Hrpro.be welcomed the delegates of the European Association of People Management (EAPM) the day before the conference. They attended the conference together with members of the HR community in Belgium.

During the international conference, many speakers were stressing the need for balance and courage.

  • “Hold the line and be prepared”, Berna Oztinaz (picture), the president of the European Association of People Management (EAPM),  told the international audience.
  • “As a profession, we need to stand for both values and business outcomes”, said David D’Souza, Director of profession at the CIPD.
  • “We should focus on more than only productivity when dealing with people”, said Shuming Fan, PhD Researcher at Ghent University, when discussing the disappointment people have concerning meritocracy. She also presented an alternative model for capability development that goed beyond productivity.
  • Chris Engels (Claeys & Engels) warned the HR community about the pipeline of regulations the EU is developing. “If all this come true, you will be very busy”, he warned the HR community.
  • Monica De Jonghe (VBO-FEB) urged the EU to stop the clock on the transparency directive but also presented a to-do list for HR. “Belgium is advanced in terms of equal pay. But the directive is so detailed and severe, that member countries have no possibility to adopt it according to the local situation”, she added.
  • Najwa Abid (DEME Group) illustrated how HR can influence he people agenda in a complex environment. “We combine life-long careers to life-long learning, which makes us unique”, she said.
  • Yentl Vandenbroucke and Anastasia Stichelmans (PerformanSe) challenged the audience on the decision-making processes of AI versus humans. “We need to be conscious about how people experience AI-decisions”, said Yentl Vandenbroucke. She also presented the PerformanSe Lab for soft skills assessment.
  • Claudia Toma (ULB) provided a practical way of thinking about DEI, anchored in research. “AI is not dead, even after the backlash and the fatigue”, she said.
  • The conference concluded with a powerful reflection by Erik Prieels on leading people through uncertainty with dignity and calm. (Ruhig Bleiben).

“Throughout this conference, we’ve debated humanity and behavior,” David Ducheyne concluded. “Ultimately, HR is about ensuring people are both willing and able to contribute.”