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| Sunday, 22 September 2002 |
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HRM Awards 2002 to improve HR utilisation by Elmo Leonard Sri Lanka lacks skilled workers today, although skilled labour was the island's plus point for attracting foreign investment 20 years ago, Professor Gunapala Nanayakkara, Director, Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura told a recent media briefing. Sri Lanka also has a dearth of skilled managers. As far as the island's workforce was concerned, 'an educated workforce, and deft-fingered female labour' were things of the past. During the past 20 years, other developing countries had geared their education systems towards the development of skills, Prof Nanayakkara said. Sri Lanka is no longer the lowest cost source of labour in the region, with Bangladesh for example, having a cheaper labour force. Foreign investors sought quality work for the price they pay, the media was told. Sri Lanka will hold its first national Human Resources Management (HRM) awards, in a bid to improve the standard of human resources utilisation in the corporate and public sectors. The awards ceremony will be held on November 21 at the Trans Asia Hotel, Colombo. The Association of Human Resources Professionals (AHRP), the Institute of Personnel Management (IPM) and the PIM are associated with the scheme. The aims of the awards scheme are to recognise and reward good HRM practices in organisations and benchmark them against world class standards, President AHRP Chitral Amarasiri said. Locally-based organisations are also expected to adopt better and globally recognised HRM practices and strategically use the HRM function in their quest for better management. The awards are expected to bring together the best people in the HRM profession, and professionals from other business fields. HRM is yet to be strategically linked to business processes in most organisations, according to past president IPM, Jayantha Jayaratne. The application of HRM does not have its place in strategic business processes. Its use is limited, therefore its potential is largely untapped in Sri Lanka. Participation in the scheme is open to any business that values good HRM practices, and is willing to progress further and support the overall aims and objectives of the national HRM awards, Vice President of the AHRP Lasantha Rodrigo said. The requirements for corporates to participate include minimum of 50 employees; dedicated HRM specialist in the company or organisation; in operation for a minimum of 12 months; and located in Sri Lanka. Companies will be assessed according to a transparent scrutinising process that takes into account both global and local standards and practices, AHRP Secretary Rohan Pandithakoralage said. The award process would comprise the preliminary round this month and second round assessment, and site visits and final assessments in September/October. Initially, seven categories of awards will be presented. In time, with the establishment of creative and innovative HRM practices in the country, the awards would hopefully be enlarged, Pandithakoralage said. The awards comprise overall HRM award; overall HRM award in the public sector; HRM awards for the manufacturing sector in the large and medium categories; HRM awards for the services sector in the large category; and management category. This will be an annual event. Answering questions, Prof Nanayakkara said that in Sri Lanka, less capable people often secure higher posts through political backing, and other means. However, a start was being made towards managing human resources in the optimum way. It was hoped that corporate and State organisations would take a lesson from this endeavour to manage human resources effectively. The panel of judges comprise Prof Gunapala Nanayakkara, G.K.B. Dasanayaka, Director General Employers Federation of Ceylon, Prof David Evans, former Director Anglia Polytechnic University, UK, Lasantha Salgado and Neville Ranasuriya, past president IPM. |
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