Held virtually from 19-21 January, People Summit 2021 Global Virtual Conference organized by the HR Forum of Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) was a resounding success that brought together over 15 international speakers and gathered over 400 plus participants from a range of countries.
“The annual flagship event of the HR Forum has always been one of SLASSCOM’s principal events,” says SLASSCOM Chairman Channa Manoharan, “and this year, taking the conference virtually meant that we were able to target a vast collection of people from different backgrounds together with a pool of internationally renowned speakers all gathering around the main theme of Building Resilience in your Workforce in the New Norm.”
“This year’s conference really proved the power of virtual communications to engage in meaningful discussions around a very vital topic – resilience,” shared Vice Chair SLASSCOM and Chief Customer Officer at Dialog, Sandra DeZoysa.
The conference included many gripping matters targeting individuals and business leaders interested in building resilience, such as strategic agility, leading with resilience, stress and resilience, strength based resilience and using humour to be resilient, among others that were presented by a host of global experts in the field .
Welcoming participants at the start of the conference, Shehani Seneviratne SLASSCOM Director, HR Forum Board Representative and Chief Operating Officer 99x highlighted the importance of resilience and adaptability and how they were considered to be a critical skills for today’s organizations and individuals.
The conference kicked off with Dr. Sven Hansen – The Founder Of Resilience Institute on ‘Building A Resilient Organization: Leaders Role’ who highlighted the importance of inculcating resilience with the organization’s strategy.
Speaking on the next topic on the agenda ‘Strategic Agility : Aligning culture with the strategy to build more resilient organizations,’ Workplace Culture Advisor and regular Forbes contributor Dawn Metcalfe noted: Culture is inevitable. Yet, how often do we actually spend time in managing our organizational culture? Building a culture that supports what you’re trying to achieve is about making sure your employees understand and buy into the culture once hired.”
“Dr. Taryn Marie – Chief Resilience Officer at Resilience Leadership and Former Head of Leadership Development @Nike adding her insights outlined how we can allow challenge to enhance us, rather than diminish us. She discussed the importance of resilience in this particular moment of human evolution, and shared strategies for developing this skill set.,
“We have spoken of effectiveness for over 15 years, and now resilience needs to be the next conversation,” added Lasse Wrennmark – Partner at Oxford Leadership as he shared some thought provoking tips on “How Purpose Helps You To Become More Resilient, whilst Amar Raj Chairman and Managing Director of Gamma Pizzakraft presented an impressive case study on how Pizza Hut had navigated their company for further success during these times of uncertainty.
The three-day conference also held two panel discussions: ‘Leading with resilience in a volatile world’ moderated by Nisthar Cassim – Editor in Chief DFT, with panelist’s Channa Manoharan – Chairman SLASSCOM, Ranil Rajapakse – EVP and COO at IFS, Madhu Rathnayake – CIO at Virtusa and Dinesh Saparamadu – Founder hSenid, and on the second day ‘Resilience Learnings from Sri Lankan Companies’ with Pradeep Uluwaduge – Chief Human Resources Officer at LOLC Group, Sandra De Zoysa – Chief Customer Officer at Dialog, Lasantha Dasanayaka – Vice President Group HR at NDB and Ishan Danthanarayana – Group Chief People Officer at Brandix.
The conference also witnessed a real-time yoga session by RYT 500 teacher – Certified Yoga Alliance and Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) Movement Specialist Aaron Wickramasekara, which was well received by all participants.
Summarizing the conference’s proceedings and key learning’s on the final day, Sampath Jayasundara – SLASSCOM General Council Member and Nuwan Dishan –People Summit Chair highlighted the need for individuals and organizations to invest in building resilience taking the tips and advice from the summit’s speakers who are true advocates of resilience in their work and life.
The summit was organized by the HR Forum of SLASSCOM, and was hosted in tandem with Corporate Sponsor Dialog Enterprise, Main Sponsor Pearson, Silver Sponsors Exetel and 99x , Bronze Sponsor hSenid Biz, Education Partner Informatics Institute of Technology, Media Partner DailyFT and Event Partners AT Link , ACCA and Mint HRM..