The annual conference of the Foundation for Human Resources Development provided, in the words of Claire Bishop from CIPD, the usual thought-provoking discussions. On Friday, 5 October, almost 400 people managers and professionals from over 130 companies gathered to discuss the strategic and tactical roles they have to play in their organisations in ever-changing economic and business scenarios. Employees have become the major source of new ideas, as it is they who are on the front line – experiencing the pressure of competition and the increasing demands of customers – and it is their talent that will sustain performance and achieve results in the long run.

The Power of Positive Thinking – Keynote speech

Brian Mayne: an inspirational global speaker and author, and founder of Lift Corporate Development Ltd

Brian Mayne discussed the power of positive thinking and the art of setting goals to achieve results. He explained that when we think positively, a chemical is released in our brains that automatically gives us a feeling of happiness and well being. This means that we can easily create new ideas, we are willing to know more and explore new thoughts and opportunities. On the other hand, if we think negatively, our brains shut down and this results a “fight or flight” response.

Positive thinking is simple but highly misunderstood, said Mayne. It is not a delusion, like walking with your head in the clouds. It is staying focused on what you want to do and improve, irrespective of whether it is something you want or fear, and writing down your goal will help you stay focused. This is why Mayne created the Goal Mapping achievement system and he elaborated on the seven steps in this system: Dream, Order, Draw, Why, When, How and Who.

Mayne concluded by saying that, if you think about your best thoughts they will trigger your best positive thoughts, which will make you take your best actions and will ultimately lead you to live your best life and remain positive.

Recruitment 2.0: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Omar Bitar, Organisational Psychologist and Phelim Cavlan, Occupational Psychologist

Omar Bitar emphasised the fact that today we have a “war of talent”, especially in some industries where the pool of talent is limited. Referrals are highly valued today. One can get higher quality employees through referrals, apart from the fact that people who are referred tend to stay with an organisation for longer. Bitar said that this had also been studied by Yakubovich and Lup (2006), who spoke about Objective, Subjective and Self-Selection referrals that reduce a person’s drop out.

He pointed out that the use of social media has increased so much that it has revolutionised the recruitment process. Studies showed that 92 per cent of recruitment occurred through the use of social media, in particular Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter and social networks are also used by recruiting companies in order to gather information about the applicants and screen them.

Phelim Cavlan accentuates the importance of companies’ websites, which should be used to attract the best people and not to merely fit the person to a job. “It is all about selling the stuff to make the candidate interested in the employer”, he said. A company’s website could easily be used as a matching tool to attract better people.

The Winds of Change: Setting your Sail for Success

Brian Mayne

Knowledge and skills are always required by an individual to succeed in a job, but everyone needs time to learn. Riding the bike to success is not easy, said Mayne, which is why we need to master the three important core qualities of drive, attitude and confidence. Confidence and self-belief is what turns our wheels, although certain events can cause us to become stuck. Momentum is also fundamental, as it will affect our equilibrium, and in order to hold on to it we have to be clear about the direction we are taking. Whatever it is we want to achieve, it is something we do not already have and therefore we are stepping outside our comfort zone to achieve it. And this will bring out the best in us, which is where Goal Mapping comes in, explains Mayne.

If we follow the seven simple steps, we can accomplish the best:

1. Raise goal awareness: knowing yourself is key to success.

2. Develop Possibility Consciousness: it is important to keep an open mind as our past and present will inevitably influence our future.

3. Find Balance: it is important that we consider our options before making a decision.

4. Be ‘on Purpose’: Following your passion is important as everybody can shine in something.

5. Become fully ‘response-able’: choosing your response is key to finding your personal power.

6. Maintain a Positive Focus: you have to identify the actions to achieve the goal.

7. Involve the people who can support you: any goal worth striving for will almost always require the support of those around you.

Termination Without Tears

Roselyn Borg – lawyer

In this interactive workshop, Borg highlighted the importance of termination and the important procedure employers have to adopt in order to keep costs low and stay within the parameters of the law.

There could be various reasons for termination, which is why employers must have a clear idea of the grounds on which they are going to terminate, since the procedure can vary according to the reason for termination.

Probation is indeed very important, as termination can happen more smoothly. Borg stresses that timing here is particularly important: if employers know they want to terminate the employment of someone during their probationary period, they should not leave it until the last minute. In this case there is no need to give any reason for the termination, as any given reason could be used against the employer, although Borg believes strongly in communicating with the terminated employee.

She pointed out that warnings are not mandatory by law – in fact the law only states that termination should be “for good and sufficient cause”. She continued by saying that gross misconduct does not lead to automatic termination but only to suspension on full pay. The termination of employees is not something to be taken lightly, which is why Borg stresses the importance of investigation and, even more importantly, maintaining full documentation of all the facts.

I Don’t Have a Clue Where HRM is Heading

Joe Gerada – Foundation for Human Resources Development CEO

Joe Gerada provokingly told his audience that most HR managers were still using a mindset that was passé, immersed in boring policy writing, using jargon that only they understood and divorced from the exciting business objectives of the organisation. In this respect most HR managers are on the reserve list for meetings that did not matter all that much and excluded from the excitement of innovation, risk and success.

He argued that HR managers should be developing their capacity to observe what is significant in the organisation, use the information they have to good effect and propose new perspectives that bring change and sustains performance for the long haul. He said that the HR profession needed to be insight-led as opposed to process-led and to develop the business acumen, understand the dynamics of the organisation and be knowledgeable about the environment within which the business is operating. HR managers had the vantage point of a 360º view of the organisation but were often ineffective in translating this knowledge and expertise into strategy and leadership behaviour.

Gerada said that the core business of HR professionals is to secure the future of the business and therefore they had to focus on what works best for the organisation. He emphasised the need to use the common purpose to drive performance and this called for leaders who are credible and inspire other to follow them. He said this did not just happen but each professional had to work hard to achieve it by having a genuine desire to continue learning and developing as experts.

Employees expected to be led by competent leaders and HR managers had an ethical obligation to ensure this expectation was fulfilled, as they were also managers of the well being of their employees. Here he advised his audience to keep a logbook of their experiences, as this would come in handy in the near future, when the HR profession becomes a warranted profession.

He concluded by saying that each manager has to continuously ask how fit the business is for today and for tomorrow. In fact, the emerging HR professionals will be known for their business acumen and their people specialisation, they will be able to deal with different functions and their primary purpose will be the long term sustainability of the organisation for the benefit and well being of all.

HRM in Project-Oriented Organisations

Denise Xuereb – Project Manager

Project management can be applied successfully to any project in any sector, said Xuereb, although there are various challenges that have to be overcome to guarantee such success. Human Resources is a fundamental player in the assurance of such an accomplishment. Successful projects have leaders who understand that it is people who deliver projects and not technique, as most think. There is no project that does not have a deadline, and thus it is important that top management realise such deadlines always cause stress to the people involved, and acknowledging the efforts of those involved would be gratifying.

Xuereb listed four points where the role of HR has to flourish for the assurance of any project achievement: developing an HR plan, acquiring a project team, developing a project team and managing a project team. Failure to acquire the right team could lead to the failure of the whole project and Xuereb stressed how vital it is that the team members are involved in the development of the project. The team leader should provide feedback and information to the team about any amendments to the project, as well as to the Human Resources as the HR plan would need amending until the completion of the project.

The Fine Art of Public Sector Performance

Vanessa Borg – Executive Director

Borg demonstrated in a very simple way how ordinary people managed to achieve extraordinary things, which led them to be successful. Performance management practices should serve, strive and support the employees of an organisation, she said. It is important to have a performance management system in place in any organisation, as “What cannot be measured cannot be managed” she emphasised. In fact, it was shown how a balance scorecard is an excellent tool in performance management to provide a comprehensive measure of how any organisation is progressing towards the achievement of its goals.

Performance appraisals are another tool for measuring and assessing the performance of employees. To be effective, these appraisals should be valid, reliable, unbiased and practical. Borg emphasised that managers have to be given proper guidelines on how to effectively carry out a performance appraisal, as this is a time to praise the employee for the efforts and achievements accomplished during the year. When employees walk out of their appraisal they have to feel charged and motivated to work even harder.

Whether it is in the public or private sector, performance management is always the same: it is giving people a direction. Quite often, people find themselves in departments in which they feel they cannot move forward in their careers, and this could inevitably lead them to underestimate the importance of the performance appraisal. It is therefore important for leaders to have a pragmatic roadmap that includes a vision, strategy and tactics. All this will help the leader build momentum and consensus across the organisation.

Sustainability: The Race to Attract and Retain

Pamela Mamo – Manager Human Capital Unit

Employers have to understand that they need to look at two important aspects in their employees, said Mamo, these being performance and potential. It is fundamental that organisations keep in mind the employee life cycle, which includes recruiting or on boarding, moving to motivating and developing and off boarding. Throughout this lifecycle process it is important to remember sustainability, the impact of which on society affects the environment, the economy and society itself.

There are four dimensions of sustainability: workplace, marketplace, community and environment. Through recent recruits, it has been found that there are three factors that influence the acceptance of a job:

1. The opportunity for personal development.

2. The reputation of the organisation and, ultimately,

3. The role itself.

Mamo emphasised that HR people should look at the big picture of recruitment thus ensuring the company’s longevity, not to work in boxes, but to think outside the box and ensure employee engagement in the first few months. Finally, HR should keep in mind the various employee motivators for a sustainable workforce.

People Development at GO: From Alexander Graham Bell to Steve Jobs

Michelle Bonnici – Chief HR Manager

GO believes in people development, which is why it starts by recruiting the employees who satisfy the talent requirements and proceed with talent progressing, which finally results in retaining the best talent. Bonnici said that the company’s aim is to make employees feel that GO is the company to work for.

It was further explained that the company has learnt that the demands of people are constantly changing and therefore they have learnt how to cope with these demands. Leadership development is another fundamental aspect, which although often referred to as ‘soft skills’, nevertheless impacts directly on an organisation’s productivity and profits.

Bonnici explained that, for successful employee development, there has to be availability, aptitude and attitude. GO believes that training and development is extremely important at every level. She emphasised the fact that talent management is adopting a holistic approach to your employees, and should include people development, work content, benefits, compensation and employee well being. Consequently, any HR team should focus its strengths on attracting the best employees, developing them and retaining them.

Master Class – Malta Business Bureau Promoting Flexibility Work and Family-Friendly Measures in the Private Sector

Caeser Szwebs – Manager International Projects

Szwebs described work and family lives in Denmark; where people are very flexible. What he calls ‘flexicurity’ is influenced by three important factors: flexibility, as it is quite easy to change jobs, which is influenced by the second factor, security – where there is a great support by the government and active – for the labour market policy.

In Denmark, people understand that maintaining one’s skills by upgrading one’s education guarantees people survival and success in their employment. Szwebs emphasised that there is a golden triangle and it is important that every person follows it: high job mobility, motivation and updating qualifications. There is one thing more important than job protection and this is job creation. Everyone should embrace the culture of lifelong learning, where the upgrading of skills comes naturally, because this will lead people to move from one job to another with ease.

For all this to be successful, there has to be a culture of trust. Szwebs pointed out that HR could give special leave when parents have sick children at home, assist in the accessibility of childcare facilities, keep in mind the ‘Three Fs’: family, flexibility and future and make people smile, as happy people are more productive people.

The Promise of Mediation

An interview with David Liddle CEO at TCM Group, UK

Conflict and disputes are normal occurrences in any organisation, explained Liddle, probably because people think and act differently. Even though conflict occurs quite frequently, there are few organisations that have policies in place for resolving it, which is why there is mediation, which develops a “resolving culture”.

In mediation, the doors of communication are opened while helping to bring people together. If conflicts are resolved, production, innovation and general well being are improved. It is important that the mediator is impartial and does not blame or point fingers at anyone. The process of mediation is to help all parties enter into the process with an open mind, even though the fact of just attending the mediation process is, in itself, an act of courage by any party.

Liddle proceeded to explain that mediation is not coaching, although it is much easier to mediate in a culture of coaching. But while mediation works with two people to achieve their goals, coaching deals with something completely different.

Key Note Speech: CIPD Global HR Standards and You

Claire Bishop – HR Capability Manager

Bishop started by explaining the role of the CIPD, emphasising that it is a professional body within the HR profession. Excellent HR, according to the CIPD, has been defined in the HR Profession Map, at the core of which are the characteristics of the leading HR and at the outer edge of which are the eight behaviours that make the HR professional really successful. The map is not static, it deliberately changes every two years because change is constantly taking place.

Leading HR are active professionals who offer insight, lead, own, shape and drive people and do not merely observe or facilitate. This is what makes the difference between good and great HR, she stressed. Anticipation is key, although readiness and reliance will determine the degree of success. The skilful alignment of people management insight with leader aspirations is a critical HR challenge. Bishop stressed the importance of sustainable growth, which involves striking a balance between preservation and evolution.

Participants’ feedback

“The speakers were very, very good, especially Brian Mayne, who kept the audience very engaged by showing us how he became a success. It was quite a motivating speech, seeing that he started from nothing. I was also particularly fond of Mr Gerada’s input, the MBB Master class and David Liddle’s session. Claire Bishop (the CIPD capability manager) topped this great conference with a very interesting description of the HR roadmap.”

Marvic Mifsud: HR Manager, Demajo Group

“The conference was very good, especially through the participation of Brian Mayne. The choice of workshops was really great, as were the workshops themselves. The conference also served as an excellent networking exercise. Well done.”

Regine Debono Caruana: HR Manager, Suncrest Hotel

“The idea of having over 300 HR representatives from over 150 companies under one roof was fantastic, as was having such experienced speakers giving both the local and international aspect. And last but not least, we had enough time to network with other HR professionals. Again, well done to the whole team – and keep it up!”

Mark Bugeja: HR Manager, Nectar.

“A very interesting conference. I can very much relate to what Joe Gerada was saying in his workshop and think that it can very easily be applied to our job, although we do apply some of it already.”

Kenneth Cutajar: HR Manager, Catergroup

“For a positive person like me, Brian Mayne was a true inspiration, although I also liked the workshop of Vanessa Borg, as she gave a true picture of performance appraisals.”

Maureen Mahoney: HR Directorate, Health Ministry

“Brian Mayne is a very good speaker. His teachings can be applied to everyone’s everyday life. I could listen to him all the time. Excellent!”

James Genovese: HR Executive, Malta Dairy Products Ltd

“A brilliant speaker and an excellent inspiration. Brian Mayne made me want to hear even more. The overall conference was a success and a “must attend” for all HR professionals”.

Eveline Fenech: HR Manager, Corinthia St George

Exhibitors

“We believe the FHRD conference was a success, especially considering the number of attendees and exposure gained by exhibitors at their stands… as exhibitors were provided with a lot of assistance and support from the organisers, who were readily available throughout the conference. The event was well organised and the overall feeling was that everything went off without a hitch.”

CSB group

“I think the conference was well-organised and I would rate the whole event as being great and the top HR event in Malta by far. I found everyone from FHRD helpful… and we’re very happy with the number of direct enquires we had on the day.”

ISL Ltd.

Sponsors:

CSB Group, Atlas Insurance, Hilton Malta, One4all gift vouchers, Outdoor Living, GO, Malta International Airport, MSV Life, BOV, HSBC Malta, Vodafone Malta, Outlook Coop, Standard Publications, Konnekt, Studio Seven, Playmobil, MITA, Information Systems Ltd – ISL Group.

Most of the presentation can be found on the FHRD web site together with further information about the proceedings of the conference.