Invest in your Human Capital

One of the key functions in your business is Human Resources. There is no exaggeration in saying Human Resources Department is the most influential in keeping your employees happy. To recall its history, during the Industrial revolution there was a dire need for the management to check on the growing dissent on the Unions and also see the welfare of the employees. Personnel Managers were appointed to be a bridge between the employees and the management. Their main responsibility was to keep the disgruntling under control and meticulously record the employee’s deviation on compliance like Attendance, Pay and Adherence. These PMs could not break the inner circle of the employees and were always treated as management sympathizers. Around 60s and 70s when Technology was picking up its pace and when societies were moving from Industrial economy to Service Centered, there was a desperate need to address the grievances and the well being of employees.

It was about few decades ago that some of our leaders felt that Employees were the most important resources that a company owns and how effectively it manages them defines its success. And that gave the shape of Human Resources department. The HRs were not just the time keepers but were actively involved in reading their employees, in providing the benefits and handling the grievances. Human Resource gained so importance that the companies started allocating annual budgets for it to function effectively. Not just the funding, HR got much needed push from technology by innovative applications and software to help the HR Managers to manage their large employee base. HRs also became responsible for Performance Management, Talent Acquisition, Talent Mapping and Payroll.

Now the industry is looking beyond and started to recognize employees not just as Resource but as Capital. It is the Human Capital that drives the businesses through innovation, strategy and competition. Employees and their contribution for an Organization is its net Intellectual Property. In this highly competitive and capitalistic environment an Organization is distinguished mostly by innovation and unique offerings for their customers. Capital in any form is an investment and it can be multiplied and appreciated when there is interest added to it. Similarly to increase the net output from the Human Capital, the companies need to invest in identifying and nurturing the innate talents of employees.

HR personnel should be prepared to identify the unique skills of its employees, make a record of each individual and work around these skills and guide the Human Capital to achieve the company goals. It looks like a huge task but if the Talent Identification and Documentation are done during Recruitment, On-boarding and Appraisals then it shall be a structured approach in steering the energies of each individual as a collective force to make the mountain move.