Human resource management professionals, people managers, CEOs and business leaders, who will be attending the 39th annual HR conference hosted by HRMAJ, are in for three days of rich content; learning and hearing from numerous knowledgeable and experienced experts, spanning various fields, to share insight on the conference theme — ‘SMART Organisation…Optimising Value’, according to organisers.

HRMAJ’s Conference39 gets underway on Wednesday, November 13 at the Knutsford Court Hotel. Over the three days, featured speakers will each tailor their presentations around the conference’s sub-themes — ‘Smart People’; ‘Digital Description’; ‘Business Essentials’; ‘People Analytics’ and ‘Smart Leadership’.

Keynote speaker on the opening day of the conference is Marcus McChristian, Management Officer, US Embassy in Kingston who will be addressing the topic ‘SMART Leadership’. Other featured speakers include — Michelle Yeo, Chief People Officer, itelbpo Smart Solutions presenting on the topic — ‘People Success — a SMART Move’; Phadra Saunders, Director, People, Flow Jamaica & Flow Cayman will present on ‘SMART Performance Management’; Dr Dave Muir, University of Technology, Jamaica, will present on topic — ‘Robotics and Psychometrics – Is there a relationship?’; Tomeisha McKenzie, HR Programmes Manager, HR Solutions, will share insights into ‘Building a Case for HR Transformation’; Dr Ijah Thompson, Essential Medical Services, will speak to the importance of the relationship between the health and well-being of employees and organisation performance, while Íñigo Sánchez-Cabezudo, Director, Global Markets, Society for Human Resource Management, will speak to a group of high level HR managers at an Executive Exchange looking at the topic — ‘Leading in a Disruptive Era’; Dr Henley Morgan, Management Consultant closes out day-one speaking to the topic ‘Social Transformation at WORK’.

President of HRMAJ, Karl Williams says he is excited and looking forward to another great conference, rich with information and practical solutions that will be beneficial to HR professionals, as the industry continues to evolve, and the workplace becomes even more dynamic.

“Now more than ever, it is important for HR professionals to transform the HR landscape, focusing on building and strengthening SMART organisations and optimising value in all areas — people, technology, systems — as we continue to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the industry,” Williams said.

Over the other two conference days featured speakers and topics include:

• Tricia Dehaney, MD, employee Learning & Performance Solutions — ‘Learning & Development…simply SMART’;

• Dr Pearnel Bell, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Psychology — ‘Mindfulness and Mindset Drives SMART Problem Solving and Decision-making’;

• Tamique Hines, Software Development Manager, MCS Group – JN Group — ‘HR without Humans? WOW!!’ ;

• Dr Hopelin Hines, Director, Total Rewards and Evaluation, Bank of Nova Scotia — ‘Engaging the SMART Way’;

• Dr Terry Thomas, Post Graduate Lecturer & Consultant, The University of the West Indies, ‘Work Redesign for SMARTER Organizations’;

• Joe Cardiello, Dale Carnegie Master Trainer — ‘Leveraging AI for Smart Business Success’;

• Craig McNally, Counsellor, University of Technology, Jamaica — ‘SMART Workplace = High Performance’;

• Ulla Wyckoff Tomlinson, Group Facilitator & Coach — ‘Building SMART Relationships at Work’;

• Jason Scott, Innovate 10X, Manager, Market & Commercialisation — ‘Powering What’s Next!’.

Other major highlights for the conference will include the announcement of the HRMAJ Member of the Year, the HR Innovation award and the presentation of the HRMAJ tertiary bursary.