HR GIG 6 – Employees Of The Future

Marisa Xuereb (President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce), was the panel moderator. The event opened with speeches by Corinne Fenech (StreetHR’s Strategic Partner and founder of TinkTings), and Rachael Blackburn (Head of Culture at APS Bank plc).

Marisa led an interesting discussion supported by Alexiei Dingli (Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Malta), Dr. Gordon Cordina (Executive Director at E-Cubed Consultants Limited), Edel Cassar (Director Strategy Implementation at MCAST), Zach Ciappara (Founder and Chief Executive Officer at FreeHour Malta), and Tamas Banyai (Chief Executive Officer at Epic).

The discussion highlighted the need for all stakeholders to come together in addressing future topics and strategies, as the current reality is that departments work separately, with the CEO and decision makers on one side and HR teams on another. This has led to challenges not only in finding the right people for employment, but also in the creation of new educational national strategies to fulfil perceived skills’ gaps. Additionally, new generations are entering the workplace with a different mindset and customer trends are rapidly changing.

Notably, shifts in customer experience and employee experience need to be addressed. Edel Cassar identified the efforts implemented to align educational programmes with industry needs and Alexei Dingli added valuable insights at the future of skills in the Maltese economy based on his research study, the Human Capital Research Project (HCRP). Zach Ciappara provided his own hands-on experience of what university students and upcoming generations think of the future of work whilst Tamas Banyai provided the audience with a practical outlook from a CEO perspective in managing a company’s transformation and change processes. Dr. Gordon Cordina introduced the topic with a discussion on whether HR is in itself a determinant of economic growth and whether HR professionals are responders or shapers of the future organisation.

The event also included a fun activity by Outdoor Living and live music performed by ‘The Busker’.