Ghana’s premier HR magazine, HR Focus Africa, initiated a conversation on retrenchment, themed “Upskilling and Reskilling; the Antidote to Retrenchment”.

The conversation was had at the just-ended HR Interactive event, a prelude to the annual HR Focus Conference and Awards happening on Thursday, 28th September 2023.

Speaking at the HR Interactive event, Dzifa Romano Mensah, Snr. HR Manager, Enterprise Life, admonished organisations to look for alternatives and only consider retrenchment as a last resort.

She said, “your decisions don’t only affect the people in your organisation; but the families and individuals that depend on them."

Mr. Christian Diaba, Lead Practitioner, People Capability and Organisational Learning at Standard Chartered Bank, also spoke to the need for employees to stay relevant in their organisations, to secure their employment status.

He advised that “retrenchment is a fact of business; but you must make yourself relevant to keep your position in your organisation, in spite of it.”

The West African Head of HR & Environment, Health & Safety at Sandvik Mining, Enyo Dei-Tutu, encouraged HR Practitioners not to consider training in lieu of retrenchment.

“As HR Practitioners we must practice strategy resource planning, to know ahead of time, the skills need our people and organisations have; and prepare to fill those gaps and provide those needs.”

The HR Interactive event was an informative three hours of learning and an apt prelude to the HR Focus Conference and Awards, happening in September this year.

The conference, which involves Panel Discussions, Keynote Speeches and Company Exhibitions is set to have the overarching theme; “The HR Mandate; Building Resilience in People and Businesses”.

Mr. Laar, the MD of L’AINE HR; admonished all attending HR Practitioners to get ready for the conference and to vie for an award at the upcoming HR Focus Awards.

He said, “in building resilient people and businesses, our systems must be put to test and what better platform to prove your organisation’s resilience than through the prestigious HR Focus Awards.”

Organisations interested in vying for any of the prestigious awards can visit the HR Focus website.