The Hirdaramani Group recently held a graduation ceremony to recognize employees who successfully completed the company’s 2014/2015 Leadership Development Programme (LDP). 
At the event, special awards were presented to high performers who excelled in the programme, and the fourth edition of the LDP was launched for a new batch of over 200 employees. 


The Hirdaramani Leadership Development Programme was launched in 2012 as part of the CARE (Career Awareness Resources to Excel) platform, and aims to support the development and career advancement of employees throughout thegroup. The ALDP programme was initiated thereafter in 2015, to ensure the ongoing development of LDPgraduates, and all graduates of the extension programme were also felicitated at the event. 
The ceremony was attended by the directors andsenior management of the Hirdaramani Group, along with employees from all business units. T. BuddikaRathne, was awarded the ‘Overall Achiever’ and award for the ‘Best Innovation’, Mohamad Amjadh was recognized as the 1st Runner up and won‘Best Original Idea’ whilst Mahesh Pushpakumara was recognized as the 2nd Runner up. Shanaka Fernando received the ‘Best Environmental Impact’ award, whilst Indika Nawagamuwage won the award for ‘Best Customer Centric Project’. 


Approximately 40 percent of graduates from the 2012 batch have obtained promotions within the workplace, and 15 percent of graduates from the 2013 batch have also advanced in their careers. The projects implemented by the 2014/2015 batch as part of the final stage of their training, have also already yielded a quantifiable financial impact on the company’s operations. 
The Leadership Programme is a combination of self-learning, trainer driven workshops, educational forums, assessments and work related projects, all aimed at developing core leadership skills. As part of the final stage of the training, the participants have to develop and implement a project within their actual work environment. 



Commenting on the programme, Vidusha Nathavitha
rana, Destiny Architect, High 5 Consultancy stated, “The programme is designed to measure ROI and value addition to the company, so the results for both Hirdaramaniand its employees are very real and even though employees are nominated to participate based on theirpotential, they then have to earn their place by making it through each stage of avery rigorous programme. This requires a great deal of commitment from each individual and really pushes them, bringing out their skills and capabilities. In return for the commitment shown by its employees, Hirdaramani continues to invest in this process, the introduction of the Advanced Leadership Development Programme (ALDP) as an extension of the LDP is yet another example of this.”



Commenting on Hirdaramani’s commitment to training, Chamindra Perera Dassanayake, Group Head of Human Resources, Hirdaramani stated, “We strive to empower our employees by giving them the opportunity to enhance their analytical thinking, decision making and leadership capabilities in their specific job roles. We believe that a title should never hold an employee back, and we encourage everyone to reach above and beyond their responsibilities to truly deliver an exceptional performance in the workplace.”  
As part of its effort to build the next generation of capable, confident and motivated leaders, the Hirdaramani Group continuously invests in the development of employees across all levels of the organization. Each year, members of the senior management nominate employees with high potential to participate in the rigorous training programme. 
The training sessions are spread out over several months, and participants have to balance their ongoing workloads and pass assessment modules to remain in the programme. “Your Company, Your Future” is the slogan that drives Hirdaramani’s HR approach as it embodies the management’s recognition that employees are an integral part of innovation and success at Hirdaramani.