In my last post I said there was no killer app on the horizon and that innovation and not invention would ignite the next growth wave. Leave it to Jack Welch to do me one better.
In an interview published last month in The Telegraph, Mr. Welch says “HR should be every company’s killer app.” He also goes on to say that many HR executives have yet to earn a seat at the planning table equal to that of finance even though the importance of people as a production asset has never been greater.
How can they contribute more? According to Mr. Welch, HR should play a dual role by first, creating “effective mechanisms such as money, recognition and training to motivate and retain people.” He goes on to say that HR must also help organizations maintain their relationships with employee stakeholders.
I can’t help to comment here that this new thinking is coming from a man who perfected forced ranking to the delight of the investor community. While once popular management tools, these rather cold and impersonal methods of managing employee contribution have actually disenfranchised and alienated work forces. This according to a recent article in Fortune Magazine that ‘tears up the Jack Welch playbook’.
How does Mr. Welch reconcile his new perspective? I'm perfectly prepared to change," says Welch. "Change is great."
Of course the increasingly strategic role of HR in a market society where people are almost always referred to as a ‘company’s most precious asset' is not new. But what is remarkable is the almost universal belief that HR has a chance (responsibility even) to be a major contributor in the modern economy.
Mr. Welch’s comments are a less than subtle nudge to anyone in the Human Capital field that hasn’t taken the opportunity to seize the day to do so.
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