National HR Conference 2016 to enhance competitiveness among biz

From left: The Great HR Debate 2016 Chairman Himal Perera, Research Symposium 2016 Symposium Chair Dr. Bhadra J.H. Arachchige, IPM Sri Lanka Secretary C. Gannile, National HR Conference 2016 Chairman Aruna Dayanatha, IPM Sri Lanka President Rohitha Amarapala, IPM Sri Lanka Vice President Shanaka Fernando, National Human Resource Development Council of Sri Lanka Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody, IPM Sri Lanka Executive Director Peter Daabre and Service Provider’s Exhibition 2016 Chairman Col. Saman Jayawickrama

By Zahara Zuhair
IPM Sri Lanka announced that the National HR Conference (NHRC), under the theme ‘HR Ecosystem for Competitiveness’, will be held from June 21 to 22 at the Bandaranaike Memorial Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo.
It noted that this time it would feature new concepts with a number of distinguished and prominent speakers and include the HR debate, HR exhibition and an award ceremony. The newest addition will be the research symposium, showcasing the emerging trends and researches related to the world of human resources (HR).
“So far we have been elaborating on the HR concepts. This time we are going to do on a broader business perspective than HR, for example, competitiveness, creativity in innovation. It will be vital for the business community as a whole,” National HR Conference 2016 Chairman Aruna Dayanatha elaborated to Mirror Business.
“For the first time we are discussing on the ‘design thinking’ concept. Design thinking is a methodology used by companies for business innovations. It has become a high-level tool for businesses in the competitive world. What we are doing is a small enticement for the businesses to be competitive,” he said.  Talking about the challenges, he said that the biggest challenge was the firms adopting the right and most contemporary practices in HR and also maintaining the sophistication of businesses, as the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) talks about business sophistication as one of the pillars.
Noting that Sri Lanka positions at 68 on the GCI, he said that several areas should be improved by the country and firms to be sophisticated. He said that GCI cannot be enhanced without the participation of the public sector. So this time they are inviting the private sector as well for the conference which will have a special emphasis. 
Elaborating on the theme, he said, “The concept of ecosystem is where you have a lot of agents where they interact by co-operating and competing at the same time. With this, all HR practitioners will get better; we want the businesses to flourish.”
He invited all the elements of the HR system to join them and make use of the practices they are deliberating, to be competitive. 
“If people execute those it will be the success of the nation,” he said.
IPM Sri Lanka President Rohitha Amarapala said that the conference would shed light on the key areas the country’s HR system has to achieve, such as competitiveness and making it a sustainable organisation. 
Briefing about the HR debate, The Great HR Debate 2016 Chairman Himal Perera said that the public could expect a great debate among participants, which will be on different segments. He noted that 13 teams would be competing.
Enlightening about the research symposium, Research Symposium 2016 Symposium Chair Dr. Bhadra J.H. Arachchige said that it was a new development of IPM, a further acknowledgement of the dedication of IPM to promote research culture. She said that the objectives of the programme were to foster dialogue among various stakeholders and also to share knowledge on strategies and research findings.