A major conference will be held in September this year, bringing together the top human resources executives from the region to discuss the challenges of strategic management faced by African organisations. HR leaders in Africa 2012 is being organised by International conference leaders Informa, in conjunction with Afrocet, and will run from September 10-12 in Lagos. Representatives from leading Nigerian and international companies, including IBM, Halliburton, Unilever, Microsoft and MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, will examine innovative HR strategies to help organisations meet their goals and improve performance.
Stevens Sainte-Rose, Group HR Director of Coca-Cola highlighted the importance of this conference, stating, “Africa is the last frontier for most multi-national companies. It faces several challenges to HR professionals to support business growth. This conference will be key to help understand and address these challenges.”
To improve performance, organisations need to be able to build “systems, cultures and a leadership style that better align personal and organisation goals”, adds Prof. Patrick Okedinachi Utomi of Lagos Business School. “When Charles Perrow argued in his book, Complex Organisations, about the ease of substituting organisational goals with personal goals, he could have been writing about a central challenge that results in the underperformance of many organisations in Africa and accounts for many low demand environments in the continent’s business and the public sector”. Another vital challenge is securing a talent pipeline of skilled, competent staff. “Making sure the organisation has the skills and competencies to deliver its business objectives, and ensuring that there are enough skilled people coming through the organisation to replace senior staff who are retiring, are issues that we are facing right now. We need to make sure that our HR staff are up to this challenge”, said Amina Oyagbola of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.
AfroCET is an African conference, exhibition and training organiser that is a key partner of Informa Africa, operating locally to deliver high-end international events. It is headed by Dr. Adewale Balogun and Bryan Pearson whose experience of running such events in Africa dates back to a partnership they commenced in 1986. Afrocet, based in Lagos and with offices in Ghana and Kenya, is your local touch point for all enquiries.