Please stop it I can't stand it anymore!

HR reports on Jackie Orme, CEO of the CIPD saying

HR can no longer simply measure its success by good people management, but must focus on sustainable performance, innovation and leadership..by attracting, "the brightest and best"

Ok so I clearly agree on innovation but.....she also claims the profession is but a teenager! Well given its reaction to technologies such as Web 2.0 (and HR 2.0) and the fact that we as a profession have been around at least since the industrial revolution in the UK I think rather that senility has set in.

Innovation works but we dont do it!

60% of senior UK business executives believe that innovation can add significantly to their business' bottom line but only 6% believe their business to be innovative!

I helped facilitate a Breakfast Briefing this morning hosted by Atos Consulting, Boyden and Google with a large group of delegates drawn from across the sectors (Financial Times, Channel 4, World Television Group, BAE Systems etc). The discussion centered round the question, "...is innovation the lifebuoy in a sinking economy?". The session was fascinating and I especially liked the idea that we should encourage our people to "fail quickly", by piloting small versions of innovative projects and then acting on those results.

During the Q&A session I conducted a straw poll on who felt that innovation added significantly to the bottom line - roughly 60% of the group thought there was indeed a link. When I asked a supplementary - "ok, so who thinks they work for an innovative company?" only 6% of the group put their hands up. Is this a sign that organisations are missing a trick here, possibly in response to the economic downturn? Does innovation only happen in "others" organisations?

Credits: Picture by Greg Stewart of Clarity Rules

Why innovate now?

This excellent presentation on innovation further supports the evidence presented previously here that innovation provides a key route out of the economic crisis. Over to you HR professionals - how are we going to innovate?

Innovation and Strategic Growth

View more presentations from imootee. (tags: business idris)

Innovate out of the economic downturn - "a good cold shower for the economic system."

According to NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) Innovation is:

...the development and dissemination of a new product, service or process that produces economic, social or cultural change.

Innovation is the integration of scientific discoveries, new technology and creative activity leading to economic and social value.

Economic downturns can have positive effects; they force companies to increase their efficiency, cut waste, and strive to do things in smarter ways. In such times is has been claimed that innovation is the single most important condition for transforming crisis into an opportunity (Mahroum, Business Week 2008).

This is an area where I believe HR can play a significant role – a specific subject on which I will return to in the near future. However, there are some macro level opportunities for organisations and governments to support innovation - which given the evidence presented here only work:

Injecting capital. New funds should be provided to fill the gap in any serious downfall in private investment in strategic science and technology (S&T) including areas areas such as disruptive technology, nanotechnology, alternative energy, health and life sciences.

This approach was taken by the South Korean government when the country was hit by an economic crisis in the 1990s. Two years later spending on R&D exceeded pre-crisis levels, and Korean businesses did not have to play catch-up when the economy bounced back.

Think Global. Encourage international investments in S&T programmes from nations and regions that have cash such as China, the Gulf, and Japan.

The Japanese are looking to expand globally, the Chinese are hungry for knowledge transfer, and more recently, small, rich Gulf countries have allocated billions of dollars to spend on science, technology, and learning programs. Expensive long-term S&T programs can become new platforms for multilateral collaboration.

Focus on Public Programs. Maintaining and expanding levels of funding for public S&T programs. This should help keep a country's knowledge base expanding.

When Finland was hit by economic crisis in 1990, after the collapse of its main trade partner, the Soviet Union, its government's expenditure on R&D and education in all sectors increased. Ten years later, Finland emerged as one of the most competitive and innovative countries in the world.

In Sweden, a major economic crisis also in the 1990s saw the number of people engaged in R&D activities increase by about 20%. Swedish businesses emerged from the crisis with global leadership in sectors such as telecom and machinery.

Support Talent. Seed capital funds can be created to support the newly created army of potential entrepreneurs composed of highly skilled people made recently redundant in specific sectors.

This current crisis will decide the fate of economic systems of many countries for decades to come. Not all have the capacity and resources to come out of the recession successfully. This is the time for driving ahead-and no time for battening down the hatches.

Other Information:
Quote in title by Austrian economist Josef Schumpeter
Referance: Business Week

2009 - the year of the 4 day working week?

I have written before about my frustration about the lack of traction that organisational psychology seems to have in the workplace (and even with HR's professional body in the UK - the CIPD). Can you imagine any CEO not listening to his engineering managers on the installation of some new plant or disregarding her corporate lawyers input based on current case law? Not a chance!

So CEO you want to know how to motivate your people and improve productivity - then listen to your organisational psychologist (or HR if they are any good and not lost in the detail and creating blockages to change all over the place).

There are however some shoots of hope out there as exemplified by John Medina in his groundbreaking book "Brainrules". Here Medina puts a strong case for organisations to think about peoples brains before making organisational changes. The idea being that a happy brain leads to a happy employee seems pretty obvious to me.

The latest idea is the notion of the 4 day week. Cary Cooper (professor of organisational psychology) and others have been asking us to consider the possibilities of this "radical" change for some time. Some organisations have suggested implementing it including KPMG and others in car manufacturing however this has been financially driven rather than being implemented to give employees a different way of life. Well they do say that good can come of bad and perhaps the credit crunch will lead to more and more organisations introducing the 4 day week....and a good thing too.

Why all HR departments need a blog

HR 2.0 is all about how to create meaning in the workplace and so promote organisational and personal excellence. Whilst the "2.0" is a bit cheesy, I first used it because I believe (and still believe) that Web 2.0 technology represents a new medium for the profession to utilise. Whilst nothing will ever beat the face to face meeting this new technology has the potential to redefine what is meant by the "employee" and the "organisation".

Blogs are one of the key elements of Web.2.0 with, I belive, huge potential for HR. However we have a problem - most companies still ban the use of social networking sites (as many as 64% as suggested by clearswift). This is not only really annoying but it supports the nay sayers who claim that HR is loosing its value in the corporation.

So what can HR do with blogging? As the Fast Company suggested recently a properly moderated HR Department Blog can be a place where:

1. Employees can post suggestions and questions; and where employers can respond, in a safe, properly moderated environment.
2. Rumors can be brought to light, answered and addressed with clarity and consistency.
3. Awards, successes, human interest (the good stuff) can be disseminated quickly.
4. Challenges, disappointments and difficult changes (the bad stuff) can be communicated directly by company leadership to all employees without being muddled by poor communicators in middle management.
5. An HR Blog can reinforce core values, quickly address real concerns, promote transparency and increase trust all while minimizing mis-information; in a forum that can be anonymous (for the fearful employee) and properly controlled (for the fearful employer).

So HR if you want that seat at the table, help your cause and relax on the social networking sites and get blogging.

Other reading:
CIPD discussion paper Web 2.0 and HR