IPM Sri Lanka re-elects Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri as President

IPM Sri Lanka, the nation’s leader in human resources management, re-elected Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri as its President at the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 29 July at the Waters Edge. Professor Dharmasiri together with the newly elected Executive Council while continuing with the many new important programs that were implemented during the previous year, has plans to embark upon many new initiatives and programs to take IPM as well as the HR fraternity to greater heights.

“I am honoured by the trust and confidence placed in me by the general membership of IPM Sri Lanka in electing me for another term. This gives us the opportunity to continue with the momentum and synergy achieved during the past year to continue on the journey of taking IPM Sri Lanka and the HR fraternity to greater heights,” said Prof. Dharmasiri. “We were able to achieve significant milestones during the past year specifically in the areas of capacity building, enhancing connections and communications, guidelines for good conduct of HR professionals and to bring about coherence in all activities carried out by IPM,” he added.

IPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. IPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Human Resources Management and also to the World Federation of People Management Association. IPM, being a professional institute is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations [OPA] Sri Lanka. Currently IPM comprises of over 1000 Professional Members who serve in both public and private organisations.

In order to raise the bar for HR professionals and to elevate IPM Sri Lanka to a professional body of international standing, IPM has applied to obtain ‘Charter’ status and is currently awaiting approval from the Parliament of Sri Lanka with the relevant Bill pending for the second reading. The Charter status of IPM Sri Lanka (CIPM) will help to build capacity and position Sri Lanka as an alternative regional capital to host international businesses and their regional offices. The Charter status is expected to be finalised and granted by an amendment to the relevant Act of Parliament in the near future.

Other initiatives in capacity building are the establishing of a separate Board of Management for the IPM Business School under a Director of Studies, strengthening research activities by the establishment of an IPM HRM Research Centre, classifying the IPM Research Symposium as an annual event to encourage research based knowledge assimilation, and publication of the IPM HRM Perspectives magazine providing insights on HRM practices. 

In order to position IPM Sri Lanka as the foremost and preferred HRM partner amongst the business and commercial sector, formal tie-ups for mutual benefit have been established with over 20 leading corporate establishments. This initiative underscores the leadership status that IPM Sri Lanka enjoys as the Nation’s leader in HRM. During the year, IPM was reappointed as Vice President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM) and IPM PQHRM (Professional Qualification in Human Resource Management) the flagship qualification of IPM received the prestigious Asia Pacific Accreditation. 

IPM also established connections with PSHRM (Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management) and MIHRM (Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management) which are two of the leading professional HR bodies in the region. Further strengthening its international connections, IPM signed up with the University of Salford, Manchester, UK to conduct its M. Sc. in HRM at IPM. A new event ‘IPM Great HR Practices’ was inaugurated with four top Sri Lankan companies providing insights to their exemplary and unique people management practices. This event was part of the proceedings of the 2017 IPM National HR Conference (NHRC) held in June at the BMICH. The 2017 NHRC had the highest number of delegates both local and foreign participating in IPM’s flagship annual event. 

As an initiative to improve governance and instil best practices, a code of conduct for HR professionals was initiated during the year.