Ways for HR to support Innovation

How can human resource professionals become true strategic business partners, contributing to the heart of their firm’s growth agenda? One key answer to this perennial question is to have a deep understanding of the innovation process as well as practical ways to support it. Corporate innovation can be defined as new ideas and actions that result in a new product or service, process improvement or business model. This article looks at specific ways in which HR can become a catalyst for innovation rather than observe from the sidelines or be called upon to implement limited and sometimes poorly conceived objectives.

There are several primary roles human resources can play to make an impact on corporate innovation:
• Shaping the employee life cycle.
• Providing coaching and competencies training for leaders.
• Setting the stage for global innovation.

Shaping the Employee Life Cycle
HR affects the life cycle of each employee--from recruiting and retention to termination or retirement. In a company that seeks to grow through innovation, HR professionals must hire, develop and retain the right people to make things happen. In fact, every stage of the employee life cycle can have an impact on innovation, positive or negative, and it is often up to HR to understand the strategic impact of its role and how it can best contribute.

Coaching and Competencies for Leaders
HR professionals will always have a place at the strategy table with executives if they understand how to grow a business and what the common obstacles are likely to be. When HR knows how to stimulate executives to provide an inspirational example and to construct a hothouse organizational climate in which innovative projects can rapidly take root and grow, it will have their respectful attention.

There are a number of leadership competencies that foster innovation. HR can take the lead in introducing these to the executive team and using a particular combination that suits the organization’s corporate culture and history, customer requirements and the personalities of the people involved.

Setting the Stage for Global Innovation
HR has the means at its disposal to foster the dissemination of innovative products and processes globally. Although management of the international assignment cycle is often delegated at least in part to outside vendors, it can be utilized strategically to support global innovation. Likewise, HR professionals are in a position to remind their executive colleagues that innovation usually has the greatest impact on the bottom line when it is leveraged on a global scale.

Conclusion
HR professionals can become innovation leaders in their own right if they utilize the levers already available to them, including the employee life cycle, leadership competencies and the management of international assignments. They can also learn to help their executive colleagues avoid silver bullet solutions and short-lived initiatives, promoting instead a steady and comprehensive approach to a complex challenge that is at the core of value creation and sustained business growth.