The Great HR Debate: The Only Debating Championship for the HR Community
The Great HR Debate organized annually by IPM Sri Lanka since 2011 is the only debating championship dedicated to the HR community. Consisting of 3 rounds, the Great HR Debate 2016 generated much interest and enthusiasm with the participation of several teams representing top corporate and public sector organizations including Citizens Development Business Finance PLC, Associated Motorways PLC, GlaxoSmithkline Beecham (Pvt) Ltd, Bank of Ceylon, MIDAS Safety, Melsta Regal Finance (Pvt) Ltd, MAS Bodyline and Pan Asia Bank.
The Grand Finale of the Great HR Debate was held alongside the National HR Conference 2016 on its opening day on the 21st of June 2016 at the BMICH between the finalists GlaxoSmithKline and Pan Asia Bank. Opposing the topic “In the competitive business environment, employee should be treated as a resource rather than stakeholders”, GlaxoSmithKline emerged the winners and were awarded the Great HR Debate Champion’s trophy. All participants were awarded certificates of participation acknowledging and appreciating their contribution and commitment to the debating championship.
“We experienced an interesting and informative series of debates between some of the most reputed and leading companies in Sri Lanka that brought to light many thought provoking and stimulating arguments for the betterment of the HR landscape in Sri Lanka and are happy that the quality of the debates were of a very high standard” said Himal Perera-Project Chairman, The Great HR Debate 2016.
The primary aim of the Great HR Debate is to create a mechanism to debate on issues which are important to the country’s HR ecosystem and to nurture and build an intellectually sound HR community that is capable of creating value within the HR landscape. In an era where Sri Lankan firms and companies have to compete on a regional and global scale, it is important to establish a vibrant HR ecosystem in which localized strategies for human capital based advantages can be rolled out. The Great HR Debate is a platform in the HR ecosystem which enables such thought processes to take place.