A Conglomerate of International Standing
by Alice Yong.
Sime Darby's talent management programme aims to attract, motivate, develop and engage talented individuals, and mould them into outstanding professionals and well-rounded international executives. By Alice Yong.
Young, ambitious graduates who yearn to explore and exploit a whole sea of opportunities and challenging career options in a variety of industries spanning over 20 countries would do well to look at Sime Darby, Malaysia’s largest conglomerate.
As a performance-oriented company, potential employees who aspire to climb the corporate ladder are expected to possess the right values, drive, intellectual capability and competencies to produce results. In short, they must achieve a good score in Sime Darby’s key performance index (KPI).
At Sime Darby, the four core values that all staff are expected to live up to are Respect & Responsibility, Excellence, Enterprising and Integrity.
TAPPING NEW TALENT
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| Tuan Haji Mohamed Ishak Abdul Hamed Executive Vice President Group Human Resources |
Being an equal opportunity employer, Sime Darby does not discriminate between local and overseas graduates, nor does it have a preference for certain degrees and qualifications: it is a candidate’s leadership qualities that are of utmost importance.
According to Tuan Haji Mohamed Ishak Abdul Hamed, Executive Vice President Group Human Resources, potential employees must have high intellectual capability, drive and the right values. Once it has found the right person with these qualities, the company will work to develop his or her leadership and management competencies. Other essential skills will eventually come with experience and on-thejob training.
“Our top talents are identified through a rigorous process. Besides being a consistently excellent performer, the person has to go through an assessment centre and psychometric tests to assess his/her potential. Based on these results, the division talent panel will then decide whether the person should be considered a top talent. “The top talents’ career and development will be tracked by Group Head Office. They will be given first priority for job rotation, succession and training. A fresh graduate identified as a top talent can become a General Manager in his/ her mid-30s,” says Tuan Haji Mohamed Ishak Abdul Hamed.
Sime Darby also places great emphasis on its Management Trainee Programme (MTP).
Although various divisions in Sime Darby conduct their own MTPs, all the programmes have two common features: classroom sessions and on-thejob training, including job rotation. The training period usually lasts six months.
At the end of the programme, each trainee will be assigned a job that matches his or her aptitude and the organisation’s needs.
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
 With six business divisions operating in more than 20 countries, it is only natural that Sime Darby aspires to be a market leader in all the businesses it is involved in. For this to happen, the conglomerate constantly seeks leaders – business, functional and technical. It is Sime Darby’s philosophy that for you to be a business leader, you don’t necessarily have to possess a Business degree.
You can be an engineer or an accountant, or hold qualifications from any other discipline. If you have the potential, Sime Darby has its own in-house system that will develop you.
The corporation also has in place a systematic development programme that includes job rotation, special assignments and training programmes at its Business School. This enables a person with the right values, drive and intellectual capabilities to quickly develop and to move up the corporate ladder. Sime Darby is especially proud of its systematic Career Development Programme in which a young, topperforming executive can have the choice of three career paths – be involved in general management, become a functional specialist or a technical specialist.
With such extensive and comprehensive programmes in place, it is inevitable that graduates with the desired attitude and aptitude will soon find themselves on the fasttrack to success at Sime Darby
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OVERVIEW OF SIME DARBY
The successful Synergy Drive merger between Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and Sime Darby Berhad resulted in a new organisation that is driven by a brand new vision. Inspired by a renewed sense of purpose, the conglomerate is determined to be a successful Malaysian-based multinational with core businesses in plantation, property, motors, industrial, energy and utilities. It also has a growing presence in healthcare. In addition, it is a member of the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) – an independent international organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, that is committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The Group and its subsidiaries are involved in the following sectors:
Plantations & Agribusiness
The Plantation Division is the world’s largest listed plantation company and the world’s number one palm oil originator, accounting for about six per cent of global palm oil production. The Group has a significant presence in both upstream and downstream palm oil activities. The division’s downstream activities comprise of oils and fats businesses, both food and non-food based.
Property
The Property Division is an established integrated property player focused on the development of residential and commercial properties. Complementary operations include property investment, property management, hospitality and asset management. Assets under the Property Division include serviced residences, resorts, golf courses, industrial parks and a convention centre.
Industrial
The Industrial Division holds the exclusive dealership rights for the sale and rental of Caterpillar heavy equipment, parts and service support in several countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region. The Industrial Division also carries other brands of heavy equipment including Case New Holland, Kubota, Terberg, Driltech, Kress and Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift. The principal markets for the division are natural resource extraction, building and infrastructure construction, electrical power generation and logging.
Motors
The Motors Division holds BMW dealerships in various countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as distributorship and dealership rights for other globally renowned marques like Hyundai, Land Rover and Ford. The Motors Division also operates an assembly plant in Malaysia where completely knocked down (CKD) packs imported from the respective automobile principals from Thailand, Korea, India, USA and Germany are locally-assembled for sale mainly in the Malaysian market.
Energy
The Energy Division is primarily involved in offshore construction. Sime Darby Engineering Sdn Bhd holds a major fabrication licence from Petronas to undertake fabrication of offshore structures for the oil and gas industry. The division provides a wide range of fabrication and engineering services for both local and international markets, and has completed a broad range of projects for the oil and gas industry. Its clients include major global oil companies such as Petronas Carigali, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Maersk Oil Qatar, Qatar Petroleum and Murphy Oil Corporation. The division’s 100-acre fabrication yard is located in Pasir Gudang, Johor. The division owns and operates one of the largest fabricationvyards in Malaysia, with a fabrication capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes per annum.
Utilities
The Utilities Division manages the port, water and infrastructure businesses of the Group. Its current investments include a bulk cargo port, as well as a water treatment business in Shandong Province in China. Moving forward, its focus is on expanding this portfolio to the various regions where Sime Darby has a business presence. In Malaysia, it is currently reviewing a number of infrastructure investment opportunities emerging from the growth plans targeted under the 9th Malaysian Plan and other development projects such as the Northern Corridor Economic Region.
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