HMI as an institute has contributed to the development of health managers and thereby influencing the way health services have been delivered, writes Theresa Heller Hon Secretary, HMI Council and Assistant National Director of HR, Corporate Business Partner, Human Resources Division HSE.
To celebrate the 80th anniversary of HMI is a milestone and I am privileged to write an article marking this occasion.
Human Resources in the Irish public health service also celebrated its third Annual Conference and I, part of the ‘People’ profession have decided to share with you my thoughts on some of the key themes of presentation/discussion from the Conference entitled “Transformation Through People.”
As the organiser of this conference, supported by my fabulous team, I personally reflected on my ‘People’ (HR) experience over a long career in the health service, in particular how it has moved on from a transactional to transformational role. It is evident at all times, but in particular in times of change for any organisation, the importance of the Human Resource profession and its response and support is at the heart of the change process, which supports the organisations goal and ultimately patient care.
The Theme throughout the conference addressed the importance of Human Resource being part of the significant change in our health services and in particular in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Generations and differing work expectations, E-rostering, employee self-service platforms, talent acquisition and on-boarding, to name a few, and of course the Health and Wellbeing of our staff.
It is equally important for us to remind ourselves that the human element of People profession cannot be replaced by Artificial Intelligence and that we continue to develop and train our staff to the highest standard. We will still need the people experts, as this is critical to future business sustainability
Another theme of the conference was the importance of dignity and decency in the workplace. There was a particular emphasis on diversity and equality in the workplace and the importance of having robust policies to support work in these areas. The population of Ireland is diverse now, which is reflected in our workforce and while every effort is taken to embrace diversity, something that resonated in my mind were phrases mentioned at the conference such as ‘Silence Speaks,’ and ‘The true sense of inclusion is not inviting someone to a party but inviting them to join you on the dancefloor.’
It’s not just enough to have a policy but they must be abundant, loud and clear and reflect our core values, Care, Compassion and Learning.
I would like to take the opportunity to highlight the essence of the HSE People Strategy (2025-2027) Enabling Our People to Deliver, which paves the way on which HR professionals can continue their journey making meaningful contributions to the Health Service. . The five strategic themes -namely Strategic Workforce Planning and Resourcing, Building High- Achieving and Adaptive Teams to Enable Great Performance, Fostering a Diverse and Inclusive Culture, Supporting a Safe and Healthy Workplace and Strengthening the Ethos of Open Feedback and Innovation, sets out HSE’s and HR’s commitments and areas of focus to develop, embrace and support the HSE Corporate Plan and create a culture of performance and delivery.
As we celebrate the 80th anniversary of HMI, I wish everyone all the very best in their efforts to make a difference, so that collectively we can deliver a health service of which we can be proud.
