Key panellist thoughts from MTI HR Forum 2013

The recently-held MTI HRM Forum 2013 saw a host of leading HR and management personalities engage in three panel discussions, which addressed contemporary HR issues as well as the all-important question of ‘why is it that HR professionals don’t go on to become CEOs?’ The questions raised garnered a variety of opinions and insights from the eminent panellists that represented a vast range of industries in the country.

Standard Chartered Bank Head of Human Resources Deshika Rodrigo speaking at the first panel discussion on the reason for the lack of CEOs with an HR background said it was because of the nature of the positions they hold and the methods they use to get the job done. “HR managers don’t usually go on to become CEOs because they focus so much on the soft skills of employees.” Rodrigo also concurred with the MTI HR Survey findings that suggested a separation of HR and administration for a more focused approach to managing people.

“‘Personnel’ is more of an administrative function. Things like payroll and working hours are more of an administrative function and hence such things should be outsourced and not carried out by the HR department because HR has to focus on higher strategies to drive the business.”

Unilever Sri Lanka Director Human Resources and Corporate Relations Udayan Dutt also agreed on this point, stating: “HR should be moved from the things they should not be doing such as line management function. Instead they should be focusing on the future and on driving the business further.”

Expolanka Holdings PLC Head of Group Human Resources Asitha Jayatunga addressing the issue of  a lack of a proper talent pool for large organisations to choose from, believed that social media has a big role to play for organisations to overcome this issue. “Using social media such as LinkedIn is a good way to find the right talent. Even though LinkedIn is not very popular, the quality of people on it is better. The LinkedIn ‘Recruiter module’ helps to find talent all over the world.”

One of the moderators of the discussion was MTI Middle East and Asia Senior HR Consultant Darshan Singh who offered his opinion of what it takes to create a successful HR person stated: “Identifying criteria to divert a child to the profession of HR boils down to how you deal with the child. Human ‘relations’ are important here, not human ‘resources.’”

Fonterra HR and Corporate Relations Director Roshan Kulasuriya concurred: “Organisational fit and motivational fit play a big role in identifying criteria to divert a child to the profession of HR. The values of the child are what is important in determining whether or not he is motivated to do HR.”

Epic Lanka Group of Companies Chairman and Managing Director Nayana Dehigama, who was last year’s winner of the Sri Lanka Entrepreneur of the Year award, offered his opinion on the question of HR professionals not becoming CEOs.

“It is not the business knowledge or qualification that is so important in becoming a CEO but it is the ‘business sense’ that is essential. For example a CEO can be likened to a bus driver who drives on hilly roads and comes across many muddy puddles and other obstacles on the road. He has his own strategies to overcome these obstacles but the main thing is that he has to look out the front window of the bus and move forward. Imagine what would happen if the bus driver turns around and sits facing his back to the steering wheel and his front to the passengers? This relates to HR managers who are only looking at the inside of the organisation and not focusing on the overall business.”

Dehigama added: “Are you developing talents or training capabilities? Many organisations are very job centric and they train employees only to deliver a specific job but talent is more than just an individual’s capabilities. You have to explore the person and see how you can use him or her in a different way. Today’s world is changing fast and managers need a new set of skills to cater to the dynamic world.”

MAS Active Managing Director Shirendra Lawrence speaking at one of the discussions opined that HR needs to focus on looking at employees not as resources but as individual human beings and be ready to address them on those terms in today’s corporate culture where the new generation is more socially and technologically savvy.

“Instead of doing ‘human resource development’, managers should focus more on ‘human being development’. The current generation is very demanding and managers have to study them and see how they can leverage the employees.

Involving the employees and inspiring them is essential in getting better results. Some of the managers who are older in age are sometimes not willing to learn new tricks. But CEOs have to train and help them along the way if they want to develop the skills of the existing managers.”

All in all, the forum offered many new insights and key learnings that the Sri Lankan HR sphere can use to better the quest for an improved HR culture in the country, in keeping with its planned development goals.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara