The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) said human resources (HR) professionals can no longer be mere custodians of employment but must evolve into ‘stewards of the entire work experience’.

Guest Speaker and Coordinator of Personnel Affairs at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Dr Sabastine Okeke, said this at the 66th specialised induction ceremony, where the church’s administrators and HR staff were inducted as members of the CIPM.

Speaking on the theme ‘Raising the Bar of Professional Standards: HR as a Steward of Transformation’, Okeke highlighted the pivotal role of HR professionals in driving excellence and sustainable transformation within organisations and society.

While he outlined the essential capabilities of HR leaders in today’s rapidly changing world vis-a-vis business acumen, data literacy, effective communication, and change management expertise, he said that only by mastering them could HR professionals truly lead the transformation.

According to him, “Raising the bar is not a one-time event but an ongoing process of reflection, recalibration, and re-creation.

He stated that today’s HR professionals must not only align organisational culture with business goals but also ensure that technology, ethics, and humanity work together for sustainable impact.

President and Chairman of the Governing Council, CIPM, Ahmed Gobir, also charged the new inductees to embrace their roles not just as HR practitioners but as “stewards of transformation.”

Stating that the first requirement of stewardship was faithfulness, he said that raising the bar was to be faithful to the profession, ethics, people, and to the trust that society places in them as HR professionals.

“To raise the bar also means to refuse to settle for mediocrity. It means to look at the current reality of HR practice in Nigeria and boldly declare that good is not good enough, but only excellence will do.

“Today, you are crossing from potential to professional. HR is not about pushing files; it is about stewarding destinies, igniting purpose, and transforming organisations. The true measure of HR is not in the policies you write, but in the lives you transform,” he said.

The ceremony formally inducted six full members and 77 associates.