5th National HR Conference @ XLRI (Jan 28-29, 2006)

Folks!

I am writing to inform you about the 5th National HR Conference that we
are organising at XLRI (Jan 28-29, 2006).

The theme of the conference is based on the our sensing - and which got
vindicated by the response we got from the practicing HR professionals
- that the HR field has changed and transformed very fast -in content
and context - over last few years. The demands on HR - and the
competencies to meet them - have have also radically changed.... and
apparently they are not same across the industries. This change has also
created a sort of disconnect among

1. the skills/ competencies that industry expects HR professionals to
have,
2. the expectations that the young HR professionals have about their
role, and
3. how the B-Schools prepare them to meet the needs of the reality.

The 5th National HR Conference: Crafting the Future of HR aims to create
an interactive platform - a Working Conference (using Open Space
methodology, like the last conference) for industy-acadmia-HR to
deliberate on this disconnect, find the gaps and to build ways to bridge
this gap...

The announcement below describes how the design will unfold - the pix
are from the 4th National HR Conference

I am happy to inform that the response from the seasoned HR
professionals, to the theme and design, has been very very encouraging,
with the the following having already confirmed their participation in
the event:

- Niladri Roy, Program Director (Corporate HR), Aditya Birla Group
- Anita Ramachandran, CEO, Cerebrus Consulting
- PK Saha, Head (HR), CESC
- Adil Malia, Director (HR), Coca Cola
- Bhaskar Das, Head (HR), Cognizant Technologies
- Chand Narayan, Vice President (HR), CNBC TV18
- NS Rajan, Director (Human Capital Services), Ernst & Young
- P Dwarakanath, Director (HR), Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare
- Smita Anand, Consulting Head (India), Hewitt Associates
- Soumitra Das, VP (HR), Hewlett Packard
- Sujit Baksi, President, Lehman Brothers
- R Vidyasagar, Director (HR), Philips Software
- Mohinish Sinha, Head (HR Consulting), PwC
- Nandita Gurjar, Head (HR), Progeon/ Infosys
- S Varadarajan, Head (HR), Raman Roy Associates
- Pallab Bandopadhyay, President (HR), Scandent Group
- Satish Pradhan, Exec VP (Group HR), Tata Sons
- Dr Ganesh Shermon, Professor & Management Consultant, UnivCanada

I am also happy to inform that CNBC TV18 has offered to be our Media
Partner for this event and will give an exclusive coverage to the event.

For any information, please write to us at:
hrconference@xlri.ac.in

ciao
madhukar

an Open-Space Summit on
Crafting the Future of HR
(Jan 28-29, 2006)



An Invitation


A Conference with a Difference

Most conferences are organized with outlined agenda, specified topics,
and fixed speakers...
...and, therefore, promote participants’ learning through listening and
absorbing.

In contrast, The 5th National HR Conference is designed as a working
conference,
...and aims to shift from a speaker-centred to a participant-centred
learning environment.

Why a Working Conference?

In the last, HYPERLINK
"http://www.geocities.com/madhukar_shukla/hrconf/hrconfluence.html"The
4th National HR Conference: HR Confluence (Dec 2003) , we had
experimented with an interactive "working conference" design, and had
discovered that such a conference format:
HYPERLINK "http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2c1.2.jpg"

* facilitates learning by actively involving the participants in
collectively solving real, live problems, which are of their interest
and concern,


* leverages the rich experience and competence available in the
participants’ community to address real challenges, issues and
opportunities facing the HR profession, and help learning from each
other, and


* results in relevant and concrete “take-home” learning (solutions
and options) for the participants, which can be implemented.






The Theme: Crafting the Future of HR
As the groundwork for designing this event, we wrote/talked to more than
100 HR professionals from across different industries, and from
academia. We shared the tentative design with them and asked them about
the key HR challenges, issues and opportunities facing them as
professionals.

HYPERLINK "http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p3a.jpg"Their
feedback vindicated our sensing: that the HR field is changing and
transforming very fast in India. The demands of HR - and the
competencies to meet them - have radically changed during last few
years, both in content and context. They also vary widely across the
industries.

These changes have also created a dysfuntional disconnect among
HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/disconnect1.0.jpg"

* the skills and competencies that industry expects HR
professionals to have,


* the expectations that the young HR professionals have about
their role, and


* the focus of the academia to HR profession and professionals to
meet the imperatives of the new reality.

This conference is an interactive platform for the industry, HR
professionals and academics to collectively identify, address and bridge
these disconnects... and help...

*



...Crafting the Future of HR
HYPERLINK "http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/Logo.jpg"


The Design: How Will it Unfold

The design of the HR Conference is based on HYPERLINK
"http://www.openspaceworld.org/"Harrison Owen’s Open Space Technology,
which allows each participant to choose and identify a theme/topic, and
work with others who have similar concerns.


HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2a2.jpg"HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2a1.0.jpg"
The Circle
* The community starts the Open Space with a moderately
facilitated meeting in a large conference room.

* Participants propose and take up leadership/sponsorship to work
on issues and live problems, about which they are passionate, and for
which they would take up the responsibility.

* No one (not no one) is in-chargeHYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/4a.0.jpg"


HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2b1.jpg"HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2b2.jpg"

The Marketplace
* Themes for which there are “sponsors” in the community, are
identified and displayed.

* Participants sign up for the themes and issues, which interest
them most.

* Discussions and negotiations take place to decide the scope and
focus of work and outcomes.

* People with common interests form the groups.




HYPERLINK "http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/market.jpg"



HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2c2.jpg"HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2c3.jpg"
The Breakout Groups


* Groups – formed around common concerns - breakout into syndicate
forums.

* “Sponsors” lead/facilitate the discussions on the issue selected
by the group.

* The groups generate solutions, alternatives and approaches to
tackle the issues.





HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/group45.0.jpg"



HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2d1.0.jpg"HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/p2d2.1.jpg"
Consolidation & Presentation
* The proceedings of each group are documented, so that they can
be made available to all members of the community.

* Groups make presentations to the community – and inputs from
other members and the panel are added to their report.

* Documentations from all groups – as well as the inputs - are
compiled as “proceedings”, and shared with the community.




The Take-Home Outcome

* A set of solutions and alternatives to apply on live HR issues, which
you are facing in your professional life.
* Learning about the issues, which concern the HR professionals across
industry and academia.
* A network of HR professionals who have similar concerns and
problems as you have – and who are willing to share their ideas and
experiences with you… even after the HR Conference is over

HYPERLINK "http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/strip.jpg"

Registration Details

HYPERLINK
"http://www.geocities.com/madhukar_shukla/hrconf/RegistrationForm.doc"Do
wnload Registration Form


Registration

The Conference will start at 9:30am on January 28th, and will conclude
at 4:00pm on January 29th, 2006. The registration of participants will
start from 8:45am onwards).


Nomination Fee

Corporate Participants:
Residential: Rs. 7,500/- (twin-sharing basis)
Non-Residential: Rs. 6,000/-

Academic Participants:
Residential: Rs. 5,000/- (twin-sharing basis)
Non-Residential: Rs. 3,500/-


HYPERLINK
"http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/1600/MDP%201.0.jpg"
* The institute provides comfortable air-conditioned rooms. However,
since there are limited number of rooms, the residential facilities will
be made available only on first-come first-serve basis.

HYPERLINK "http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/507/157/200/MDP2.0.jpg"

* The Residential Participants can check in at the MDP Residence on
January 27th (Evening). Please plan your return latest by January 30th
(morning).



Your nomination should reach us by January 14th, 2006. Please send your
nominations on the Registration Form (HYPERLINK
"http://www.geocities.com/madhukar_shukla/hrconf/RegistrationForm.doc"cl
ick to download) along with Nomination Fee to the following:
(NOTE: Bank Draft/ Cheques should be drawn in favour of XLRI Jamshedpur)

Prof Madhukar Shukla
Conference Coordinator
The 5th National HR Conference: Crafting the Future of HR
XLRI
CH Area (East)
Jamshedpur 831 001
Ph: 0657 – 2225506 (extn. 300)
Fax: 0657 – 2227814
Email: hrconference [at] xlri.ac.in