IPM geared up for largest HR conference in South Asia

The nation’s leader in human resources management, IPM Sri Lanka, last week that the much sought-after event, the IPM National Human Resources Conference (NHRC) 2018, will be held on 6 and 7 June at the BMICH in Colombo. The theme will be ‘Transformation of HR in the Digital World’.

IPM’s NHRC is the largest HR conference in South Asia and is expected to attract around 1,000 local and foreign participants. The chief guest at IPM NHRC 2018 will be Telecommunication & Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando,.  

The keynote address of the conference will be delivered by HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives Chief Executive Officer Mark. G. Prothero. A lineup of eminent speakers including Dr. Kazuo Yano (Workplace happiness through digitalisation), Dr. Danushka Bollegala (Changing human resource landscape in the digital age), Dr. D. Prasanth Nair (Leveraging artificial intelligence in human resources) and Ms. Claudia Cadena (Aligning and energising people in a digital workplace) will share their insights during the multiple technical sessions at the conference. The scheduled Q&A’s after each session will provide ample opportunity for the audience to clarify any doubts and pose their own questions for clarification and answers by the speakers.  

Jayanta Jayaratna will moderate the first panel discussion on the timely topic of “Future of HR in the world of digitalisation”. The panelists include NIPM India President Somesh Dasgupta, PSHRM Pakistan Vice President Kanwer A. Saeed, BSHRM Bangladesh President Md. Musharrof Hossain, MIHRM Malaysia President Aresandiran Jaganatha Naidu and IPM Sri Lanka President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri.

The second panel discussion on the topic of “Transition of industrial/employee relations in the digitalised world” will be moderated by Tropical Findings Ltd. Executive General Manager Dhammika Fernando. The panelists include The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Senior Assistant Director General and Head of Litigation Dittha de Alwis, University of Colombo Faculty of Law Legal Research Unit Senior Lecturer and Director A. Sarveswaran and Labour Enforcement Deputy Commissioner Milanga Weerakkody. 

Addressing the media gathering, IPM Sri Lanka President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri opined that the theme of “Transformation of HR in the Digital World‟ was apt as Sri Lankans live in a brave new world – a ‘digital world’ that is continuously evolving and disrupting lifestyles, beliefs and behaviours.

“The proliferation of digital technologies has radically changed our lives, our communities and our workplaces, reshaping the world of work in the process, dramatically changing the way we manage, perform and interact within organisations,” said Prof. Dharmasiri.  

This is the context in which IPM Sri Lanka, being the national leader in HR, has decided to focus on this year’s national HR conference to reflect on and relate to its obligations to the nation in transforming the practice of HRM. The national HR conference is crucial for not only every HR professional in the country, but also decision-makers from CEOs to entrepreneurs as technology is evolving, assuming an increasingly greater role in the way businesses are structured and managed. As such, HR specialists are challenged to seek and adapt into the constantly shifting organisational context that surrounds them by adopting digital concepts, platforms, technologies and management style that can deliver sustainable results. 

“This year’s conference theme ‘Transformation of HR in the Digital World’ endeavours to reorient the HR community by enlightening them on the changing HR landscape that is influenced by digitisation, made further complex by the cultural and generational workforce diversity, war for talent and customer demands,” said  Chairman Priyankara Seneviratne.

The conference aims at transforming the mindset of the HR practitioners, enabling them to excel in an agile, digitally empowered operating environment and embrace the brave new ‘digital world’ whilst staying receptive to the workplace challenges of tomorrow. This much sought-after annual event is coinciding with the National HR Exhibition, Great HR Practices, Great HR Awards and The Great HR Debate scheduled to be held on 6 and 7 June at the BMICH.  

Great HR Practices, scheduled for 6 June at the BMICH, strives to share Best Practices in HR that have contributed towards achieving excellence within public and private sector organisations. The Great HR Debate is open to all public and private sector organisations that are eager to showcase the intellectual capital they possess. The Great HR Awards is part of an exclusive awards program that endeavours to recognise exemplary HR professionals: leaders, eminent practitioners and exceptional students in HR, who represent the benchmark of achievement and best practice in the sphere of HR. Among the awards on offer are: IPM Lifetime Gold Award, PQHRM HR Professional of the Year, and the IPM Sri Lanka HR Leaders’ Award. 

The National HR Exhibition taking place on 6 and 7 June showcases how the new digital life and workplace are radically shifting HR practices and processes. As Sri Lanka’s only HR exhibition, this is dedicated to the providers of HR products and services and is the ideal forum to connect with the country’s HR fraternity as many progressive organisations look to explore innovative HR technologies and solutions to replace dated processes with more efficient, state-of-the-art technology and to capture audiences comprising CEOs, top business executives, policy makers, industry experts, thought leaders, HR practitioners, etc. 

IPM Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer P.G. Tennakoon expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders and partners on behalf of IPM. 

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the president, council members, staff of IPM Sri Lanka & the chairmen of the committees of the side events for their contribution and unstinted support towards organising a first-class technical conference and a pleasing social experience for all participants. I also wish to place on record the committee’s appreciation of all the media personnel in attendance for their support in making the public aware of the National HR Conference and its impact on business.” 

Founded in 1959, the Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka (IPM) is a professional body incorporated by an Act of Parliament in1976. IPM is affiliated with the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and World Federation of Personnel Management Associations. 

The vision, mission, values and objectives of the institute focus on the raising of professional standards in human resource management and the development of the human resource management profession through a process of conducting professional examinations, seminars/workshops, conferences, HR consultancy and research studies.