The President of the Institute of Human Resources Management Practitioners, Ghana (IHRMP), Mr. John Wilson has called on Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Corporate Ghana to move from just partnering with Human Resources (HR) to a more current position of player in a strategic management role where HR impacts strategic performance by forging a talent advantage.

Mr. Wilson made this call when he delivered his address at the maiden CEOs’ Forum organized by the IHRMP, Ghana on Thursday, 26th May, 2016 at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra.

“I wish to reiterate that our HR World has changed into the Talent Age coming from the Industrial Age where we were seen to be POLITE and nice to people but do not impact the business. We moved to the Knowledge Age now classified as Human Resource era where again we have been policing. This we did by reducing trouble by focusing on cost compliance and consistency. Since then we have moved to partnering to help Business Partners be successful and currently into the very latest position of player in a Strategic management role where HR impacts strategic performance by forging a talent advantage”, Mr. Wilson explained.

The Guest Speaker of the programme, Dr. Adu A. Antwi, CEO of Securities & Exchange Commission, who spoke on behalf of the CEOs said, “In a nutshell, change must happen to ensure that HR Practitioners work in harmony to foster better working relationship for the overall benefit of the organization”.

Dr. Antwi made three key suggestions to CEOs as follows:

1. In as much as there is the need for HR Practitioners to up their game by upskilling themselves to meet the new expectations of the Corporate World, CEOs must demonstrate the belief that HR is central and critical to the success of the business and appreciate that the organization is as good and competent as the people it is comprised of.

2. CEOs must be clear in their definition of key deliverables for the HR departments and hold every HR Practitioner accountable for time bound results.

3. CEOs would have to invest in the development of HR Practitioners.

Speaking on behalf of the National Labour Commission, Dr. ( Mrs.) Bernice Welbeck, the Director of HR and Admin, made an impressive presentation to the participants, pointing out that the most valuable assets of any company is certainly the human capital, citing examples of cases of HR issues that has been brought to the commission by organizations in Ghana.

The Executive Director of IHRMP, Ghana, Mr. Ebenezer Agbettor in his welcome address mentioned that the CEOs’ Forum has been on the drawing board for some time now and was pleased that it had finally become a reality.

“Getting champions of industry to gather at a single platform to discuss issues confronting HR Practitioners and their organizations is what this forum is all about. We express our deep felt appreciation to Starlife Assurance and GCB Bank for the support that has made the maiden programme a success”, the Executive Director said.