More than 5,000 HR professionals, as well over 100 exhibitors are expected to take part in the upcoming HR Summit & Expo in Dubai, UAE.

Held under the theme, ‘Empowering the People Side of Business’, the 14th edition of the summit takes place from 6 to 8 November at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Speaking ahead of his livestream guru session at the HR Summit & Expo 2017, Simon Sinek, the world-renowned speaker, best-seller author and popular advocate for workforce fulfilment, said that the misconceived role of HR and the people who work in the profession needs to change in order to positively impact the success of an organisation.

Sinek said: “In my opinion, HR serves one of the most valuable jobs in business today, which is to solely represent the people.

“HR, especially in large companies, has lost its purpose.  They seem to focus more on the ‘resources' and not the ‘human', in so many companies.  When I talk to HR directors, they believe their purpose is to carry out the will of the senior executives. For example, if the CEO wants to have layoffs, those HR people will carry out their wishes.

“But I think HR's responsibility is at a much higher level.  They are the last line of defence between executives and the people, and they are the ones the people should be able to look to, to defend them against sometimes short-term thinking that would hurt them.”

The best-selling author of ‘Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action’, Simon Sinek’s highly anticipated livestream session will run from 3:30pm on 8 November.  The event will also feature headline gurus Professor Michael Useem from Wharton Business School; Thinkers50 Guru Professor Lynda Gratton and number eight on the Thinkers 50 list Professor Herminia Ibarra from London Business School.

Hoda Abdelhay, event director, said: “The HR Summit & Expo has positioned itself as a hub to educate businesses and individuals on the evolving workplace. While companies need to understand how to get the most out of their employees, a new generation of workers will learn how to stay competitive in a growing pool of talent fuelled by organisations’ globalisations goals. We are proud to launch the HR Tech Zone at the Summit this year – a platform helping forward-thinking professionals rethink HR and leverage technology to exceed employee expectations and succeed in business.”

The expanded practical seminars held over the three days will deliver more than 70 sessions spanning seven themes: learning and development; employee engagement; HR technology and people analytics; compensation, benefits and employee wellness; professional development; business, leadership and strategy; and recruitment and talent management.

Sinek added: “More and more, attention is being focused on things like purpose inside an organisation, why does the organisation exist, and why we should work beyond our salaries. I think that more and more attention is placed on leadership training.

“Many companies offer huge amounts of training for their employees when they come on board to teach them how to do their job, but offer very little training as they get promoted on how to be leaders, and yet that is a skillset. I’m seeing companies invest in things such as communication skills, conflict resolution, listening courses and other leadership skills.” – TradeArabia News Service