IPM – Taking on a new role to lead the way in HR management
Dr Ajantha Dharmasiri discusses the importance of professional accreditation, competency development and fraternity building as key new roles for the IPM.
The IPM, since its inception in 1959, has played a pioneering role in the various aspects of the HR profession by providing the required knowledge, skills, and most importantly, the environment for HR professionals to grow. But, considering the growing importance given to the ‘ people factor’ in today’s globalized economy, the HR management professional is also required to play a significant role in providing the crucial support businesses need. And the IPM, being a leading professional body for HR training, has taken on a new role in making it a reality.
Discussing ( the different aspects of) the new role of the IPM in training HR professionals who will provide (that crucial) strategic HR partnerships to local and global businesses, Dr. A jan tha Dharmasiri says that, “the IPM has evolved to a level of maturity to move beyond its current scope to a wider and far reaching scope, bringing together the HR fraternity and setting higher standards in the HR profession in the country”.
Dr. Dharmasiri explained that, given the increasingly important role played by the HR professional as a critical contributor towards organizational success, the role played by a professional institution is not limited to providing the right knowledge, skills and attitude, but should also include an accreditation. And the IPM, as the longest standing HR professional institution, with a wider student and membership base, is the only eligible, and also the perfect institution, to provide an endorsement for the professional conduct of HR practices.
He also pointed out that like any other profession HR management requires certain competencies to make one a successful HR practitioner - the competencies which are, in the current context, directly visible through the balance sheet of the company – and that theIPM has the capacity to provide the required skills in HR needed in leading a business towards success.
Further elaborating on this point Dr. Dharmasiri says the IPM’s role, when it comes to competency development to suit the new era of HR requirements, is critical in fulfilling the “need for work related, application oriented, execution driven p ro g rams, where people will be thinking performers”.
To bring the best results in the industry, the IPM’s focus is shifted from knowledge and skill enhancement to actual practical comprehension of the work environment. This will be achieved by bringing in more professionals into the membership and faculty to ensure that the coursework and modules are enhanced with practical knowledge.
In this view he drew attention to another promising and pioneering role that IPM has to play in bringing the senior HR professionals of the country, including those professionals who are working in multi- national corporations, to form a ‘ think- tank’ and introduce a forum for them to discuss critical ‘people issues’ arising through HR practice, reach consensus on how to tackle complex issues, for experience and best practice sharing, and collabora-
“IPM has evolved to a level of maturity to move beyond its current scope to a wider and far reaching scope, bringing together the HR fraternity and setting higher standards in the HR profession in
the country”
tion in building a better HR strategy.
Finally describing the IPM’s potential and significance at this juncture of globalised people driven business, Dr. Darmasiri says he sees the IPM “as a catalyst in inculcating some of the cutting-edge people management techniques, so that respective HR professionals will add value to their organizations”, and that the IPM, true to its ever pioneering attitude has embarked on the challenging task of finding a new way of looking at the existing roles.