Glimpses from the Conference- "New Trends in HR and Training Industry- Part 1

In April 2019, I attended a conference organized by Mr M.V.Narasimhan, Founder, National Human Resource Welfare Association (NHRWA) and Mr Kaushik Mahapatra, Founder, Indian Leadership academy at  East West Institute of Technology, Bangalore . The conference attempted to include large number of speakers with short duration talks.A wide range of speakers across industries and countries like Malasia and Vietnam  participated. It was an opportunity for the speakers to showcase their expertise and also throw light on their business.

I  propose to write about this conference in two parts (posts) given the volume of the material discussed and the large number of speakers.  Ms sweta Pundir, Head Talent & acquisition of  United breweries Ltd said that managing one's emotions and understanding other's feelings & emotions is vital in the present times. Human beings are not to be treated as just another resource but dealt with humanely. Your EQ (Emotional intelligence), the ability to perceive your feelings visavis other's feelings is reflected in the way you treat people, right from the time interviews are scheduled. One should be able to understand situations and treat others with respect. A person with high EQ is able to perceive what is going on in the heads of those with whom they interact.

A fresh, bright start to the day is very helpful. Instead of focusing on production or sales figures first thing in the morning, the team can discuss matters such  as ." What is going on in the industry? what are the current priorities of the business partners/ internal customers? HR should take the initiative to develop the EQ of the business partners and colleagues. They should work towards ensuring bigger smiles at work and fewer attrition in the company Getting employees to cultivate a happy demeanor during work should be a priority.

Ms Visitra Amirthalingam from Malaysia  spoke about the challenges of HR and training in her country which is multi racial and multicultural in nature. she highlighted this fact quoting the tourism tag line of the country-  "Malaysia Truly Asia".   Malaysia is also noted as a 'Food Paradise' where you can taste a diversity of delectable food at reasonable prices . The speaker introduced us to some common words associated with food.- A food hang out is called"Mamak" Lepak is chilling time/ pass time when food  naturally occupies prime place and the good old tea is called " Tehtarik". 

Ms Visitra spoke about the various HR professional bodies contributing to the development of human resources in the country such as MIHRM (Malaysian Institute Of Human Resource Management),

HRDF (Human Resources Development Fund), MICG( Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance) and  MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation).. Between them they focus on monitoring training programs provided through registered training providers, being vigilant against economic crashes, studying the current trends of HR all over the world and upskilling talent for the digital economy. Presently around 96% of employees use technology in their roles and there is a fear of robots stealing their jobs in future. In a survey 55% of the respondents said they are working at attaining additional skills in technology. 75% of them said they believe that they are likely to be replaced.

Ms Visitra said that the companies in Malaysia are looking to maximize team performance by paying attention to trust, commitment, process, results and communication with the leader being the fulcrum to make it all happen. Instagram videos are increasingly being used to communicate and keep team members updated. For purposes of learning, questions are posed and answered through What's app. A new question will not be entertained until the earlier questions have been satisfactorily answered. Attention is being paid to the processes to make it foolproof right from allocation of work to its completion. There is also a lot of emphasis on leadership development in the country. Towards this end, opportunities are created for wider exchange of ideas and seeking new ideas in an era of globalization.