'Be curious, commercial and compassionate'

HR can change lives for the better if the function can stay focussed on serving the people who serve customers

'Be curious, commercial and compassionate'

HR needs to prioritise delivering strategic and commercial outcomes for their organisations for today and tomorrow, according to Lucinda Gemmell – Group Executive, People, Virgin Australia.

“We can change lives for the better if we remember to stay focussed on serving the people who serve our customers,” added Gemmell.

Gemmel will be a speaker at the National HR Summit on the topic of This is the Future of HR Leadership.

Gemmel added that the National HR Summit is important because it is a reminder of the “significant impact HR can have on culture and performance of organisations”.

So, if Gemmell could give one piece of advice to HR professionals relating to her topic - what would it be?

“Be curious, commercial and compassionate.”

Another speaker at the National HR Summit will be Chris Lamb, Group Head of Talent & Organisational Development at Lendlease.

Lamb will be speaking on the topic of Diversity and Inclusion in a Post #metoo World.

His topic is particularly significant given the world has changed so much over the last two years and HR is changing with it.

Indeed, we are now seeing unprecedented levels of workforce diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity, culture, religion and sexual identification.

“HR has a critical role to play in ensuring the connections between Diversity & Inclusion, company strategy and organisational outcomes are clear,” said Lamb.

“Diverse teams achieve better outcomes, it’s that simple.”

Lamb added that professional growth is critical to developing a long term career in any profession.