~ Much sought-after National HR Conference to Kick off on 6 & 7 June 2018 

IPM Sri Lanka – the nation's leader in human resources management – today announced that the much sought-after event - The IPM National Human Resources Conference 2018 will be held on Wednesday, 6^th & Thursday, 7^thJune at the BMICH in Colombo under the theme of ‘Transformation of HR in the Digital World’.

IPM's NHRC is the largest HR conference in South Asia and the conference is expected to attract around 1,000 local and foreign participants. The Chief Guest at the IPM NHRC 2018 will be Hon. Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication & Digital Infrastructure of Sri Lanka.

The keynote address of the Conference will be delivered by Mark. G. Prothero – The Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives. A lineup of eminent speakers including Dr. Kazuo Yano (Workplace happiness through digitalization), 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 energizing people in a digital workplace) will share their insights during the multiple technical sessions of the Conference. The scheduled Q&As 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.

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

The second panel discussion on the topic of “Transition of Industrial/Employee Relations in the Digitalized World” will be moderated by Dhammika Fernando - Executive General Manager, Tropical Findings (Pvt) Ltd. The panelists include Dittha De Alwis - Senior

Assistant Director General and Head of Litigation -the Employers‟ Federation of Ceylon, A. Sarveswaran - Senior Lecturer and Director, Legal Research Unit, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo and Milanga Weerakkody – Deputy Commissioner, Labour Enforcement.

Addressing the media gathering, President IPM Sri Lanka 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 behavior.

“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 organizations,” said Prof. Dharmasiri.

This is the context in which the 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 business are structured and managed. As such HR specialists are challenged to seek and adapt into the constantly shifting organizational 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” endeavors to reorient the HR community by enlightening them on the changing HR landscape that is influenced by digitization, made further complex by the cultural and generational workforce diversity, war for talent and customer demands,” said  Priyankara Seneviratne, Chairman – NHRC 2018.

The National HR Conference 2018 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 and receptive to the workplace challenges of tomorrow. This much sought-after annual event is coinciding with National HR Exhibition, Great HR Practices, Great HR Awards, the Great HR Debate scheduled to be held on 6 & 7 June 2018 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

The “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 organizations. The Great HR Debate 2018 is open to all public and private sector organizations that are eager to showcase the intellectual capital they possess. The Great HR Awards 2018 is part of an exclusive awards programme that endeavors to recognize 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 Leader’s Award.

The National HR Exhibition 2018 taking place on 06 and 07 June showcases how the new digital life and workplace 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 organizations 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.

P.G. Tennakoon, Chief Executive Officer of IPM Sri Lanka expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders and partners on behalf of the 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 organizing a first-class technical conference and a pleasing social experience for all participants. I also wish to place on record 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 to 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 Development of the Human Resource Management Profession through a process of conducting professional examinations, seminars/workshops, conferences, HR consultancy and research studies.

Photo caption: (Above) IPM Sri Lanka President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri addressing the gathering

[caption id="attachment_44966" align="alignnone" width="775"] IPM NHRC Organizing Team[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_44967" align="alignnone" width="775"] Sponsors of NHRC 2018[/caption]