London Calling

Delegates were greeted by the Clash’s signature song as they entered the main hall for the official start of the conference.  Accompanying the song was a video montage illustrating the theme of the “Global Skills Race”.  PPMA President Dean Shoesmith formally began the conference with a very informal and interactive opening speech.  With a serious of stories and audience interaction, Dean was able to powerfully illustrate the basic skills shortage facing the British workforce.  Never was his speech more poignant then when he made the comment,”We have failed our employees…we need to help them develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce.”  Through his interaction with the audience, several skill areas in need of development were identified.  As I had mentioned in my earlier post, the topics were the same ones that would be mentioned in the United States: Supervisory training for mid-level and new managers, customer service skills, interpersonal communications skills…the list goes on.

Dean’s speech set up the keynote speaker, Dr. Dennis Kimbro quite nicely.  I have had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Kimbro speak at previous IPMA-HR events, and again he did not disappoint.  For over one hour, Dr. Kimbro held the audience’s attention with his passionate oratory.  He covered the topic of developing leadership skills for the future.  Some of the highlights of his speech included stories about successful athletes, executives, politicians, and activists.  He identified characteristics that most, if not all of these individuals had in common.  They included the willingness to dream big dreams, the refusal to fail, and the commitment to life-long learning.  He concluded with the statement “Sometimes it is risky not to take a risk”. 

After Dr. Kimbro’s speech, the conference then separated into two different work-streams.  Sessions that I attended included a discussion of leadership requirements for implemented the shared service model of human resources management; leadership and innovation; and getting the most from your workforce.  The program portion of the day ended with an engaging presentation on employee engagement (sorry, I couldn’t help my self with that one!!) by Professor Katie Truss from the Kingston Business School.  She discussed the findings of her recently published Harvard Business Journal article.

After a break, the evening program began with the Annual Dinner and PPMA Awards.  The awards portion of the evening was a combination of the academy awards and a pep rally.  The were seven awards given out including the Innovation in HR Award, the HR Transformation Award, and the Region of the Year award that was won by the Northeast Region.  Having been adopted by them as an honorary Northeasterner (I am from Massachusetts!!), I can attest to their spirit and excitement about winning this award.

Closing the evening with my new friends, I cannot be more humbled by the way that this organization and its membership have welcomed me to their conference and their country.  If today was any indication, I know that tomorrow will be even more amazing.

Bill

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