“To create a new future value beyond the means of success and business framework of the past, we must fundamentally bring innovation to the constitution of our company. Let’s all make efforts to secure our company’s competitiveness and diversity within the organization to meet the global standards.”
HDC Group Chairman Mong Gyu Chung emphasized the above to over 500 employees in his speech. HDC Group held the 6th workshop for the BT (Big Transformation) project at CGV Yongsan on June 5 with the attendance of all executives and employees from the headquarters. Over 500 employees attended the event, including HDC Group Chairman Mong Gyu Chung, HDC Hyundai Development Company CEO Dae Cheol Kim, CEO of HDC Group subsidiaries, and executives and employees of HDC Hyundai Development Company.
The BT project workshop included a special knowledge management lecture by Sungkyunkwan University professor Jae Boong Choi on “The Era of Homo Sapiens, Business Innovation Strategies,” followed by the sharing of progress and achievements in the BT project, overview of Real Estate 114 acquired in February, and an explanation about the meaning and role of the new holding company system launched in May. The event ended with Chairman Mong Gyu Chung’s talk about the progress of the BT project in the past year and communication with employees.
Chung exhibits such a strong attachment to the BT project that he actually planned the project and has attended all workshops. Early last year, he felt that despite the best business performance, the company will not be able to expect sustainable growth as long as it clings to the ways of the past. He decided that now is the time to preemptively cope with future changes, and thereby resolved to pursue structural revolution and set the direction of change to become a ‘Fast & Smart Company.’
After that, Chung organized the Big Transformation Project Team and specified the goals for the Group’s portfolio such as development, construction, operation and manufacturing. Early this year, he restructured the organization into 3 divisions, 3 centers and 36 teams according to the portfolio strategy, and reinforced the self-contained organizational system by applying the agile structure in which employees can make decisions autonomously with an entrepreneurial mind. In particular, he focused the reshuffle on eliminating hierarchy, securing agility and autonomy, and transforming the structure into a horizontal organization.
While last year, the Group thought about the direction for HDC Group in terms of the BT project, this year, it focuses on how it is carried out and implemented. At the beginning of the year, Chung went to Japan for four days with employees to examine a large-scale development project and strengthened competencies in development and operation projects. In February, the Group acquired the real estate information provider Real Estate 114, further reinforcing the upstream and downstream value chain. The Group expects to link its various business competencies through Real Estate 114 and develop various products and services so that its clients can experience new values. In particular, to promote its status as a comprehensive developer, it will contribute to increasing big data investments and enhancing specialized competencies. In the end, this is being seen as the groundwork to achieve the mid/long-term strategic goal of becoming a comprehensive real estate and infrastructure group.
Moreover, the Group also established the Center of Excellence (CoE) to lead the company’s future innovation in the long run. The CoE will perform innovation tasks at the group level such as digital innovation, business model and production system reform, brand and design research, etc. It is part of the ambidexterity strategy to redefine productivity and differentiate competitiveness to create new future values beyond the previous core competencies and means of success in the construction business.
Meanwhile, along with the BT project, the Group was split up in May into the shareholding company HDC and operating company HDC Hyundai Development Company. Through the reform of the governance, the Group established the most efficient decision-making structure as well as the foundation to effectively achieve the Group’s mid/long-term growth strategies and portfolio goals. In addition, the operating company will make the evaluation of each business division clear and transparent, thereby strengthening the foundation for sustainable growth. HDC Group plans to accelerate the fundamental improvement of the constitution and structural revolution to secure future competitiveness with the BT project and the shareholding company system.
“Through the workshop, all employees were able to share the company’s business information and clearly understand the vision, strategies and direction for change,” said an official who attended the BT project workshop. “Change is not easy, but I’m sure we’ll be able to achieve significant success as long as we all take the initiative even with the smallest aspects.”