‘HR Unlocked: What you didn’t know you need to know’, was the theme for the Cayman Islands Society of Human Resources Professionals (CISHRP) 10th Annual Conference.

The conference was held over two days, Thursday, 9 May, and Friday, 10 May, 2013 at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

The conference featured a ‘marketplace’ with 21 booths set up by organisations that offered assistance to HR professions in various ways.

Scheduled featured speakers were:

LAURIE RUETTIMANN – With over a decade of Human Resources experience in Fortune 500 organizations, Laurie Ruettimann is an influential speaker, writer and social media expert.

TOPIC –   BEST PRACTICES IN HR AND SOCIAL MEDIA

As the social media revolution continues, Human Resources must become fluent in the ever‐changing landscape of technology. HR leaders who commit to attracting and retaining a talented workforce must learn how to embrace social media and manage risks while answering key questions for executive constituencies.

∙           Is there considerable payoff to the bottom line?

∙           Will social media increase their competitive edge?

∙           How do you use social media to positively impact employee engagement and become employer of choice?

RYAN KAHN – Career Coach Ryan Kahn has placed thousands of college students, recent grads, and job seekers on the path to their dream career. Kahn is founder of The Hired Group, star of MTV’s Hired, and author of Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad.

TOPIC – HIRED! RECRUITING AND ENGAGING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

As Baby Boomers begin to retire in increasing numbers, the ability to recruiting and engage the Gen Y, or Millennial workforce is key. Currently, Gen Y accounts for approximately 50 percent of the world’s population and this number is expected to double in 2015.  By 2025, Gen Y will encompass 75 percent of the workforce.  These young professionals hold different traits and values than previous generation.

MARTHA RAMIREZ – is the Director, Western Region & Field Services Director for the North Central Region for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Martha’s primary responsibility is to help SHRM members, volunteer leaders, HR professionals and their organizations find rewarding ways to get engaged in our chapter structure, the profession and with SHRM.

TOPICS

1)   THE HR PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY MODEL: A ROAD MAP FOR SUCCESS

Talk about the HR Professional Competency Model, which SHRM recently developed to allow HR professionals to systematically analyze their competency needs and to help organizations develop performance appraisal tools and other HR systems.

2)  WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY: THE NEXT IMPERATIVE FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND HR LEADERSHIP

Workplace flexibility has become a key business strategy to leverage the talents and skills of today’s increasingly diverse, aging, and multi‐generational workforce. Talk on how flexible work arrangements such as job sharing, flexible scheduling, phased retirement, and telecommuting can drive employee engagement, productivity, retention, and benefit your organization’s bottom line.

ALEX TYMON – Senior lecturer in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at Portsmouth University Business School and a member of the business education research group. Alex teaches on the MSc HRM programme which has been successfully run in the Cayman Islands for over a decade.

TOPIC – THE ART OF SELECTING AND DEVELOPING LEADERS – HAS THE LEADERSHIP GAME CHANGED? AN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP

Interactive workshop to explore issues with leadership recruitment, development and measurement caused by ‘implicit leadership’ and ‘romance of leadership’ theories that makes us question current accepted wisdom.

CINDY BLEKAITIS – Currently the Programme Manager of the Employee Assistance Programme of the Cayman Islands.  She is a Certified Trauma Services Specialist.

TOPIC – WORKPLACE BULLYING: DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS AND POSSIBLE IMPACT?

Bullying can have a serious impact on a workplace. For an employee who is targeted by workplace bullying, the workplace can become a place to fear. For an employer, the hidden costs of such behaviour can quickly mount up. In order to address the issue we must understand how to identify workplace bullying and why it is important to confront and stop it.

INGA MASJULE – She is based in Walkers’ Cayman Islands office and is Global Executive HR Director. Inga has worked in the field of Human Resources for almost  20  years.

TOPIC – MANAGING TALENT GLOBALLY: HR STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES

What is talent? Most employers these days have several generations of employees working together in the workplace ‐ how do we ensure they are motivated and engaged? How do best employers recruit, develop and reward talent globally? What role should HR play in the talent management process?

JACQUELINE PERREAULT TEUNISSE – She is the Corporate Wellness Director for BritCay and has over 15 years’ experience in the health care industry designing health promotion and wellness related programs for individuals, government and corporations.

TOPIC – CORPORATE WELLNESS AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY

In the struggle to contain rising healthcare costs, more and more of the top employers are taking bold actions and offering wellness programs to empower employees to take control of their health and hold them accountable to costs. Such programs have interchangeably been entitled population health management, health promotion or corporate wellness.

ALEX MCCALLISTER – He is the Health Manager for British Caymanian Insurance Agencies Limited, a member of Colonial Group International.  Alex has worked in the field of Health Insurance for over 20 years.

TOPIC – HEALTH INSURANCE UPDATE

Talk about the new health insurance laws and regulation changes and how it impacts your company, including the effects on your new hire process, employee benefits and company expenses.

GRAHAM PEARSON – He is the co‐founder, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paragon, a group of entities referred to as the Ignition Technology Group.

Graham has spent more than 30 years in the technology sector establishing IT companies from start up through growth and sustainable revenue modes.

TOPIC – THE FUTURE OF HR MANAGER SOFTWARE IN CAYMAN

Blue Bison’s HR Manger software has been developed in conjunction with the Labour Law and immigration laws to specifically address the Human Resource requirements of the Cayman Islands.  HR Manager centralises all HR functions in one fully integrated system. Talk on its future.

In the welcoming address, conference co-chair Chris Bailey said there were a number of HR issues involving topics like technology, social media and wellness that were constantly evolving so it was important for HR professionals to stay up to date with the best practices on those issues.

Jackie Myles, the other conference co-chair, thanked the sponsors of the event and particularly BritCay, which stepped up as the headline sponsor.