Some of the most impactful experiences for college students are when guest speakers come to their classrooms and share insights from their working fields. They provide many fantastic growing opportunities and discoveries to be made for students. And it’s a big deal when a guest speaker takes the time to fly across the seas to share career advice with a class.
Hannah Ashiokai Akrong, ’06 MHRIR alumna, flew in from Ghana to deliver a guest lecture in Professor Connie Wanberg’s class on Friday, April 8th. She shared a presentation about Training, Development, and Diversity Programs at Vodafone, the tech company she works for in Ghana.
The students in Wanberg’s class were able to take away great new global HR perspectives from Akrong’s presentation, along with discover how their studies may apply after graduation. Student Rachel Koza says, “I really appreciated Hannah flying in to do this presentation for us. It was fascinating to hear about all of her experiences with Vodafone and how she uses what we learn in the classroom in her job every day.”
During her presentation, Akrong described the goals of Vodafone and how HR is a central aspect of the company. She shared that Vodafone’s goal is to create “a dynamic workforce that is future ready and builds future-proof leaders.” They do this through leadership development pipeline programs, ongoing skill-based learning, fostering a learning culture, and using spirit pillars. These examples highly resonated with the students. Paige Van Pelt says, “What impressed me was their “growing the people” strategy. Akrong shared that this company understands that learning is a continuous process that never ends; therefore, they work to create an environment where all employees can be themselves and thrive.”
Akrong delivered a successful and passionate presentation that demonstrated how HR can be used to pave the way for better working environments in the future. Student Vitaly Brown says, “Akrong was professional and very knowledgeable in how Vodafone’s mission/goal was maintained and how it affected the company. She was excited about how Vodafone is in the leading force for their Human Resources department and is constantly learning how to treat and develop their workers better.” The students were inspired by these global HR strategies. Isabel Allen says, “I think there are many companies in the U.S. who could implement a program similar to Vodafone’s and it would attract many people who are looking to continue their careers.”
The students’ takeaways from Akrong’s presentation may guide their careers and future goals. Grace Olson says, “I like the advice she gave about raising your hand for a role before it even becomes available so your superiors and coworkers know of your interest, and you can begin learning specific skills for the role you wish to have. This way, you are prepared when the job does become available.” This is advice that many of the students can implement in their futures.
We’d like to extend a big thank you to Akrong for flying in and giving her time to speak to Wanberg’s class!