How can we better lead in today’s technologically disruptive age? That’s the question that was posed at the WA Leaders Conference on 30 May at Beaumonde on the Point in Perth.
The conference was created by Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management in WA to bring together experts from a broad range of backgrounds to share their perspectives on the changing approach to leading and managing human resources, the rise of digital technologies and the impact of both of these factors on the current and future workforce.
The Hon. Dave Kelly MLA Minister for Water, Fisheries, Forestry, Innovation and ICT, and Science opened the conference and made a plea to the audience to create equity as we develop the engineering workforce for the future. This theme was expanded on later in the day as industry was called on to provide more opportunities to upcoming engineers across our community – through work experience, paid internships and practicum placements and graduate positions.
The keynote was given by Andrew Charlton, a former senior economic advisor to the Prime Minister and current director at AlphaBeta Advisors.
Charlton addressed the threat of automation to the workforce and how he hoped that 2018 would be the peak for people’s anxiety about their jobs being displaced by technology.
He preached a positive outlook on this fear, suggesting that, as indicated by similar technological step changes in the past, will lead to people finding safer, less repetitive jobs. In the first session of the day Amy Cooper, Francis Norman, Erica Smyth and Renee Kearney spoke of the critical need for organisations to understand the changes occurring locally and globally that are impacting on human resources. Organisations must plan for transitioning people into new roles (potentially with other companies) through retraining or redeployment.
The panel spoke of using new language when writing job descriptions in order to attract good applicants and the importance of sourcing genuine referees – a key piece of advice was to listen carefully to what they say and pay attention to what they don’t say.
The importance of interpersonal skills was reiterated, particularly the need for effective communication and interactions in the workplace – including remote working and virtual teaming.
During the second session, delegates heard from Jill Slay, Sue Keay, Russell Potapinski and Paul Haskell-Dowland on evolving digital resources. The speakers shared video examples of how the technology is being applied and used across different industry sectors.
The panel answered questions on this evolving technology and how it can best be implemented. A poignant take-away was that buy-in on robots required direct experience and the inclusion of those who will be affected by their presence.
Blair Marsh, Conrad Liveris and Mike Horabin were the speakers for the third session and provided great insights and differing views on a number of workplace topics that got everyone in attendance thinking.
They were then joined by Erica Smyth and Sue Keay for the final panel discussion of the day, a lively debate on best practices and what leaders can do in order to maximise productivity and leverage greater potential from their workforce in this age of technological disruption.
Developing a culture, embracing change and the importance of proper governance were some of the major talking points covered in the discussion, important topics for all to consider.
The 2018 WA Leaders Conference was a huge success, with many in attendance already inquiring about next year’s conference.
Engineers Australia wishes to thank all speakers, moderators and attendees for their participation in this year’s event.
SPEAKERS
Andrew Charlton – AlphaBeta Advisors
Amy Cooper– People Solutions
Francis Norman – NERA
Erica Smyth – Mega Data Cluster
Renee Kearney – BHP
Jill Slay – La Trobe University
Sue Keay – ARC Centre of Excellence for Robotic Vision
Russell Potapinski – Woodside Energy
Paul Haskell-Dowland – Edith Cowan University
Blair Marsh – South Metropolitan TAFE
Conrad Liveris – Corporate Advisor
Mike Horabin – Board Advice
Justin Strharsky – Unearthed
