Creative Human “Intelligence” Management –

The future path of HRBy Dr. Sandeep Kuulshrestha

Human Resource Management function is a vital function in most of the organizations today, with variations of its strategic role. Some organizations have taken this function to new heights by successfully introducing performance management features like Six Sigma, Balance Score Card, 360 degree appraisals (now 720 and 1080 degrees as well) and technologically, customized programs are available on SAP and ORACLE platforms to support the e-delivery of HR, another empowering tool. Some Organizations have re-christened HR as “Human Capital”, “Human Asset” and so on. The important thing is to make the function relevant with the changing times, with any nomenclature, as found suitable by any organization. The growth in services and customer delivery has made HR quite close to the Customer Relationship Management function and these functions have to work in tandem, so that appropriate organizations goals can be met. With the current organizational challenges and the future dynamics, there would be a defining need to look at HR with a different perspective, the creative side of it, to cope up with the changing times. If we can, for gossip sake or in all seriousness try to look at HR in the future, it can be well seen that HR is most likely to go through a whole metamorphosis and transform into a “creative” function. It could be either a role in itself, as a part of the HR domain or a HR function in totality. Let us assume HR’s extended role as “Creative Human Intelligence Management”, explained as under;

Creative Human Intelligence Management (CHIM) would consist of all such activities which enrich & entertain human minds at workplace and make them deliver in highly empowered, flexible and experimental environment, with their creativity promoted and supported by the Organization. The function of CHIM would be:

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a) Recruiting with Creativity: Recruitment, as an exercise, would be done by visiting the candidate’s residence and seeing how he/she manages the household. Alternatively, a webcam or other technological sources can be utilized for this purpose. The candidate could be asked about his/her take on life and relationships, along with the professional skills and expertise. In another way, interviewers should give presentation about the company first and then ask the candidate, to ask questions. Through the quality of questions posed, the recruiters can find whether the candidate is suitable or not. In the second round, there should be just one question, “given this situation, how will you contribute”

b) Home as office: The concept of “work from home” would be given more prominence owing to the growth in the cities and more time taken to reach the workplace. More and more job functions would be included in this concept. Technology would be of immense assistance

c) Encourage employees to take up creative interests: Employees would be sponsored for short term courses in music, gardening, interior design, pottery, journalism, poetry and fiction etc, which would broaden their horizon and would inculcate a sense of creativity in whatever they do.

d) Three-day weekend: Three day weekend will be encouraged after four days of extensive work in certain organizations and Fridays would be utilized for sending plan of next working week to the team lead/superior

e) Rewarding the under-performer: Under-performers can be rewarded by giving paid holidays and giving them no work. They could be asked to give solutions and suggestions and subsequently, it could be observed by the management whether the concerned individual is a habitual under-performer or his intelligence needs to be boosted.

f) Creative Performance Management System: Creative PMS can be based on the principle of “Surprise Reviews”,

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wherein the format of appraisal forms could be very simple (around one page) and any person, with whom the individual/team has worked, could be asked any feedback. The Boss should go to a restaurant/pub to have the appraisal interview, with the team members

Besides the above mentioned points, there can be a lot of activities and processes in HR which would act as “Human Intelligence Boosters”. There is a definite need to utilize the human potential to the maximum, with less of stress and more of enjoyment and entertainment. An employee needs to be entertained at workplace, not by means of any jam sessions or parties, but by the way he/she would be treated at the workplace. A good work culture, where human intelligence is respected, results in excellent performance and sound HR practices.

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