National HR Conference 2015 concludes on a high note

Panel discussion

South Asia’s largest HR Conference – the National HR Conference 2015 – organised by the nation’s premier professional body for human resource management, IPM Sri Lanka, concluded successfully on 17 June. 

Over 900 delegates including participants from several overseas countries such as India, Bangladesh, Japan and UK attended the two day conference which was held at the BMICH in Colombo. The theme of the conference ‘HR for National Prosperity: Insights, Initiatives and Implications’ was very opportune and timely considering that Sri Lanka’s economy is poised on a high growth trajectory.    

The conference was meticulously planned and organized to international standards right from the concept to its conclusion which ensured that the participants were able to take away new knowledge pertaining to modern HR practices. The top notch speakers and resource personnel from the private and public sector in Sri Lanka as well as from overseas added value to the conference with their knowledge and insights into the practical aspects of managing and nurturing human resources in the workplace.

Providing a Bangladeshi and South Asian perspective to human capital management, the chief guest of the conference Musharrof Hossain, the present President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resources Management and Chairman Bangladesh Society for Human Resource Management (BSHRM), encouraged all concerned to focus on training and developing the relatively large proportion of unskilled labour available and integrate them in to the mainstream value adding areas in the economy.

Delivering the keynote address, top entrepreneur and innovator, Micro Holdings and Micro Cars Ltd. Chairman and CEO Dr. Lawrence Perera stated that although the risk of attrition exists, extensive training and development of the younger employees will help organisations to achieve higher rates of growth due to their inherent ability to work hard and work smart. 

“We are extremely happy that we could disseminate HR-related best practices from around the world and new knowledge to the participants of the National HR Conference 2015. The carefully selected topics and technical sessions including the panel discussion were very relevant to Sri Lanka’s positioning as a high growth economy, and these were well received by the audience,” said Rohitha Amarapala, President, IPM Sri Lanka. 

“Excellent participation as well as the line-up of high calibre resource personnel made the conference outstanding” said NHRC 2015 Conference Chair Dr. Ajantha Dharmasiri – Director, Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) and Councillor of IPM Sri Lanka.  

The technical sessions comprised of various HR related topics presented by eminent personalities of academia and practicing HR professionals. These were ‘Why HR for National Prosperity? A Global Perspective’ by Prof. Raghavan Sirinivasan – Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore, ‘Why HR for National Prosperity? A Sri Lankan Perspective’ by Dr. Chandra Embuldeniya – Consultant, Higher Education, ‘Engaging the Fickle Mind’ by Ranjan De Silva – Consulting Partner, Sensei International and ‘Changing Face of Reward – A Global Perspective’ by C. Hewapaththini – Senior Human Resources Specialist, The Saudi Investment Bank. 

Each session was followed by Q&A at which the audience was able to interact with the speakers with their questions and clarifications.  The encouragingly high level of audience interaction during the Q&A sessions was evidence of the interest that the resource persons were able to create with their well-researched, thought provoking content. 

An interesting panel discussion moderated by Janaka Kumarasinghe – Director HR Services, Kent Ridge Ltd. on the topic ‘How HR for National Prosperity? Public-Private Initiative Sharing’ gave the audience an insight into the importance of unleashing the true potential of people which is vital for strengthening of the institution, and thereby achieving national prosperity. The panel comprised of practicing senior HR professionals and academics from Sri Lanka as well as overseas.

Alongside the main Conference and the sessions, the final round of The Great HR Debate 2015, People Leaders’ Awards 2015, HR Excellence Awards 2015 and the HR Service Providers Exhibition were part of an interesting and diverse agenda which kept the delegates occupied and enthralled throughout the two days.   

IPM Sri Lanka keeps pace with the new trends and concepts in HR by engaging continuously with the business community to share experiences, thoughts and insights in order to enrich and enhance the HR profession.     

Founded by a group of HR professionals in 1959, IPM was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. Its affiliation with the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and the World Federation of People Management Association has helped IPM to enter into the international arena. 

With over 900 professional members serving in both public and private sector organisations, IPM is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) Sri Lanka. IPM is the only HR body in Sri Lanka which is recognised as a professional institute by the OPA.