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| Sunday, 28 September 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Janaka Kumarasinghe : On an 'outward bound' journey by Pelham Juriansz Janaka Kumarasinghe is one of a kind. He is a believer in the old Chinese Proverb "What I hear, I forget; What I see, I remember; What I do, I know".Kumarasinghe believes in using 'Outward Bound' experiential training in developing his 'charges'.
But why outward bound training for Human Resource Development? Kumarasinghe, General Manager Human Resource at Suntel and President Institute of Personnel Management (IPM) Council for 2002/2003 believes in developing people through what he calls Outward Bound (OB) Training. In OB Training, jungles, rivers, lakes, seas, and rocks are the classrooms. Outdoor activities such as rope courses, obstacle courses, rock climbing and rappelling (coming down a rock), water activities, rafting and sailing are included in the syllabus. Surprising for one for whom the four walls of a classroom were the mode of education, British style. An Outward Bound Trust was formed in Sri Lanka in 1988 under the Chairmanship of Lt Gen Dennis Perera, former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and former High Commissioner to Australia. OB training increases the self awareness of the participant, helps them to confront and overcome self-imposed limits, increase their self confidence and help develop leadership qualities and improve teamwork among others. As a manager, these outdoor locations provide an excellent opportunity to interact with an uncertain, changing and harsh environment. The song 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going' is true of all those involved in OB Training. "It helps the modern executive to face the challenges of today and tomorrow," says Kumarasinghe. In the Rope Confidence Course, the trainee is required to traverse along a series of ropes strung on coconut trees at various heights while being attached to the rope by a waist safety belt, with two guide ropes being held by two other trainees. The lessons learnt? The trainee loses his/her fear of heights among other fears, and learns the importance of proper safety precautions. Then there is teamwork. The whole team sees the importance of cooperation and the need for proper and effective coordination. Other exercises like rock climbing for instance, help trainees to learn their limits because they cannot do this exercise without the help of others. Education Kumarasinghe had his early education at Royal College, Colombo where he captained the basketball team and played badminton. Sports definitely helps in team building especially in a fast sport like basketball, he says. He also played volleyball and second XV rugger. While at school, he was awarded the 'N.B. De S. Wijesekera Memorial Prize' for his performance at the GCE Ordinary Level examination in 1979, where he obtained Distinctions in all eight subjects. He was awarded the 'Maligawa Boarder's Prize' for the best all round hostel students at Royal College in 1983. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Special) Degree from the University of Colombo and a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from the National University of Singapore. Professional Qualifications Kumarasinghe holds a National Diploma in Personnel Management from the IPM, Colombo and was also trained as an International Standards Organisation lead auditor. He is now Head of the IPM, which is presently conducting a weekday and weekend Foundation Course in Human Resource Management. Those eligible are clerks, supervisors, students and all others aspiring to take up a career and enhance their knowledge in people-related management. He received a government scholarship to undergo a three-month OB Training course in Malaysia. (This was the first batch of training instructors sent to introduce the system to Sri Lanka.) Career He worked at B.R. De Silva and Co and Alles Martin and Co as an Accounts cum Audit Trainee in 1984 and as an Assistant Youth Services Officer at the National Youth Services Council from 1988-90. He then worked at Regnis Lanka from 1990-94, handling the HR functions including recruitments and industrial relations and introduced a grading system to all Production staff. The exposure he gained at Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd for two years helped him as he was able to identify training needs, design training programmes and produce an induction video for training. Then from 1996 he has been serving Suntel, formulating and implementing HR strategy, personnel procedures, guidelines and providing professional advice to the management. Advice for HR Managers "We have to create the right atmosphere for the person we are training. We must make sure that they realise their true potential, and have a continuous dialogue with our trainees. This includes constant feedback, coaching and retention of staff. Retention is important, but in today's context, where people are on the move so much and keep shifting jobs, it is difficult to keep others from poaching our staff members. Well, we have to move on even if others poach our staff. I believe that we have to make people employable wherever they are and train people to work in whatever environment." Plans for IPM "This is my second year as President of IPM and I have got more people involved in the Institute. Participation has increased by about 140 per cent. "There are about 600 students on roll, and we are restructuring our syllabus to meet the changes in the market place," said Kumarasinghe. Role models As for role models, he cited Prof Saman Dassanayake who gave him a lot of feedback in his career. V.G.K. Vidyaratne, Factory Director, Regnis Lanka Ltd and Group Manufacturing Director, Singer was his second choice. He also mentioned his father and Lionel Fernando, former GA to Jaffna, as people who had influenced him. he introduced the Suntel Gold Medal to recognise achievements at the IPM. Kumarasinghe gave a final bit of advice saying that "as HR managers, our main resource is people and we have to develop them. We have to think big and not just isolate ourselves as a nation. It is very easy to get isolated as we are an island, but we must think globally," ended Kumarasinghe. Family His wife Prasanthi is a teacher. He has two children; a son, Devaka studying at Royal College and a daughter, Isuri studying at Musaeus. Fact File |
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'Outward Bound' is derived from the image of a ship sailing away from a
safe harbour to an open sea of unpredictable conditions.
