The Philippine Society of Talent Development (PSTD) held its 2022 Grand Tipanan last January 27.

Acknowledging the new normal that the pandemic has brought, PSTD 2021 President Jun Roy emphasized the redefined purpose that PSTD has set to embark on – a transformation journey into elevating the Philippine talent development profession to world-class levels. With the 3Es – Elevate. Equip. Engage. – the outgoing president has invited everyone to elevate not just individual capabilities but also economic transformation, which is important in nation-building.

Moreover, inducting officer, Noel Leyco, questioned the readiness of talent development professionals in training a ‘very different cohort’. Stressing that because students have lost the chance to interact with their fellows due to the online setup in the pandemic, the President of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila expressed his concerns about the approach that talent development professionals will use to communicate effectively with the online class-produced graduates.

“Are you ready for the challenge?” – Mr. Noel Leyco, President of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

Presenting PSTD’s 2022 strategic plan, PSTD 2022 President Rommel Ancheta responded with confidence in the organization’s bright future. With the Pillars of PSTD 2022, which are Center of Excellence, Community of Practice, and Business Strategic Partner, Mr. Ancheta hoped to achieve ‘One PSTD. One BOT’.

The first part of the program proceeded with a session on ‘Starting the Year Right in Talent Development’ with Ms. Renelyn Tan-Castillejos, Founder of Yorokobi and Certified KonMari Consultant. Highlighting the importance of tidying up externally and internally in creating an impactful start to the year, Ms. Tan-Castillejos introduced the KonMari method of decluttering. Basically, it follows six basic rules; (1) Commit yourself to tidying up; (2) Imagine your ideal lifestyle; (3) Finish discarding first; (4) Tidy by category, not by location; (5) Follow the right order; and (6) Ask yourself if it sparks joy.

The second part of the program started with a session on ‘BOOST: PH Talent Development for 2022 and Beyond’ with Ms. Penny Concepcion, Human Resources Director for Global Business Services of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. In this session, she introduced a more holistic approach to purpose-driven talent development. The approach consists of (1) Focusing on the employer brand/EVP; (2) The importance of crafting a great employee experience; (3) Your game plan for the great resignation; (4) Integrating life skills into the training curriculum; (5) Succession planning as a critical business imperative; (6) Focus on the individual learner; (7) Thoughtful use of technology; (8) Strong focus on employee’s well-being; and (9) Measure the right things. With the ever-changing and ever-evolving environment, Ms. Concepcion believes that this approach will be of great help to the talent development professionals, especially in our current situation.

To further contextualize the topics for talent development, panelists were invited to give their reactions to the learning sessions. They commented and provided insights on the mental health status and protection of professionals, the retaking and reframing of professional development to achieve innovation in the workplace, the trends in talent development, and the government’s perspective on talent development. The panelists were Dr. Sterling Miranda Plata, a certified Workplace Mental Health Leader, Ms. Abigail Cabanilla, Country Director of Ashoka Philippines and Co-Founder and President at KindMind, Mr. Oscar Contreras Jr., Chairman of the Human Resource Innovations and Solutions, Inc. (HURIS), and Dr. Lizan E. Perante-Calina, Dean of the Development Academy of the Philippines-Graduate School of Public and Development Management (DAP-GSPDM).

Wrapping up the Grand Tipanan, PSTD 2022 Chairman of the Board Adrian J. Robles emotionally recalled his personal love story with PSTD. He closed his message by encouraging everyone to do the same and start said relationship with PSTD this 2022.

“For the new members, the young ones, I want you to be deliberate in building that love story with PSTD. To the seasoned members, I want you to rekindle that love for PSTD. Yung mga returning members natin, remember those times that we struggle, looking for a free venue that can accommodate the Tipanan. Those times where we had to invite, sorry nagiging emotional ako, pero there were times na we struggled looking for speakers who will not expect any honorarium kasi wala kaming budget. But look where we are now, we have our own condo na office natin, ‘di ba? We can now easily invite foreign speakers to speak at our events. We’ve come a long way.” – Mr. Adrian J. Robles, 2022 PSTD Chairman of the Board

With a heart-warming message, Mr. Robles reminded the members of their importance to the organization.

“PSTD is not a person, it’s not the board of trustees, PSTD is us.” – Mr. Adrian J. Robles, PSTD 2022 Chairman of the Board