Leadership: investment in human capital

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resources function is indeed a formidable ally of the CEO.”

Questions that every CEO must ask himself—is my people agenda right on top of the list; is the human resources function given primacy; is it a strategic partner; do our employees truly share the vision of the organisation and are they engaged; have we re-examined the entire value chain of the human resources function to make it an effective enabler; am I a people CEO?

The role of your HR leader is that of an alchemist and an advisor where the dividends are a function of the degree of importance and empowerment that a CEO bestows. In the challenging and complex people milieu today, the HR function needs to be centre stage. As we look ahead, I recall the lyrical lament of The Beatles: Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they are here to stay. Great talent is increasingly difficult to find, and retaining it is doubly so. When in full flow, the human resources function must be like a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference, nowhere. To help the function reach there would require the CEO to recognise the value of investing in human capital and empowering his most vital change agent—the HR team.

The management of human capital is now both an art and a science. It requires specialist attention of employee champions to attend to people issues. The human resources development function has been rediscovering itself over the past century where we were just renting skills to a time where human capital has gained recognition as a pre-determinant to organisational success.

The role of the human resources function today embraces a powerful gamut: developing a capable leadership pipeline; nurturing an adaptive organisational culture; strengthening performance and productivity, fostering innovation and customer centricity, catalysing change for organisational effectiveness. Effective

HR interventions and practices enable employee engagement leading to high customer delight ensuring long-term growth and profitability.