HR leaders ought to assume a strategic role within their companies, instead of simply keeping busy with everyday processes such as policies, payroll, and birthdays. Moreover, hr leaders ought to try to make and strengthen a distinctive set of capabilities that provide a company its competitive advantage. This suggests developing a specific mixture of resources, processes, and values that make it difficult for rivals to match what your organization does. We have an HR webinar coming up that has great insights to help you recruit and retain innovative thinkers. Learn more. Go>

A study by IBM disclosed an agreement among Human Resource leaders that driving creativeness and innovation is their primary business challenge, however merely half of those human resource executives indicated they're taking appropriate steps to do anything about it.

More than 70%, said hr should play an important role in promulgating innovation at their organizations. Remarkably, a surprising 71% said they don’t use any screening tools, innovative candidates. Want to build an HR department that provides your organization competitive advantage? Hire us to speak. Go>

What is particularly demoralizing is, we tend to agree these problems should be resolved, however, we fail in doing anything meaningful to fix the problems.   

There are three imperatives HR should do to foster innovation:

1. Identify people who think differently

At all costs avoid the propensity for groupthink. Thinking outside the box has become an unrealized dictum. We say it, but to be honest I have never known an HR person or manager to do so. They hire people who follow orders and are content with, “My way or the highway.”  

2. Create, protect and build organizational culture

The ability to help create, protect and build organizational culture is a critical role for HR to play, as it is a major driver for innovation. However, management needs to support, plan for and nurture an innovation culture for innovation to be successful.The ability to create and build an innovation culture is a tremendous role for human resources to play because they have the power to drive engagement in the organization. That being said, just imagine for a moment what innovation in your company would be if HR controlled innovation. Now imagine again if you taught HR how to innovate.  Our personal and executive coaching can help get stuck employees unstuck. Learn more. Go>

3. Operating strategies are developed through interactions

I am not so surprised anymore when I see organizations with programs that acknowledge how long a worker has arrived to work on time or been with the organization. While conversely few organizations reward workers for exceptional contributions. They instead laud average. As though good enough will enable them to achieve competitive advantage. Performance reviews should be a time where managers can provide feedback and praise. 

Jim Woods is an ardent believer that leadership is both a right and a responsibility. He is devoted to advancing the New Leadership in an age of Uncertainty. Jim is a successful leadership trainer and speaker and executive coach. He speaks on employee engagement, leadership and change management, leading instead of managing and customer service. He is an author, a former fifth grade and university teacher with an impressive resume. He is beloved by audiences. To schedule a speaking engagement with Jim please schedule an engagement here. Go>. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. Connect with Jim at jim@woodskovalovagroup.com.