'Hot Spots' in Harrogate
Maria Pia Chircop
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The Malta delegation at the recent CIPD Conference and Exhibition (from left) Beverly Cutajar, MTA HR manager, Maria Pia Chircop, CEO FHRD, Noel Scerri, president FHRD and Executive Head HR at Bank of Valletta plc, and Noel Vassallo, BoV Employee Development Manager. |
Attending the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate, UK, is the most valuable recognition employers can show their HR professionals. This is because the fresh learning, knowledge and insights acquired from this conference are unique.
Focusing on some keynotes at last month's conference, Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, kept the 2,000-plus audience engaged for well over 90 minutes.
Her topic, "Hot Spots", was about creating a co-operative culture to enhance teamwork, where people jump organisational boundaries to release their latent energy by freely sharing their knowledge and expertise.
The stimulus for this to happen is derived from enthusiasm and curiosity through an 'igniting question', which might lead them to somewhere unexpected. Leaders, individuals and groups can also create an 'igniting vision'.
Both the question and the vision can be developed further by a wider group of people in the organisation. Such a stimulus can also be instilled from outside the company; for example, when organisations decide to work with academics or a variety of experts in other institutions.
While an ignited question and an ignited vision are paramount for the future of the organisation, Gratton also spoke of an 'igniting task' for the present. She argued that people are motivated by doing intriguing, ambiguous and potentially highly developmental tasks that can spark their latent energy and make them excited and feel self-fulfilled.
With a co-operative culture, where individuals and organisations can create an igniting purpose, organisations can become more innovative and productive.
Noel Vassallo, manager, Employee Development, at Bank of Valletta plc, who also attended the conference, said: "The main learning point from the conference was that we, as HR professionals, have to understand that HR is entering a new era where employer branding is bigger than HR.
"To ensure that HR is taken seriously by all stakeholders, HR should visibly contribute to the bottom line while ensuring that the people factor is continuously recognised by all as the most important factor of the organisation. Keeping this in mind, one understands the relevance of having the necessary people programmes within one's organisation to help create the employer of choice for present and potential employees." |
