Is it time to stop using the term Human Resources, or perhaps even Human Capital and go back to the root of the word Personnel – People ?
Consider the following
- It is a fact that despite moves to robots, the highest cost to most organisations is their people.
- It is also widely recognised that an engaged workforce is more productive than a dis-engaged workforce.
The 2012 Engage for Success paper The Evidence gave impressive examples; and CBI’s December 2014 report A better off Britain emphasises the need to take a long term approach to raising employee value added.
So while expenditure on new equipment, technologies and robots will help, I agree with CBI’s view that raising productivity will come from innovation and that managers will need support and the skills to develop people and look at the way that jobs are designed.
So it is crystal clear to me that HR must re-imagine itself from being process driven to actually working on how best to utilise that most expensive asset – People !
As it happens, our summer Circle of Peers topic was about driving Performance and Productivity.
For those of you who missed it, we always record one of the events.
It was good to see that my thoughts were in line with Alex Swarbrick from Roffey Park, so imagine my pleasure when I caught Peter Cheese’s blog Putting the human into HR last week!
It was good to see the links to
- Our minds at work: developing the behavioural science of HR
- The Evolution of HR and the world of work – Profession for the Future – CIPD’s strategy to ensure that its purpose is fit for the future
- Changing HR operating models
So come on People Professionals – Let’s move from the Satanic Mills mentality to a more Green and Pleasant land!