Employees - Asset or Cost?

'Employees are our biggest asset' is the most often heard phrase in corporate parlance and it is interestingly inserted to assert an enterprises' continued focus on building human / intellectual capital. It also becomes the focus when any cost cutting is discussed....the asset soon turns into a cost discussion.....this brings in the question....why are employees subjected to the perceived notion of a highly interchangeable component?

Exaggerated as it may sound at first sight.....it is a reality that dawns upon introspection. It is heart wrenching to hire the best possible talent and to let them go because of change in market forces, economic environment or improper business acumen. While the first two are not entirely controllable, the third is a serious human error which essentially derives information / indicators from the first two with a fair dose of fundamentals related to the business. The core (and this is my opinion) is to make HR a strategic part of growth than a mere support function.

The ground rules for hiring as set by HR will involve information gathering from all disciplines in a company - market opportunity, internal preparedness, budget availability, investment capability, competition scenario, leadership within the enterprise and the growth visibility for each individual who is hired. It is seldom an intensive practice to involve HR and assimilate all the above information to give a combined indicator for building intellectual / human capital.

The leadership can set a system to forewarn or possibly gauge the impending changes to the market environment.....mind you, this is easier said than done but a consistent process to review and assess builds in the immunity to withstand vagaries in the market dynamics. The leader can instill the sense of passion and motivation to achieve stretch targets......which helps contain the human numbers and possibly not be swayed by boom or be hit adversely by a crash.

In the end.....it is left to a leader, his vision and passion to retain the tag of an asset on his employees. It is his ability to demand and put to use various information at his disposal to make informed decisions. Well, this is my perspective.....am sure there are many other ways to look at it too.

Do We Respect Intellectual Capital?

I am sure it seems absurd and outrageous to ask this question, given the fact that every corporate wants to or at least tries to have the best intellectuals in its fold. It is a pride to flaunt the best of breed and the coveted achievers as a part of a company organisational structure....why then should the most sought after firms come crashing down and bring about a worldwide recession? Couldn't the combined strenght of the intellectuals predict a path to everlasting success and growth? Here is where the respect or the lack of it for intellectual capital comes to the fore.

It is often found in the corporate spectrum worldwide that an individual's success is given perpetuity......it is taken as a lifelong freedom to make decisions without hindrance......the reverance that he generates for himself stops others from questioning him or his authority.....if an individual does raise a question....it is considered sacrilege.....not because he was wrong ...it is more because the others have put their minds to rest and feel happy just following a laid out path in expectation of unhindered continuity.

This is where an inclusive leadership plays a role.....where decisions are not made in isolation for others to swallow......but decisions are sought to debate and in some places where a leader admits that he is a little clueless and wants another person to take a call this time. This may at first sight appear as a dumb move.....but it is my belief that it sets the intellectual capital in motion as every individual is made to think and bring in the best to help the company.

It may be a worthwhile exercise to check the success story of many successful enterprise....though it won't be an obvious result in the beginning but somewhere down the line it will come to the fore that the one who respected and nurtured intellectual capital comes out stronger and healthier. A worthwhile insulation from many corporate / economic calamities.

An Indian Government That I Aspire To See...

With elections over, a government formed and ministerial berths allocated....there is an increasing expectation from the people of India that the minsters will walk the talk. There have been some promises (literally weeding out those few out of all that was spoken in electoral rallies and those that can be truly classified as promises) made and targets set (the Indian electorate cannot be considered gullible any more)....it is truly a time for action. What then can possibly drive the ministers and their ministries to fulfill promises and hit targets?
Here is my wish list of what i would want to see....i classify myself as one among the ordinary citizen who is truly appreciative of hard work and will keenly observe progress as and when it becomes visible to the discerning eye.

1. Can targets be set for each minister which is made transparent over a public website and progress monitored on a quarterly basis
2. Can there be a report that is published at the end of each quarter on the work done so far with facts and figures which are audited by an independent agency?
3. Can there be a system where if a minister has not hit his targets for two consecutive quarters, he is taken off his post without worrying which alliance party he comes from?
4. Can there be a forum on how the MP's budget should be utilised? Can there be a priority set for each constituency to help the citizens in general understand how active is the concerned MP?

Just a few that i could think right away.....but a good bunch of these come out of the closet when there is an impending election......a good part of the development or the lack of it gets lost in the high decibel blame game that become part of every campaign. If a consistent reporting is undertaken, does anyone really have to shout from roof tops?....a point to ponder...