The Association of Human Resource Professionals (HRP) was formed in 1999 to create a professional forum for HR professionals and is comprised of senior human resource professionals from many reputed private and public sector organisations in this country.
 
Driven by the highest of motives, HRP focuses on providing companies in Sri Lanka with professional development, an arena for networking and a focus for legislative intervention in national HRM issues while sharing experiences, knowledge and ideas that will promote and establish HRM as a dominant force in the business sector. The HRP also works towards the betterment and development of professional discipline and positively contributes towards optimizing human performance in the corporate and public sectors, as well as the country at large, ultimately creating a highly efficient and productive Nation with an industrious, well managed and very driven human resource – the nation’s people.
 
The HRP in keeping with its vision “To bring HR to the Forefront” was the first to conceive the idea of the National HRM Awards in 2002 and has organized the event twice since then. The event, which benchmarks Human Resources Management in Sri Lanka, is of immense value to participating Companies, and is a regular fixture on our business calendar which is slated to be held every two years. 
 
The last edition of the Awards, which was held in 2007, attracted over 90 companies out of which 50 companies were short listed and evaluated.
 
The Gold Awards were won by Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd, DFCC Bank, Hatton National Bank, HSBC, Keells Hotel Management  Services Limited, MAS Intimates Slimline (Pvt) Ltd, Sampath Bank Limited, Sri Lankan Airlines Limited, Virtusa (Pvt) Limited.
 
The Silver Awards were won by Aitken Spence Company PLC, Fonterra Brands (Lanka) Pvt Ltd, Hemas Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd, Heritance Kandalama, John Keells Computer Services Limited, Nations Trust Bank, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Limited, Trans Asia Hotels PLC and Union Assurance PLC.
 
The Panel of Judges was chaired by Prof. Gunapala Nanayakkara, a veteran and much respected global citizen and the Patron of the Association. The rest of the panel comprised of eminent personalities such as Dr. Santrupt Misra (Director-Aditya Birla Group), John Lavelle (Former HR Strategy Advisor – World Bank), Dr. Norman Maharaj (Commissioner – Public Services Commission, South Africa) Aruna Fernando (Former President – CIMA Sri Lanka) and Ravi Peiris (Director General – Employers Federation of Ceylon). The technical support for the HRM Awards 2007 was given by Hewitt Associates – India, the largest Human Resources consulting group, whilst John Keells Holdings were the main sponsors of the event along with many associates and co-sponsors.
 
The spotlight will yet again be on HRP when it unveils the latest edition of the “HRM Awards 2009 – Super 10” in 2010 with its strategic partners “Hewitt Associates – India”.
 
This much-awaited event on the HR calendar is expected to once again highlight human resource management as a pivotal component of modern day business both in the corporate and the government sector, and is scheduled to be launched with a Media Conference on 12th January 2010, with the Gala Awards Night and Learning Conference scheduled to be held in May 2010 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. This is the fourth occasion the HRP is presenting the HRM Awards in Sri Lanka.   
 
The award aims to identify and recognize “Best HRM Practices” in companies that develop employees, improve business operations and help companies to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. The HRP has entered into strategic alliances with professional partners for this year’s event to bring quality and transparency to the Awards. The evaluation process will place a special emphasis on the efforts and strategies adopted during the last two years to improve HR Processes within the organization. With the prospective outlook in the local economy and increased awareness about HRM Awards among the business sector, we are expecting over 150 applications this year as most companies have undergone several HR challenges and emerged successful during the past two years which will allow them to showcase their best practices in HR Management.