The responsible creation of long-term value in business is the cornerstone of a successful business leader. With the quickening pace of technological advancement, you may be forgiven for thinking that value can be added just by purchasing the right tech. Yet, it is, and will always be the skill and will of human capital who truly adds value, so why not invest in that resource and the environment around it?
This quarter, I have discussed three ways where strategic human resources (HR) methods can be used alongside the right technology to create value in business. Here is the round-up, a concise summary of the discussion topics accommodating all blogs from the quarter. From the ‘Tuck in’ section, you can access each blog directly, or catch up on all the salient points through the ‘Takeaway’ section.
Tuck in
July’s blog, Objectives can reignite a passion in staff that really delivers, discusses reinvigorating the role of cascading objectives from corporate strategy to enlist, involve and incentivize staff to perform in conjunction with a common set of known goals.
August’s blog, Trigger business innovation using advanced systems, describes how and why businesses should assist in nurturing a culture that encourages and benefits from widespread staff innovation.
September’s blog, Prepare to surf a business skills revolution, explores the big data and internet of things (IoT) technological revolution, and the importance of investing in business skills to take advantage of this great opportunity.
Takeaway
Creating value in business, regardless of the industry in which you operate, requires three components: implementing business strategy, innovating products and services and working efficiently and effectively. All of these elements require an HR strategy that empowers and enables staff to deliver.
Strategy does not deliver itself no matter how well it is crafted. People deliver strategy, but in order to do so, they need to understand it, understand what it means for them and the business and be incentivized appropriately to see it fulfilled. Cascaded objectives can provide the mechanism to do this by communicating the strategy in an amenable language represented by a set of identifiable and measurable performance indicators.
Innovate products or services drive growth. Creating a work environment that nurtures innovative thinking by providing meaningful information to staff, and allowing them the flexibility to explore and create connections, increases the chances of innovative outcomes. This is also self-fulfilling in that it attracts innovative people into the organization because of the environment they have created.
Part of the creation of the innovative environment is the provision of information, which will require the deployment of the right technology to source, compile and provide data and information to the user. In order to make the most of this, however, the user should be equipped with the right skills to analyze and present the data to form the links and information leading to new products, services or decisions.
Investing in skills and training to help deliver set objectives and innovative products is, therefore, an investment in creating value by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of staff to deliver strategy and innovation.
I welcome comments on this or any other topic concerning finance, HR, CSR and business strategy.
Connect, discuss and explore using any of the following means:
Twitter: @stevetreagust
IFS Website: ifsworld.com
Email: steve.treagust@ifsworld.com
Blog: http://blog.ifs.com/author/steve-treagust
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