Helping our A-team to meet their individual career development goals is one of our top priorities at Hyphen. 

A desire for continuous self-improvement and development is something that we look for in all of our people as our business continues to grow and evolve. 

We recognise that everyone has different objectives and look to aid the progression of each member of staff through a number of company-wide initiatives. 

Efforts to build a comprehensive learning and development plan that benefits our group as a whole and individuals pursuing their own personal goals are underway – and here are some of the initiatives that are already up and running. 

 

Continuous feedback 

Feedback is the cornerstone of any development plan. That is why we commit to meeting with our staff regularly to discuss job performance and provide structured, constructive critiques – but this will not be a one-way process. As well as sharing comments from company leaders, we take on board any comments from staff to look at how we can improve and provide more support to maximise our employees’ potential. 

 

Practice makes perfect 

We encourage our staff to be proactive and learn by doing. Giving responsibility to new recruits at all levels of the business is something we take seriously as a growing company and we trust our staff to manage their time and tasks. We want staff to see the instant impact they are capable of making and keep building on their progress.  

 

Investing in our future 

A $1,000 education budget is allocated to every single member of our team each year, whether they are full-time or part-time. Once someone sees a course or training programme of interest, staff speak with our HR Associate Dora, who checks that the initiative is suitable and once confirmed, we will release the funds to cover course and other learning costs. 

 

Co-working courses 

Our quarterly co-working weeks are one of the most appealing parts of working for Hyphen – and they come with plenty of learning opportunities. Ahead of these whole-team retreats, our team looks at areas where we can improve collectively, with in-house subject matter experts then devising courses that seek to share their experience. 

In instances where we have several new faces all starting at a similar time, we may run a special induction co-working retreat – like we did in Brussels in 2023 – to help everyone mix and learn together. 

 

Mentoring and secondments 

Our enthusiastic team is full of talented individuals possessing all manner of experience. It therefore makes sense to capitalise upon and share that with new starters and early-career professionals who have particular development goals. This could involve individuals shadowing leadership figures to see how they approach a role and learn best practices, practical exercises, or regular one-to-ones that can discuss possible ways to build the mentee’s skill set. 

There have also been instances that have seen a member of our team integrated within a client team via a secondment. These arrangements can prove invaluable in seeing our work from the other side and helping young professionals earn external experience that can help them once they rejoin our A-team. 

 

Upcoming initiatives 

Learning library 

We are building a library of courses that will enable our A-team to hone their skills in a systematic and standardised manner. Life at Hyphen can be busy so this permanent hub will enable members of our A-team to focus on their development at a time that suits them, which fits with our belief in giving staff flexibility over their working hours and conditions. 

 

Rotation policy 

Associates at the start of their careers will get the opportunity to move between departments to find their niche. We know that it can take time to find one’s primary areas of interest and expertise so this rotation policy allows junior staff to cut their teeth. It has the double benefit of helping members of our team in their long-term development and improving their understanding of our business as a whole.