The inaugural People Summit, focusing on the topic Investing in Human Capital took place on Thursday 16th November at the Aviva Stadium. A packed conference room of HR leaders shared their knowledge on engaging workforces as a blueprint for success. The “people leaders” from a variety of sectors ranging from top academics, Irish and multinational companies to the healthcare sector, joined together to share practical advice and guidance for organisations who rely on their people for success.
Minister John Halligan T.D. Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development opened proceedings and was followed by an expert panel of senior business leaders. This best-in-class conference line up included: John McPhillips, Director of HR at Bon Secours Health System, Kieran Mulvey, former Head of the Workplace Relations Commission, Gordon Lynn, HR Manager EMEA, Facebook, Pedro Angulo, Organisational Effectiveness at AIB and Rosarii Mannion, National Director of HR at the HSE.
With people at the heart of this conference the Bon Secours launched their People Strategy, Strength through People 2017 -2020. Speaking at the conference in relation to this exciting strategy John McPhillips, Group HR Director Bon Secours Health System spoke passionately, “Our People Strategy “Strength through People” 2017-2020 is the culmination of a long process of self-assessment, engagement and reflection. Our ambitious 2020 plan and our staff survey last year provided a launching point for developing our People Strategy. What we’ve created is a commitment to do better for our people and a roadmap for how we can become a healthcare provider and employer of choice. I think one of the things that makes our approach unique is that we are an organisation driven strongly by our Mission Vision and Values. Caring for patients, families and communities is an integral part of our identity and our People Strategy was developed with a view to preserving and further developing this part of our identity. Our tagline is Advanced Medicine Exceptional Care. We have 3,000 exceptional staff who deliver exceptional care to our patients.
McPhillips added, “Our strategy reflects both HR ‘best practice’ and our specific organisational needs. It will improve our employee lifecycle, encourage regular meaningful engagement, facilitate our employees in growing to their full potential. The People Summit offered Bon Secours an opportunity to detail our journey, and engage in dialogue with other leading organisations and businesses around the challenges we all face in working to develop a culture of ‘Engagement, Motivation and Resilience.”
The People Summit showcased real world examples of strategic commitment, competitive advantage, productivity gains and quality improvement that can be achieved through an engaged and motivated workforce.
Former Head of the Workplace Relations Committee, Mr. Kieran Mulvey said, “This conference is coming at an important time and at a moment for Ireland when it has never been more required to have the best and most competent people in place in all organisations: in business, in Government, in the Public Service, in human resources and in trade unions. Ireland faces massive change, with Brexit and the European Union to the east and change in the USA to the west. All around us we have countries challenging us for our jobs, our investors, our tax policies and our young people. It has never been more important to invest in people.”
Mirroring the sentiment of his fellow leaders Pedro Angulo, Organisational Effectiveness at AIB said, “I am a true believer that the only way organisations can achieve long term competitive advantage and deliver an outstanding customer experience is through people. Mind your people and they will mind your customers. The key question is how can we get people to deliver peak performance and achieve great results.”
With three sessions throughout the day; Human Capital – Altruism or Economics?Investing in Human Capital and Engagement, Motivation & Resilience – Best Practice & Strategy Development, there was plenty of food for through, and best-practise procedures and advice for all HR professionals in attendance to roll out in their own workplace.
