Rapidly growing global brand management company Access Corporate Group has a distinctive culture, one based on agile working, thinking differently, and solving problems innovatively. When its Australian HR team started the year needing to not only recruit a great variety and number of positions, but also to ensure it recruited people with the right mindset for Access, it recognised the need to do something exciting for recruiters and consultants.

This week Access brought together more than 20 leading recruitment and consulting businesses from across Australia for a half-day forum at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, to talk about culture, explain their unique business model based on influence and understanding brands, and exchange key people management strategies. The response from recruiters and consultants was overwhelmingly positive, with a key topic of discussion being the importance of zeroing in on a company’s specific needs, to not only accomplish satisfactory employee acquisition, but ultimately long-lasting retention.

As Access Corporate Group approaches its fourth anniversary, it has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Hangzhou, Los Angeles, and Frankfurt, with employee numbers having grown to more than 2,000. The company owns or is invested in more than 20 beauty, lifestyle, and wellness brands, and distributes or markets more than 80, connecting with over 10 million consumers in China and around the world.

“Experience and skill are almost secondary to attitude. We want to build out our team with creators who are eager to constantly adapt to evolving circumstances,” said Livia Wang, Chief Brand Officer of Access Corporate Group. 

“A business moving forward doesn’t just happen by itself, it starts with its people. That’s why it is essential to build strong relationships with a pool of talented recruiters and consultants, and that they have insight into what we do and what we want to achieve.”  

Speakers included esteemed academic Dr Wei Li, from the University of Sydney Business School, who spoke about the challenges and opportunities for people management in Chinese Australian enterprises; Mike Erlin, founder of Ability Map on next generation talent assessment and selection; David Yong from BDO on the total reward strategy; and Jason Johnson, Managing Director of Johnson Partners, who discussed the importance of diversity in executive-level roles.

“Academically, there are a lot of debates discussing if we are seeing a divergence or convergence of the East and West models for people management,” said Dr Li. “The businesses that seem to do the best are the ones that can rectify common problems between the two. Access is neither conducting business in a Chinese or Australian way, but in a global fashion. This approach requires an open mind, so people that can understand the two sides is both the greatest challenge to find, and the biggest competitive advantage.”

There was also a panel discussion with the guest speakers, Livia Wang, and Warren Liu, Chief Strategy Officer at Access. The discussion raised some interesting comments on Chinese-Australian collaborative culture, how to retain committed employees, and the shifting definition of an ‘entrepreneur’. Each expert shed light on the qualities of an effective leader, and how to undertake the top strategies and approaches for lasting success.

Also at the event was Maria Hu from Bay Talent Advisory, who said “This was an incredibly insightful event to not only get to know Access, but also to experience firsthand a selection of the products within their portfolio. Just as Access’ business model seeks to ‘bridge’ the gap between brands and consumers, we recruiters also hope to also bridge the gap between the company and the talent that they need to continue their upward trajectory.”

Access Corporate Group anticipates to greatly add to the employee numbers in its Australian operation, as well as achieve substantial growth in its other global markets.