The new strategy, which was drawn up after extensive consultations with staff and stakeholders and a review of the previous policy by external consultants, will ensure that ADB has the skilled and motivated people it needs to deliver the goals of Strategy 2020, its long-term development blueprint.

Our People Strategy is the latest in a series of steps taken by ADB to strengthen its operations, including the tripling of its capital base in 2009, the adoption of streamlined business processes, and the introduction of a corporate results framework to systematically monitor the delivery of clearly defined and measurable development results.

"Our People Strategy defines the principles ADB will follow in developing staff, managers and the workplace environment. It translates the corporate values laid down in Strategy 2020 into expected individual staff behavior, clarifies what ADB expects from and can offer our staff, and provides a set of indicators and targets which allow us to measure progress,” said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda.

Over the more than four decades ADB has been operating, Asia and the Pacific have made big development strides, but progress has been uneven and around 1.8 billion people still live on less than $2 a day. Given the diverse and changing needs of the region, ADB is moving to adjust and update the mix of staff it hires to reflect the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of its work.

Our People Strategy provides the framework for ensuring ADB has high caliber, motivated people with technical and interpersonal skills that match client needs, managers who are inspiring, proactive and accountable, and a workplace environment to support them.

"ADB will be recruiting a significant number of new staff, both internationally and locally over the next 3 years. To make sure we attract and retain highly skilled people with a strong commitment to our mission, we will offer them development opportunities, the satisfaction of working in a collegial environment of skilled and dedicated people, and competitive remuneration and benefits," said Mr. Kuroda.

Improvements in human resources management as a result of the previous policy review have already been made, with the incorporation of information technology to strengthen service standards, the adoption of a more systematic approach to workforce planning, the simultaneous consideration of internal and external candidates for all advertised vacancies, and other actions.

Further measures are now in the offing, including a new skills inventory tool, a comprehensive review of compensation and benefits, another staff engagement survey and the preparation of a human resources function framework that will translate the new strategy into practice.

Our People Strategy will guide ADB’s human resources management until 2015, with management regularly monitoring and reporting on its progress, as well as undertaking any necessary adjustments after 2012.