New HR Director for SEGi

Ms Lilaine Lee Human Resource Director for SEGi

SEG International College warmly welcomes Ms Lilaine Lee to the huge corporate family as their new Human Resource Director. Yet another commitment to further consolidate resources of the Group. Lilaine Lee is indeed a ‘cili padi’. Small by stature yet big in heart and mind, this lady has come a long way to become a HR Director. She started her career as a personal assistant, where she had the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a big organisation. The exposure helped her realised her forte and interest in human resource, which suits her endless thirst for knowledge and is challenging enough to keep her going. The HR field requires one to know about each line function in the company in order to recruit personnel effectively. Lilaine worked in the HR department for a few MNCs from Japan, Hong Kong and China. The experiences there taught her to be open-minded and accepting towards different cultures and ways of thinking.

She owes her success to persistence, assertiveness, flexibility in dealing with people and hard work. A lot of personal time was invested in order to build relations with staff and understand the nuances and needs of each department in the company. “Nothing comes easy in life. I put in the extra mile to get to where I am today,” Lilaine says.

Undeniably it is also her management philosophy which has brought her this far. She believes in practising mutual respect for all levels of staff. “We should always emphasize team spirit so that there is co-operation among staff which ultimately determines efficiency and effectiveness of company operations.” 

It is Lilaine’s principal that the strength of a workforce in a company should not be individualistic. Her emphasis is on tapping strengths and rectifying weaknesses for the benefit of the company. Respect, passion and empathy for people are necessary for building rapport with staff to help resolve conflicts and improve productivity. Her ideal is of creating a learning organisation where everyone can share knowledge, as she believes wisdoem comes from continuously learning, sharing and applying knowledge wisely.

In this dog eat dog world where it has become a case of ‘I have what you have’, the competitive edge of a company lies in human capital. The quality of human resources can be the determining factor of a company’s success. A company with excellent products will not succeed without quality staff to run it.

“On another note, it is critical to create a work environment where employees are valued and respected with meaningful work. This is one of the competitive edge to attract and retain talents in your organisation,” says Lilaine.

According to her, two success factors for HR development to succeed in an organisation are: continuous support from the top management as well as from HR frontliners (department heads). In order for HR plans to succeed, we need the top management participation and investment in HR. The support and commitment of HR frontliners to be committed, cooperate and support HR activities in their small or big way are crucial to make the whole HR plan a success.

Pertaining to the current employment situation, Lilaine feels that specialisation and soft skills are very important. Having only a general degree is insufficient to secure a job. Employers these days also look for candidates with a balance of soft and hard skills. Thus, educational institutions need to find a way to nurture students to have this combination of skills. Apart from that, flexibility and organisational fit are the ultimate success factors which determine whether a person grows and excels in any business environment.