In the context of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of our Association, various subcommittees were set up in order to come up with ideas, set up an activity plan for the year and support the implementation of these activities.

One of the subcommittees aimed to provide support to students of the program MSc HRM and Business Management, in various Universities in Cyprus, where 5 Professionals and Members of the Association presented and discussed issues related to Human Resources.

Specifically, Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou, Athena Neophytou, Charis Anastassiadou, Stella Solomi and Efi Dimitriou, in consultation with Professors from the University of Cyprus, Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM), University of Nicosia and Cyprus Institute of Marketing (CIM), successfully organized the event, where more than 100 students gave their presence either online or physical.

The presentation introduced the actions of the Cyprus Human Resource Management Association and the benefits it offers to its Members. Afterward, the HR Professionals referred to the future of the Sector in Cyprus, as well as to the global society and economy, giving their own point of view on this issue.

Mr. Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou said “The future has arrived. As AI invades our lives, our jobs will become inherently more interesting, leaving repetitive, mechanistic tasks to the bots. Moreover, substantial demographic changes lead to a highly diverse future workplace. All these issues create a whole new set of challenges with regards to the upskilling and reskilling of our workforces, to be able to navigate the new normal. HR needs to be on top of the transformation agenda and become future-proof itself…”

Mrs. Efi Demetriou quoted that “I believe that a foreseeable future challenge will be, the effort to keep up with the new status quo and the new reality through the pandemic. The existing situation develops the willingness to reinvent not only ourselves but our processes, as well as an effort to cultivate and enhance the capabilities of the employees in order to be able to adapt to new ways of work and collaboration. While grass is getting greener, we foresee a shift of economies/ organizations toward more sustainable working environments/practices/ technologies/ job positions.  In order for companies to champion this, it will take some kind of a re-engineering process. With the new ecosystem that is being harnessed, in most organizations, the future challenge of work will also lie in the importance of leadership. Effective leadership requires employees to step up and develop abilities to navigate through disruption, steering teams during rapid transformations and managing multiple teams/ stakeholders remotely.”

Mrs. Charis Anastassiadou underlined that “We are living at a time where the pandemic is undoubtedly promoting the “future of work “at a rapid pace, without looking back. Digital transformation is taking place very fast and the hybrid work model has become part of our lives. As a result, I feel that some of the biggest challenges our profession will be facing in the future will be our ability to work continuously with agility, to reorganize the way we work through a volatile environment, whilst managing five different generations at work (for the first time in history), with different characteristics and needs, managing teams that are no longer homogeneous, do not have a standard workplace or work schedule, as well as to promote social change around the realms of equality, diversity, wellness and environmental awareness. Consequently, we will be responsible for identifying and developing the right skills for people who hold leadership positions, so that they will be able to manage all the above challenges, which we face in combination for the first time. To conclude, I feel that the HR profession will become even more interesting and will be further recognized as a strategic partner for organizational success.”.

Ms. Athena Neophytou considers that “a future challenge will be the flexibility that companies must show to satisfy their employees in a hybrid work model, which will balance their personal and professional life. “Both technological and digital upgrades are needed in conjunction with outsourcing, to address the shortage of manpower without reducing the level of business customer service.”

After the presentation, the students had the opportunity to ask questions about their concerns and a constructive and interesting discussion followed for the attendees.

We would like to thank all those who helped to coordinate and organize this initiative:

University of Cyprus – Professor Eleni Stavrou-Kostea, Dr. Christiana Ierodiakonou

Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM) – Dr. Vicky Katsioloudes, Ms. Despina Pastou

University of Nicosia – Ms. Maria Michailidis and UNIC – Career Success Center

Cyprus Institute of Marketing (CIM) – Mr. Yangos Hadjiyannis, Mr. Fotis Pavlou