The chairman and national president of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), Peter Wilson AM, has been appointed as the new president of the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA).

The WFPMA represents more than 600,000 HR and people management professionals from 91 countries around the world, and conducts global research on best practice.

Wilson says that, as well as feeling personally humbled and honoured to be nominated to take on the role, “it really reflects recognition of and respect for the work that the new AHRI has done over the last 10 years for the HR profession globally”.

The big issues that he and WFPMA face, says Wilson, are, primarily, lifting standards of HR practice globally and being at the forefront of managing workplace changes for people in a highly disruptive, digital business world.

Wilson plans to tackle these issues in three ways.

“First on HR certification, I want to encourage greater harmonisation and co-operation among the leading countries, in lifting the standards of our profession, namely in the US, UK, Mexico, Australia and Singapore – and to encourage others to make and sustain their own certification journey.”

Secondly, Wilson aims to help lift the standards of HR national association practice among smaller and developing nations, by sharing and transfer of best practices from developed nations.

“Thirdly, it’s important to tap into the resources of our 700,000 global members to assist and advance the work of selected members of the top six global researchers investigating workplace issues, the nature of the modern worker, and other HR issues,” says Wilson.

The WFPMA was founded in June 1976 with five main objectives:

1. To improve the quality and effectiveness of professional people management, and to demonstrate the importance of the HR role in all employing organisations, both public and private.
2. To stimulate and assist in the establishment and development of regional and national personnel man-agement associations in those parts of the world where a continental or regional association does not exist.
3. To create and maintain contacts with all WFPMA member associations as well as with other organisations which have some activity in the same or similar field.
4. To support or represent personnel management associations in their contacts with world organisations such as ILO, UNESCO, the UN, etc.
5. To commission or undertake research which will further broaden understanding of personnel issues.

The WFPMA conducts regular events, and since 1986 has held a world congress every two years. It also conducts research of global relevance to its members and publishes WorldLink, its official global enewsletter.

Peter Wilson replaces the outgoing world federation president, Jorge Jauregui, from Mexico.
The appointment is for two years from 2016-2018.