The human resources fraternity in Sri Lanka and most CEO's of local companies will have the opportunity to listen and interact with the 'undisputed global guru of HR – Dave Ulrich', said Dinesh Weerakkody, Chairman of the Employer Relations CIMA Sri Lanka.

In a press release, Mr. Weerakkody said given the high fees Prof. Ulrich commands and the prohibitive cost of attending such an event overseas, it would have limited this experience to a few in the country otherwise. He added that HR talent has most certainly emerged as the key success factor in business growth today.

Recent research not only by Prof. Ulrich's firm RBL but also Mc Kinsey has found that high growth companies, particularly in India and other Asian countries leverage on four factors, two of which are intellectual capital and innovation, factors which depend totally on the quality of HR in an organization. Mr. Weerakkody said Prof. Ulrich is the leader in researching HR in relation to business success and will be sharing his knowledge at the forum.

Mr. Weerakkody said the session will identify specific people issues which are important to organizations and how such matters should be managed for organizational success. Prof. Ulrich will dwell on how the HR function can be transformed through the process of innovation, structure, practices and people. He will use his wealth of commercial experience, research, learning and knowledge to present to the audience some practical work tools.

Mr. Weerakkody added that the young HR professional in Sri Lanka tend to rely mostly on formal training such as diplomas and degrees and get very little mentoring from superiors in their work scenarios. "This conceptual approach alone cannot bale them out when faced with the value creation challenge at the cutting edge of business. Ulrich teaches how to create intangible for the owners of business, secure enduring customer share, helping build the brand image of the product/service in the community."