National HR Conference-2009:

Transforming employees to extraordinary innovators

M. N. Jayanta Jayaratne - Management Consultant, Past President of Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka, Past Vice President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management

The Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka held its mega event for the year “NATIONAL HR CONFERENCE “ on June 23-24 at the BMICH. This flagship event attracted nearly 600 participants including the Chairman, Chief Executive Officers, Heads of HR and line managers from leading public and private sector organizations. It was an exceptionally well organized conference.

The National HR Conference is an annual event organized by the IPM (SL) to discharge its prime responsibility of promoting and developing the principles, techniques and practices of Human Resource Management. It focuses on current HR issues of vital importance at organizational and national level. The theme of the conference was “People Drive Business” but having considered the current global financial crisis and the economic recession, this year’s conference endeavored to stimulate thinking and find answers to the global crisis through “People Factor”.

The President of IPM Sri Lanka Lalith Wijetunge in his welcome speech redefined “The role of HR practitioner” in the context of the current Sri Lanka scenario. Quoting the famous HR Guru Prof.Dave Ulrich, he said that the Human Resource specialist should be a strategic partner in Business. However, he said time has now dawned for HR practitioner to become “a Corporate Leader” and beyond that to transform this role to “ a Nation Builder”. He submitted HR professional should find ways and means of contributing to the national effort of nation building and national integration. He announced the three dimensional “IPM Action Plan” to support this mementous national effort.

* Skills Development and Socio-psychological intervention to overcome traumatic experience of internally displaced people.

* Enhance Employability of disabled soldiers and families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives.

* Establishing IPM centres in North and Eastern provinces to manage academic and professional activities.

The Chief Guest President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and National President Chairman of Australian Human Resource Institute Peter Wilson using research findings made an analysis of causes and characteristics the global financial crisis and its impact on HR and pointed out that innovative HR strategies could be used to achieve a win-win situation.

Prof Julian Birkinshaw on “Reinventing Management for 21st Century” citing recent corporate failures said that modern management has failed the need for innovation in Management and enhancing the employee engagement level in that he provided a framework for rethinking management whilst evaluating different management models and pointed out the need to develop one’s own management model.

The live presentation on innovation through People: Re-thinking the role of HR in corporate innovation via Satellite by, Global Business strategist and Best selling author and an expert on radical innovation Prof. Rowan Gibson said the audience by stating that the most corporate cultures do not foster innovation and they have failed in encouraging innovation in their organization.

He said the urgent need to make innovation a pervasive and corporate wide capability, calling for new structures that actively foster cross-boundary reaction and that distribute responsibility and expertise for innovation throughout the company.

He proposed making innovation as a part of enterprise capability through leadership and structures; processes and tools; people and skills and culture and values. He espoused the importance and need for each employee to get in involved and be responsible for innovation.

The Company’s corporate innovation system should shape employee as a innovator and more importantly, trained him/her as a business innovator. Prof. Gibson argued that ordinary employees can really become extra-ordinary innovators through the right training, the right tools the, right motivation and the right mechanisms.

The Human Resources will be able to help and play an important role in organizations to unleash full potential for wealth creation that is latent in its human capital. It could be done primarily in two ways; firstly, HR to add value by creating a company culture where everyone is responsible for innovation, secondly, companies that want to make innovation a core competence should ensure that HR builds objectives into its recruitment and reward strategies.

He said that what is needed was huge and permanent transition-a metamorphosis from a culture based on Managing and controlling people to a culture based on unleashing brain power removing barriers setting up seed funds and fostering collaboration.

The interactive session with Prof. Julian Birkinshaw moderated by Managing Director Cornocopia Lanka Ltd, Dinesh Weerakkody provided an opportunity to participants to clarify certain issues in his presentation in the morning and also role of HR in the modern business world.

At this session, it was revealed that in view the collapse of corporates during the global financial crisis on Many Business models have failed . Prof. Birkinshaw admitted that in replicating same in Asian countries many not be the best option and it is advisable to build our own models to suit local requirements and demands Prof.Birkinshaw agreed with Prof.Dave Ulrich prognosis made in 1998 “that HR is very much wanted now more than ever” because managing the people factor will effectively provide sustainable competitive advantage to organizations.

The award of IPM Gold medal to the” Most Outstanding HR professional-2009 “ is a significant item in the agenda of events. This is a lifetime award. It recognizes the performance and contribution made by the applicant during his/her entire professional career in Key result areas of Human Resource Management. The criteria of selection were the applicants contribution to the organization he/she was employed; contribution at National Level and contribution to IPM SL . These three main dimensions comprised 14 sub criteria on this basis an eminent panel of Judges evaluated each applicant and made the final selection.

The Pre-Conference session on the First day commenced with “Young HR Minds- A learning forum A new feature introduced last year is to encourage young HR professionals to share their knowledge and experience in broad learning platform.

The second part of Pre conference session was the case study presentation by Unilevers on “Employer-Employee partnership to strengthen human capability”. This Blue collor Job categorization project completed in 2008 covers transformation of limited career opportunities; constrained promotion, salary enhancement on seniority into a modern system of skill training to meet organizational and individual requirements, enhanced career opportunities and pay on performance in 575 unionised employees.

This unique effort accomplished in collaboration of the commercial and industrial workers union was beneficial for the employees as well as the company on enhancement of employee capability , performance and productivity in manufacturing industry.

This presentation generated a great deal of interest among delegates due to the pragmatic nature of the project.