Volunteering to give back meaningfully to the community

Our aim at IHRP is to strengthen and uplift the HR profession and promote greater adoption of HR good practices. It’s a vision we can’t possibly achieve without the support and commitment of our IHRP community. These dedicated individuals give their time, knowledge and resources to help us deliver our promise to the community.

In this article, we would like to take the opportunity to thank and recognise the efforts and contributions from our amazing group of volunteers. We partner with them closely on various initiatives to curate and develop practical resources for the community, by the community.

It goes without saying that having a nationally recognised IHRP certification plays a key role in accelerating a professional career. Sriram Iyer, Founder & CEO, hrtech.sg has found this to be true of IHRP: “It enhanced my professional competence and, through association, I have gained access to an elite HR community that remains at the cutting edge of industry standards and practices,” explains Sriram. However, it is his volunteering activities for IHRP since 2018 that have been most rewarding. “Associating closely with IHRP’s HR Technology Taskforce as Programme Lead has provided me an opportunity to contribute back to the community by evangelising the adoption of technology by HR teams,” he adds.

“It has been truly fulfilling to play a small role in helping to strengthen Human Capital practices and build a vibrant HR ecosystem in Singapore.”

Nicole Poon, HR Senior Vice President, MatchMove Pay agrees. "I've particularly enjoyed the various learning journeys that we've organised to various organisations such as DBS and LinkedIn," she shares.

For Nicole, being able to pass on knowledge to other organisations has been an added bonus and a personal motivation for her. It is an invaluable experience from her efforts of volunteering with the IHRP community.

“I started the monthly meet-up sessions back in April 2019 and it has been one of the most memorable and fruitful events I have taken part in,” Nicole shares.

“Without IHRP, I may not have had the means to do this and meet other certified professionals.”

The joy is that the benefit is reciprocated. In addition to Nicole passing on her insights, she has been able to learn how different companies apply progressive HR practices, metrics and analytics into their work.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has provided unprecedented challenges for HR departments in every organisation, HR has shown themselves to be the pillars of support for their fellow HR colleagues, their employees and their respective organisations. Initially, Nurliza Madon, HR Senior Business Partner, Arup Singapore, joined IHRP to broaden her network and stay connected with fellow HR professionals. She couldn’t have imagined that she would end up volunteering to help IHRP put together toolkits to support the community through the pandemic.

“It was one of my most memorable moments being part of the IHRP family during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and being able to play my part in the IHRP COVID-19 taskforce,” she recalls. “It was a very fulfilling and rewarding experience.”

The taskforce gave her the opportunity to interact with people from other industries and to make new friends with whom she exchanges ideas and insights.

“COVID-19 has put us to the test,” agrees Adrian Ho, HR Manager, Holiday Inn Singapore Little India. “Interpreting the various and frequently changing regulations issued by MOM and ICA during the pandemic has allowed our HR community to stay at the forefront of our workforce,” Adrian explains. “Working with the taskforce, it is most satisfying to witness the wider HR community benefiting from our work, which helps make the profession stronger together.”

Being part of the IHRP community not only gives all of our certified professionals access to valuable resources, but also puts them in the driver’s seat of their HR career. Furthermore, it can offer a fulfilling and rewarding experience, where you can volunteer to give back to the community and partner with IHRP to uplift Singapore’s HR profession in a meaningful way.

In collaboration with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), we are inviting the IHRP community to pledge pro bono HR hours to help the Social Service Agencies (SSA) to uplift their HR capabilities.

Make your pledge at https://ihrp.sg/5th-anniversary/