SriLankan Airlines bags ‘Best HR Strategy in line with Business Strategy’ Award

Tuesday, 19 August 2014 02:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

At Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2014 SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, was awarded the prestigious ‘Best HR Strategy in line with Business Strategy’ award at the fifth edition of Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards, recently. Held at Pan Pacific Hotel, Marina Square in Singapore last week, the award ceremony was organised by the Employer Branding Institute together with the World HRD Congress and Stars of the Industry Group and was endorsed by the Asian Confederation of Businesses. The awards acknowledged more than 100 organisations across Asia that demonstrated excellence in building their brands and identities as employers, visible through their human resource practices, policies and strategies. SriLankan emerged the winner of the category following an overall assessment that evaluated the company’s learning and development initiatives,

distinctiveness in employee hiring, training and retention practices and continuous innovation. The national carrier has been increasingly focussing on workforce management to suit the trends and dynamics of the aviation industry, mainly through business partnering. SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe said, “SriLankan’s greatest asset has always been its workforce, and this award is dedicated to all employees who have demonstrated their dedication, perseverance and professionalism in achieving the Airline’s goals.” SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena said, “SriLankan Airlines is proud to receive such an honour, which reinforces our commitment to creating a healthy and dynamic working environment that inspires our employees to reach their full potential.” As a global leader in service, SriLankan has initiated a program to select a pool of successors from the company’s high performers, to fulfil the future management and leadership needs of the organisation. Further, the Airline maintains a knowledge management system to collect and share knowledge of the organisation for business continuity and also initiates many strategies for employee knowledge and product enhancement. SriLankan Airlines Head of Human Resources Pradeepa Kekulawala said, “The award reflects our dedication to continuously initiate different strategies to keep our employees motivated, engaged and productive. Our theme and focus has been to promote harmony, innovation, productivity and engagement. The next three years will be dedicated to introducing and anchoring HR best practices to ensure equipped leadership skills and competencies to propel the organisation in its onward journey towards becoming the “most preferred airline in Asia.” Some of the eminent personalities who were part of the jury included the Global Chairman of the World HRD Congress, Michael McDonald; the Global Chairman of the Asia Pacific HRM Congress, Professor Tom Hilton; and the President of the Foundation for Liberal & Management Education as well as India’s Iconic HR Leader, Professor Indira Parikh, among others.