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Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Monday, 12 June 2017 01:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
IPM Sri Lanka President
Q: What is IPM Sri Lanka?
A: First and foremost, IPM Sri Lanka is a professional body dealing with the subject matter of human resource management. It is also an education institute offering human resource management courses from the entry level to the professional level. IPM qualifications are considered a de-facto standard related to HRM. We are the only professional HR body incorporated by an Act of Parliament of Sri Lanka. We reach out to students and HR professionals dispersed throughout the country through our business school expanding its branches in regional capitals of Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle, Matara, Gampaha and Negombo.
The multitude of events such as workshops, conferences, seminars that we regularly organise provide opportunities to our membership to network, exchange thoughts and ideas, share experiences and insights, and work towards a better people management experience for all concerned. The IPM National Human Resource Conference which is IPM’s annual flagship event is a good example of such an event.
We are governed by an Executive Council elected annually by the membership which manages the affairs of IPM while the operations are handled by a competent secretariat led by a Chief Operations Officer and staff.
Q: What are IPM’s future plans?
A: Our vision is to be a guiding force and global leader in developing and managing human capital. Our mission is to develop innovative practices for unleashing human potential. IPM values are Courage (being different, creative, innovative), Integrity (ethical, honest and sincere in all dealings), Passion (inner drive for world-class service excellence) and Mastery (being proficient in what we do). You will find the acronym CIPM in our values. The C is the charter status we are looking forward to gain in making our institute Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM).
Our strategic focus is to obtain the Charter status for human resource management. The Charter will help to increase the value of our HR professionals while bestowing a significantly higher level of industry recognition from a local, regional and global perspective. This would also help IPM to establish Sri Lanka as the regional hub of expertise for HR and expand its footprint overseas. Furthermore, with the Chartered status Sri Lanka would be in a stronger position to attract overseas HR professionals while making a case for attracting multinationals to set up their regional and global operational hubs in Sri Lanka.
Q: How can IPM improve the professional standards?
A: As you see, the vision mission, values and goals of IPM focus on the raising of professional standards in human resource management and development of the human resource management profession through a process of conducting professional examinations, seminars/workshops, conferences, HR consultancy and research studies.
Human Resource practitioners are responsible for shaping and developing Human Resource Management in an organisation, which is pivotal not only for organisational success, but for the overall development of the nation. From its humble beginnings in 1959, IPM Sri Lanka has developed to being the leading Human Resource authority in Sri Lanka, focusing on proactively meeting the needs of the HR practitioner. Through the years, IPM has adapted to the many changes and developments in Human Resource Management, remaining committed to upholding the highest standards in the profession.
IPM is constantly working on maintaining and raising the professional standards in Human Resources Management and the development of the Human Resources Management profession, which is achieved through conducting professional examinations, seminars and workshops, conferences, research studies and providing HR consultancy.
Q: What role does IPM play in the HR education sector?
A: IPM conducts education courses in HR from entry level certificate courses for school leavers to professional and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses. The IPM Business School offers many professional level qualifications including CPD courses in order to keep professionals up to date on HR related matters. We have also entered into a strategic partnership with the Salford Business School of Manchester, UK to offer B. Sc and M. Sc in Human Resource Management.
All our course syllabi are well researched and take into consideration the industry needs and the employability of the graduands which is a key factor. All syllabi and course material are finalised by a committee comprising academics, experienced professionals, consultants and lecturers in order to maintain balanced and relevant curricula.
Q: What role does IPM play in the corporate HR sector?
A: Our membership consists of than 1,000 active members who represent the HR profession as practicing professionals and academics that enjoy a very high level of acceptance in the corporate sector. As such, we are closely linked with the needs and wants of the corporate and industrial sector.
Furthermore, IPM also encourages our members to deepen their linkages with the industry by studying real life situations by way of HR research activities. IPM facilitates the industry linkages with the Annual IPM Research Symposium. The IPM Research Symposium is an ideal platform for presenting such research efforts and findings to the industry.
Q: What role does IPM play in the regional and global HR space?
A: IPM has a very high regional acceptance and was recently elected as the Vice President of the prestigious Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM) which is a constituent of the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA). IPM’s flagship professional qualification PQHRM (Professional Qualification in Human Resource Management) was recently accredited by the APFHRM as a regionally acceptable professional HR qualification which signifies the high quality of the course as well as the high esteem that IPM is held as a professional body.
Q: What are the relationships that IPM has with other professional associations both here and overseas?
A: It is important to establish and nurture relationships with other likeminded institutes and professional bodies which pave the way for sharing of knowledge, thoughts and ideas. These types of relationships will not only help to charter a common course for Sri Lanka as a nation, but will also create opportunities to ‘combine forces’ so to speak in order to be synergistic in taking the country forward to achieve our dreams.
In this regard, we are honoured to be a member of the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) of Sri Lanka and support them in their activities. In fact, we are pleased to note that the President-Elect of the OPA is an active and fellow member of IPM.
From a regional and global perspective, IPM is proud to be associated with the APFHRM as an active member and Vice President. IPM is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK (CIPD) which is a global professional association for human resource management professionals.
Q: IPM is organising the National Human Resource Conference 2017. Please explain the significance of this event.
A: The IPM National Human Resource Conference is South Asia’s largest HR conference and attracts over 1,000 participants including overseas participants. We have invested a significant amount of effort in organising this event to make it as productive, interesting and high value adding as possible for the attendees. An impressive lineup of eminent speakers and resource personnel will share thoughts and insights in HR related topics thereby helping to uplift the people management experience to a higher level.
The organising committee of the NHRC 2017 headed by Ken Vijaykumar, who is the Hon. Secretary of the IPM Executive Council, has put together many activities to provide a full agenda over two days for the attendees. The conference will be held on 20 and 21 June at the BMICH, Colombo.
At a time when we are increasingly challenged by a multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-skilled workforce, the role of HR professionals is becoming increasingly critical. They have to think and act as leaders and not as laggards. Such emerging HR leaders have to be ‘tech-savvy’ in reaping the dividends of digitalisation, on one hand. On the other hand, they have to be ‘touch-savvy’ in recognising the emotions of engaged employees. Thus, the challenging balance between high-tech and high-touch is right in front of the HR leaders. They have to be authentic in producing value by practicing values in such an enormous endeavour. My topic and address at the conference will be on ‘Touch Savvy HR Leaders – Caring, Daring and Sharing’.
The NHRC 2017 with its apt theme of ‘Emerging HR Leaders: High Tech & High Touch’ will no doubt add value to the role, understanding and value of technology from an HR perspective.
The keynote address of the Conference will be delivered by Dr. Ravi Fernando on the topic ‘Emerging HR Leaders & their role in Driving Strategy’. The lineup of eminent speakers including Dr. Saman Vimalaratne (HR Analystics to Optimise ROI), Dr. Raj Raghavan (Managing Innovative and Disruptive Talent in High Tech Companies), Mara Tolia (Working Out Loud and Future of Work) and Esther Makintosh (Developing a New Generation of Youth Employees for Growth Sector of the Sri Lankan Economy) will share their insights during the multiple technical sessions of the conference.
