IPM NHRC 2018 to explore the transformation of HR in the digital world

An interview with the Chairman of the IPM National HR Conference 2018 Organising Committee – Priyankara Seneviratne who shares his thoughts on the importance of South Asia’s largest HR Conference and its role as a platform to disseminate and share insights on topics which are impacting people, the way they work, their managers and organisations in an increasingly digital world:

Q: What is the theme of this year’s National HR Conference (NHRC) and its importance?

A: IPM Sri Lanka, as the nation’s leader in human resource management, is always exploring ways and means of taking the HR fraternity to the next level by continuous engagement with its members and industry. The IPM NHRC 2018 can be considered as the largest HR conference in the South Asian region and is an event which is very looked forward to by the IPM membership as well as academia and students. The theme of this year’s Conference is “Transformation of HR in the Digital World” and will be held over two days from 6 to 7 June at the BMICH, Colombo. The Conference will bring the numerous HR stakeholders in the industry to one common platform in order to exchange and share insights from respected overseas and local experts. In keeping with the theme, the Chief Guest at the IPM NHRC 2018 will be Minister of Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando.     

Q: Please explain the objectives of organising the IPM National HR Conference 2018.

A: Digitalisation and the capacity for innovation it brings with it are enormous and far reaching affecting day to day lives at work, home and society in general. When understood and made use of in the correct perspective, it of  great opportunities for higher efficiencies, new and efficient methods of interacting and doing work. The main objective of the IPM NHRC 2018 is to prepare the HR fraternity to understand the opportunities and prepare them for the changes that are inevitably coming with an increasingly digital world. The Conference will also be a platform to extend personal networks both locally as well as overseas, exchange and discuss ideas, share experiences and insights on digital initiatives.   

   Q: Is there a link between IPM NHRC 2017 and 2018? 

A: The theme for the IPM NHRC 2017 was centred on digitalisation, disruption, diversity and design. This year’s NHRC is in fact a continuation of the focus on understanding the digital world and the opportunities that it offers for collaboration in the workplace, home and society especially from an HR perspective.   

Q: What are the other events coinciding with the IPM NHRC 2018?

A: We have organised several interesting events which coincide with IPM NHRC 2018. The grand final of the IPM Great HR Debate, which is Sri Lanka’s only corporate debating competition dedicated to HRM will be held in the afternoon of 6 June soon after the inauguration of the Conference. The winner of the IPM Great HR Practices competition will be presenting and sharing their unique corporate HR initiative which has been instrumental in providing a unique advantage to the organisation from an HR perspective. The IPM National HR Exhibition will be held alongside the Conference on both days which will give the Conference participants an opportunity to assess and experience the various HR related solutions including those with digital disruption capabilities. The IPM Great HR Awards ceremony which recognises and honours unique and passionate individuals who have excelled in the field of HR and contributed to the betterment of the HR fraternity, will also be held on the inaugural day of the Conference.        

Q: What is unique about the NHRC 2018 as against previous NHRCs?

A: The IPM NHRC 2018 has many unique features. One important and noteworthy feature is the participation of the Presidents/senior representatives of the national HR bodies of those respective countries who are also members of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM) namely India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia and Maldives will be participating at the IPM NHRC 2018. The APFHRM recognises the pioneering efforts of IPM SL in organising this type of inclusive Conference and has endorsed it as a value adding event for the HR fraternity. The Presidents/senior representatives will also share their experiences and insights during the technical sessions and the panel discussions.   

Q: Who is the keynote speaker at the IPM NHRC 2018?

A: The keynote address will be delivered by the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC for Sri Lanka and Maldives Mark G. Prothero. HSBC is a global digital bank. We have a lot to learn from HSBCs experiences in managing and motivating people across all their geo locations where digitalisation maturity is at different levels. We believe as the keynote speaker, Mark will be able to add much value to the Conference. 

Q: Who are the other speakers lined up to speak?

A: Chairman of the Technical Committee of the NHRC 2018 U.A.C. Obeysekere together with his team has lined up eminent and experienced resource personnel from Sri Lanka as well as overseas as speakers and panellists at the four technical sessions as well as the two panel discussions. They will present and discuss interesting topics focusing on the Conference theme of Transformation of HR in the Digital World. These sessions too will add much value to the Conference. At the technical sessions, Dr. Kazuo Yano (Corporate Office/Corporate Chief Scientist at Hitachi Ltd, Japan) will speak on “Workplace Happiness through Digitalization”, Dr. Danushka Bollegala (Associate Professor in AI, University of Liverpool, UK) will speak on “Changing HR Landscape in the Digital Age”, Dr. D. Prasanth Nair (Managing Partner and Country Head, Inhelm Leadership Solutions) will speak on “Leveraging AI in HR” while Ms. Claudia Cadena (Founder and Principal Consultant, Thread Advisory) will speak on “Aligning and Energizing People in a Digital Workplace”. 

The 1st panel discussion will be on the topic “Future of HR in the World of Digitalization” with Somesh Gupta (National President, NIPM India), Kanwer A. Saeed (VP-Pakistan Society of HRM), Md. Musharrof Hossain (Founder President, Federation of Bangladesh HR Organizations, President-Bangladesh Society for HRM, Immediate Past President-APFHRM), J. Aresandiran (President-Malaysian Institute of HRM) and Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri (President-IPM Sri Lanka) as panellists which will be moderated by Jayanta Jayaratna (Management Consultant). The topic for the 2nd panel discussion will be “Transition of Industrial/Employee Relations in the Digitalized World” with Diththa De Alwis (Senior Asst. Director General and Head of Litigation-The Employees Federation of Ceylon), A. Sarveswaran (Senior Lecturer and Director Legal Research Unit-Faculty of Law, University of Colombo) and Milanga Weerakkody (Deputy Commissioner of Labor-Enforcement) as panelists with Dhammika Fernando (Executive General Manager-Tropical Findings Ltd).     

Q: What is the agenda of the Conference over the two days?

A: The Organising Committee of the IPM NHRC 2018 with the guidance of IPM President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri have put together an interesting agenda for the participants, which will no doubt keep them engaged during the entire proceedings. The IPM National HR Exhibition 2018 will start at 10 a.m. on Wednesday 6 June and will be kept open for participants over the entire duration of the Conference. The IPM NHRC2018 inauguration ceremony will be held in the afternoon of the 6th with the participation of the IPM Sri Lanka President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri, CEO of IPM Sri Lanka P. G. Tennakoon, IPM Executive Council Members, speakers and resource personnel, Chief Guest, special invitees in the presence of participating IPM Sri Lanka members and local/foreign delegates. The proceedings of the IPM NHRC 2018 Main Conference will conclude on Thursday 7 June with the networking and fellowship cocktails at the same venue. The technical sessions and panel discussions will be held on Day 2 of the Conference. A detailed agenda covering the entire two days is available at the IPM Sri Lanka website www.ipmlk.org.      

Q: How many participants are you expecting at this Conference?

A: As the largest HR Conference in South Asia, we are expecting over 1,000 participants at the IPM NHRC 2018. We have registrations from many foreign participants as well. 

Q: Who are the sponsors of the event?

A: This important National Conference would not have been possible in the absence of our sponsors who stepped in to make the IPM NHRC 2018 a reality. They are leading organisations in the country. The principal sponsors of the IPM NHRC 2018 are Mobitel, DailyFT, Certis Lanka, TV Derana, FM Derana, ikman.lk and Beyond Boundaries while the co-sponsors are NDB Bank, Bank of Ceylon and National Savings Bank.