President’s Welcome
It is my pleasure to have IPMZ hosting the AFRICAN FEDERATION OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS(AFHRMA) Convention this year.This convention comes at a time when Africa is facing a serious Human Capital crisis.
I am grateful that Zimbabwe was chosen to host this second AFHRMA Convention after the first one held in Botswana in November 2007, which focused on Human Capital as the key to Africa's future. This year's Convention focuses on Africa and the Talent Revolution: beyond the national and regional frontiers. This deals with the enhancement of human capital in the continent.
Africa needs to be prepared for the challenges that are posed by the world having become a global village.This continent is endowed with plentiful natural resources yet it is underdeveloped. There is low capacity utilisation, skills loss, under-capacitation in wealth creation and enterpreneurship, among other weaknesses. This convention is a clarion call for practical human capital solutions in a continent that has to unite and develop.
I am excited that we are having this in the resort town that has one the Seven Wonders of the world - Victoria Falls. I hope we will sample the delights of the Victoria Falls which include bungee jumping, white water rafting, helicopter rides, boat cruises, game drives, and other activities in the tranquil enviroment away from your busy schedules as we network.
We look to hosting you.
Chris Machona
President
Octiber 2008
President’s Viewpoint -
In my first viewpoint article, I would like to share with you the thoughts provoked by the Chairman of the Society of Human Resources Management (USA) at the Institute of People Management (SA)’s convention at Sun City in South Africa. Two councillors Mr. Moses Ngorima, and Ms. Alice Charewa, the Director, Mr. Lawrence Dahwa and myself represented the Institute.
While I have had the opportunities to share with some of you these thoughts at my addresses in the last few weeks, I believe the message is worth repeating.
Jonathan Taylor’s message was based on four points. His first message was for HR practitioners to ‘Know HR’. In your organisation you must be the Guru in the matters of the profession. Is your knowledge of the profession a source of inspiration for those that seek to know more about the HR field? Do you know the ins and outs of the profession? Do you have information about the field at your fingertips? The challenge was on what are you doing to keep yourself abreast of the developments in the field? As an HR professional are you relatively at the same level if not higher than your colleagues in other professions? While there is a need to have a full appreciation of the entire business, an HR Practitioner must be well grounded in the understanding of the field.
The second message was ‘DO HR’. Having known the HR field, even as an executive, one must ‘Do the HR work.’ Can you roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty as an HR practitioner? The point was that in as much as we need to do the hairy fairy strategic work, at the end of the day, the ‘Trains have to run on Time’. Make things happen at the coal face. When it comes to the boardroom, be the champion of HR work in there and do not try and compete with your colleagues in their own professions. The marketing executive will champion the marketing work and so will the financial executive. In the desperate drive to be relevant in an organisation, HR practitioners must guard against leaving the HR seat vacant. Done well, HR is the Generator of wealth for any organisation. There is huge untapped potential that an HR practitioner must constantly seek to tap into.
His third message was, ‘Align HR.’ His message centred on whether the HR initiatives that one embarks on are aligned to the firm’s strategies. An effective HR practitioner needs to know what is keeping the Chief Executive awake and how ones’ initiatives are helping solve those challenges. Any initiatives that are not in the realm of the business concerns are irrelevant and will render whoever initiates them irrelevant as well.
The fourth and last message from Taylor was as that as an HR practitioner one must have courage. Do you have courage to stand up for what is right? Some HR practitioners are so apologetic about the profession and let unacceptable unethical behaviour thrive. Taylor acknowledged that the HR profession is a high risk one. He therefore suggested that as a practitioner you have what he calls ‘A Go to Hell Fund’. Without necessarily advocating for insubordination one must have a fund (three to four months pay savings) so that one is able to draw a line somewhere and say ‘sorry boss, I won’t be party to that.’ That way one does not compromise ones’ integrity.
The message at the end of the day is that as HR practitioners get back to basics. Make the profession relevant and valuable in your organisation.
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