Working with inspired people is inspiring.  So is simply listening.

Those simple thoughts that spring to mind as I reflect on both the recent 49th Annual BC HRMA Conference and my time as president of our association. Together we have and will continue to achieve great things.

The recent “Complexity Made Simple” conference marks one such milestone.  From first to last, the cast of speakers embodied the paradox of HR.  As the world has changed, so too has HR.  The narrow cast of HR’s past has widened – a lot.  What the conference confirmed was the true scope of HR.

In the opening plenary, Kevin O’Leary’s fiscal focus determined HR’s need to set smart strategies for securing and keeping top-performing talent. This he considers key to companies prospering in more competitive times.  In the closing plenary, Dr. Brene Brown’s perspective, while speaking ultimately to profit, was far more personal.  She discussed how HR can best help the ‘people’ factor of business by changing the culture of blame and shame into a more open, collaborative journey.

The two provided the perfect paradox of of the notion of “Human Resources” and crystallized both the challenge we have been asked to solve for our companies and our responsibility to the people within them.

Paradoxes are complex, but Conference 2011 sent us away with a simple solution: put on our scout cap and brush up on our trailblazing skills. How do we find the right talent, then help them craft a career path that capitalizes on their passions, skills and knowledge to the betterment of our bottom lines?

To answer that question, we need to embody its outcome. We need to revisit our own career paths, whether we are in the perfect job now or we want to move up. To find, keep and develop talent, we need to keep our own skills current, minds open and look for measurable means of growing our company’s success.

The HR professional of today and tomorrow needs to know the technical components of HR.  Most importantly, we need to know business, marketing, sales, IT and strategy.  Our toolkits and networks have more potential than ever and the time for profitable innovation has arrived.

Ultimately, it’s about connecting to the bottom line and each other.

Which is why it was so inspiring to see such an incredibly diverse cross section of speakers and HR professionals engaging with each other at BC HRMA’s 49th Annual Conference.  In light of the past two years working with the BC HRMA board of directors, members, staff and CEO Simon Evans, CHRP, I know we have, and will continue to redefine HR and business in turn.

I have enjoyed my time as President of your HR Association.  I look forward to the future for all of us in terms of taking the HR profession to the next level and I know that the incoming president is in a great position to keep moving things forward in terms of developing the career paths and credibility of the HR profession.  Thanks to the Board of Directors who have also supported me over the last two years and of course, the wonderful staff at BCHRMA who make me look good at whatever function I have attended!

Jay-Ann Fordy
President, BC HRMA (2009-2011)

p.s.  AND I loved the Oxygen bar in the Marketplace!  I need to get one of those…

PeopleTalk: Summer 2011