Our blogs are topical and current so this one is no different – written in Manchester whilst up at the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition and enjoying free WiFi everywhere – what an innovation! So after a first busy day listening to a great keynote presentation and great seminars catching up with colleagues and candidates it is time to reflect. Reflection is something that is difficult for a raging activist like me.
First Day
The keynote presentation was great, with Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones covering in depth their thoughts about Creating the Best Workplace on Earth. You will remember our blog on 17th October about their article in Harvard Business Review. They have a lovely mnemonic DREAMS – it certainly got me dreaming… So what does that DREAMS stand for?
| Difference | Valuing difference, recognising that it is not good to have everyone with the same views – after all, pearls are created with a bit of grit. So an internal irritant can be good. |
| Radical honesty | Put simply telling it as it is. Treating employees and customers as adults. Being courageous with the truth. |
| Extra Value | How do you add value to people who are already valuable? Re-visit training tactics to see how technology can keep you ahead of the game. |
| Authenticity | This applies to organisations and their leaders. For organisations it is important to have roots and culture more than a slick advertising campaign. Leaders need to model the values they espouse and people need to be able to link their personal values to those of the organisation. |
| Meaning | When we think about the amount of time working it has to have meaning. We all need fulfilling jobs. We can be more energised if we believe in the meaning of our work. |
| Simple Rules | HR has freed the organisations from complex rules that nobody refers to until something goes wrong! So what does a good rule look like – well it needs to be simple, agreed and enable all involved to trust. |
So there is a real challenge here for HR professionals if we are to be in the business of building organisations of our dreams. HR needs to help leaders build the right architecture for the future. What a challenge!! Second day Starting with one of my passions – using technology to drive change. The first session was an update on the Hackathon. A great report summarising their work so far is available to read.
Listening to the presenters it was fascinating to review some interesting behaviours that would be good to add to our known CIPD Behaviours – they were:
- Covert disruption – stop doing things because they have always been done. Proceed till apprehended!
- KISS – Follow the Keep it Simple mantra with passion
These two behaviours have given the speakers space to focus on value added activities. This is in turn energising and encourages HR professionals or should we say People professionals to truly be business partners through their innovative, creative, ethical, practical advice.
The quick minded among you will have realised that I have only covered the morning so far today. There is still a range of exciting things happening this afternoon and I plan to experience as many of them as possible so stay tuned for my updates coming your way soon!