Talent management at Hasbro is an organizational imperative. Hasbro’s success depends upon a high performing and highly motivated workforce. Our talent management program is an integrated system of policies and initiatives which identifies high potential, high performing talent within the organization, while providing accelerated developmental work assignments and training opportunities. Annual succession planning for senior leadership and key positions within the organization is an important component of this initiative.

A common system of Performance Management has been in place for over 5 years across the global organization. Elements of this approach include performance appraisal against business and personal objectives, corporate values, technical and leadership competencies and individual development plans. Consistent standards of performance across our global organization provide us with significant organizational intelligence for targeting developmental opportunities and objectively rewarding and recognizing performance achievement.

Through Hasbro University, we offer a multitude of leadership and employee development programs. Learning and development play an important role in Hasbro’s desire to continually improve the performance of our global workforce. A sampling of some of our Hasbro University programs include:

• Within the Schools of Professional Development and Technical/Operational Development we have programs such as business productivity software, foreign language instruction, business writing and presentation skills, etc., based upon organizational need and individual development priorities. These are offered throughout the year at our global headquarters in Pawtucket, RI, U.S., our European main office at Stockley Park, UK, Hasbro Far East in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China, Hasbro Games in East Longmeadow, MA, U.S. and Wizards of the Coast in Renton, WA, U.S. We also have a core program, Experiencing Hasbro, which is designed for all employees to better understand how all of our functions come together to deliver great concepts to the store shelf.
• Hasbro University Online offers an extensive library of interactive courses ranging from business management and business fundamentals, project management, design and media, and other courses through a corporate partnership with element K.
• The Schools of Management Development and Leadership Development include an internally developed management curriculum consisting of:
  • Managing People and Performance:
    A Hasbro manager’s foundation course providing participants with insight on establishing the right performance objectives, coaching, and fairly and accurately evaluating employee performance.
  • Leading At Hasbro:
    This course builds upon the foundation skills covered in MD 101, providing managers with a powerful learning experience that aligns strategic goals and leadership passion with talent management responsibilities to achieve business focused results for Hasbro.
  • Several “electives” that are offered to individuals and teams across the business. For example, Introduction to Management, Leading Change, and Leadership 360.
• Beyond the classroom environment, Hasbro has developed and successfully instituted a number of executive education programs by combining the best academic thinking on leadership with experiential learning. Some of our noteworthy offerings include:
  • Hasbro Global Leadership Development Program @ Tuck
    This initiative was introduced in August 2003 and designed and co-facilitated with the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Participants at Tuck are representative of Hasbro’s rich global diversity. The custom curriculum provides Hasbro’s global emerging and established leaders a forum to engage in a seminar format learning experience on a variety of topics including strategy, branding, emerging market trends, business ethics and social responsibility. Each class is divided into action learning project teams with responsibility to research and recommend business solutions for an assigned topic of strategic significance to Hasbro. Many of the recommended action plans have been adopted and institutionalized. Over 150 Hasbro leaders have participated in this program since inception. While on hiatus in 2007-2008, the Tuck program will be reinstituted in 2009.
  • High Performance Leadership (HPL)
    This program is the result of a recommendation of a Tuck action learning project. Participants represent a variety of functional disciplines and global diversity who are already demonstrating good commercial understanding and have potential for increased leadership roles within the Company. The program consists of a “live” action learning project where the group is placed into an unclear and challenging business environment, from which they must propose a recommended course of action for the company. The program includes specific components on individualized leadership and team coaching; Authentic Leadership; business ethics, integrity and legal requirements in emerging/underserved markets; corporate philanthropy and community relations. This program was launched in June 2007 when a group of 15 participants was placed in an emerging/underserved market, immersed in the local culture and business environment, and challenged with assessing the commercial viability for a Hasbro business and recommending a “go to market” plan, if warranted.
  • Inspirational Leadership
    A new program in 2008, this highly experiential classroom- based program takes executives through the five practices of exemplary leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart. This program is a key component to helping leadership teams lead through change and transformation – and continue to build excellence within their function.
• HELp and Outward Bound
  HELp and Outward Bound are both experiential leadership development programs using a combination of outdoor physical challenges, group discussions and individualized coaching. HELp, introduced in Europe in 2007, has already had approximately 60 participants. Outward Bound, introduced in 2002 by Hasbro Far East for employees in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, has developed almost 170 employees, about 25% of the workforce. Both programs focus on key development areas including self-knowledge, leadership, teamwork, self-reliance, accountability and ability to transcend self-imposed limits.