euroCRIS Conference Brussels

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Heather WeaverBusiness & Information Technology Department

Human Resources: the hidden treasure

euroCRIS seminar 19/20 SeptemberHeather Weaver

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Why invest in it?Where to look for it?How to keep it once you’ve found it?

The pearl of great price………..

Expert Human Capital

Expert Human Capital- why invest in it?

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Question

Managers want companies that are lean, nimble, flexible, responsive, competitive, innovative, efficient, customer-focused, and profitable

But why are so many…… bloated, clumsy, rigid,sluggish, non-competitive, uncreative, inefficient,

disdainful of customer needs and lose money?

Answer“The world in which they operate has changed beyond the limits of their capacity to adjust and evolve.”What measures can help us prevent this?(Reengineering the corporation by Michael Hammer and James Champy – Nicholas Bealey Publishing ISBN 1-85788 097 8)

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Continuous Quality Improvement“people-based programme focusing on thebetter management of our human resourceswhile, at the same time, seeking improvementsin all functions and processes within thebusiness”

Why do businesses need CQI?• Products change more rapidly in the light of technical advances• Products and services at the leading edge quickly become the norm• Greater competition in fixed or diminishing markets• Customers have higher expectations• Staff have higher expectations

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

How do businesses go about implementing CQI?

• Identify exactly what functions are essential to their business

• Make sure those functions use the right processes

• Get the right people to do the right jobs

• Manage in the right way

• Make sure your products and services are customer-focused,

• For internal as well as external customers(Continuous Quality Improvement by Alisdair White – Piatkus Publishing ISBN 0-7499-1675-3)

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Business transformations

Henry Ford introduced car production lines

Alfred Sloan introduced performance monitoring

Customer choices? – “you can have any colour as long as it’s black!”

Now customers have the upper hand – they have access to more information which helps them decide what they want and how they can get it, so if you can’t provide it they know someone else who can!

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Intellectual Capital – a working framework

IntellectualCapital

Human Influence

CommercialValue

Synthesis

Knowledge

Information

Data

How supermarkets structure their knowledgeManagement System: e.g. receipted purchases a) for stock control, b) multiple purchase offers, c) lifestyle profiling, d) offering other “non-core” services

Expert Human Capital- where to look for it?

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Attitude• the way people think and behave• the way the organisation thinks and behaves• is there a meeting of minds?

Achievement• “an accomplishment gained by effort”• tangible proof of outputs• not just talking about it but doing it “right”

Accession• look for evidence of new skills being added to existing portfolios• look for a desire to take on new challenges and succeed

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Advertise• showcase the organisation in the right places• a “successful” organisation is a permanent advertisement of itself

Advocacy• influence the labour market• existing staff should be our best ambassadors!

Assistance• participate in influential external peer groups• encourage peer to peer coaching/sharing

(Leading the organisation to learn by Mick Cope – Financial Times and Pitman Publishing ISBN 0-273-63524-7)

Expert Human Capital- how to keep it once you’ve found it

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Motivate• appreciate performance• not so much about reward as recognition• offer mentoring and coaching opportunities

Speculate• invest in your human capital through training, international travel, secondment• encourage movement/fluidity in the organisation

Accumulate• a body of expertise (e.g. record in a skills and competencies database)

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Is R & D any different from any other area of the business?• needs to be even more “lean, nimble, flexible, responsive, competitive, innovative and efficient” than any other area of the business

Should it be profitable? • depends on how we measure profit: “Know-how” is a vital asset of any business and highly marketable

Should it be customer-focused?• R & D funding in IT should lead to applications• applications are only viable if linked to customer needs/ expectations

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

The pearl of great price………………

Two types of pearls – natural and cultured• natural ones are the rarest(sometimes we come across people with a natural flare and they require little nurturing)

A cultured pearl – created by embedding a small bead of mother of pearl shell into a 3 year old oyster grows over a 4 year period and acts as an irritant – a bit like HR managers!(nearly always our human capital has to be stimulated to grow)

A Pearl is valued as a gem and is the secondbest selling gem to a diamond! – worth the investment?

Human Resources; the hidden treasure

Acknowledgements

Reengineering the corporation by Michael Hammer and James Champy – Nicholas Bealey Publishing (ISBN 1-85788 097 8)

Continuous Quality Improvement by Alisdair White – Piatkus

Publishing (ISBN 0-7499-1675-3)

Leading the organisation to learn by Mick Cope – Financial Times and Pitman Publishing (ISBN 0-273-63524-7)