physical capabilities of each person. Often teams are split into smaller groups, only meeting up two or three times during the stage, in these circumstances communicating a clear team strategy, and sticking to it is absolutely vital.

Business Specific Skills and Benefits

Each stage, and the event overall, is designed to replicate the challenges and pressures faced in the everyday business environment.

All the stages will also test the team’s time management and resource allocation abilities – very few teams will be able to complete every task on every stage. Success is achieved by teams working within their limitations to achieve an optimal result and adapt their strategy when circumstances change - or situations don’t turn out as initially expected.

In terms of team selection, there are many different options. A number of companies select their future leaders and staff on a specific talent development programme, others use it as a way of bringing divisional heads together. Some companies specifically target individuals from different product silos who might not otherwise communicate on a regular basis, and a few firms use it as a reward for their best performing employees. Many companies also form joint teams with the clients and partners cementing long standing commercial relationships.

Please click here to view the pre-event training and selection guide from the 2010 Hong Kong Challenge

Pre and post event evaluation and assessment options relating to your participation in the 2010 SmarTone HK Challenge

For the first time we are giving each participating company the option of having all team members psychometrically assessed using the internationally renowned JTI on-line assessment www.jungtype.com

As well as the pre-event training manual, we will also provide an extensive guide to help you interpret the results of the JTI assessment. Having completed the survey, all results will be returned to each team member, after which the results may be used a number of different ways.

The on-line assessment will be available from 1st August, and to be eligible for this offer teams must return their booking forms by the 31st July. The training and assessment guide will also be available from this date. We suggest the first workshop discussed below, is scheduled for late September, early October.

Option A – informal evaluation

Each team may analyse the results themselves, and after doing so individually, the team can meet in an informal fashion to discuss conclusions the test might have reached about each individual, and how this may impact on the team’s performance both in the Challenge, and in the general working environment.

Option B – internal evaluation

The results can be passed to a trained facilitator within the HR department of each firm, who will be able to interpret the conclusions and help each individual better understand their key strengths and weaknesses. It is up to each firm whether or not this information forms part of a broader training and development process.

After a session with each individual, we would recommend the team meets jointly with the facilitator to explore how this new information might affect the dynamics of the team, the relevance this may have in the workplace, and suggest ways to ensure that the team performs to their maximum.

Option C – external evaluation

Should you wish to go down the formal evaluation route, but wish to engage a facilitator from an outside company, we can introduce you to one of our independent consultants. Included in the package would be 2 half day workshops, the first one pre-event, where the results of the test would be interpreted for both the individuals, and as a team.

The facilitator would also be present during the Challenge and would observe your team in a non-intervention fashion for at least one of the stages. A second half day workshop would take place after the Challenge to provide feedback on how the team performed, and produce a ‘lessons learned’ document for each individual to assist in their on-going career development.

This option would cost an additional US$4,500 per team, and you would contract directly with our event consultants Harbour Future Leaders www.harbourfutureleaders.com

Should your company decide to choose option B, but wish to have someone internal observe their team during the Challenge, we would ensure similar access to the stages.