Saturday, November 7, 2020

Relaunching HRD Audit and Score Card 2500 Post Pandemic

 

Maximizing HR’s impact for Organizational Excellence: A Post-Pandemic HRD Audit & Score Card 2500 based Intervention

T. V. Rao

Chairman, TVRLS

It is about 45 years back we created the new Human Resources Development (HRD) Department and a Human Resources Function (HRF) first in this part of the world. HRF was intended to be distinctive and differentiated from Personnel. It was conceptualized with new vision, philosophy, values, and goals to humanize the workplace. Subsequently in recent years I have even argued and propagated HRD as philosophy and value based and is the job of every individual, team, and organization and not merely that of a specific department or function. When we conceptualized HRD in mid-1970s, it focused on competence building (of individuals, roles, dyads, teams, and organization), Commitment building and Culture building. HRF was given a larger goal of designing and managing organizational excellence by restructuring, differentiating, integrating, strategizing, planning, reviewing etc. with the help of various HR systems and processes. Six subsystems identified to facilitate this process with  critical attribute identification (now competency mapping) as a starting point were: , (i) performance management (focus earlier was on appraisal), (ii) feedback and coaching, (iii) potential appraisal development, (iv) career planning and development, (v) training and (vi)OD.  In the initial stages HRD focused on supervisory and managerial class taking cognizance of the industrial situation around that time, HRF included HR Administration, Worker Affairs including welfare, Recruitment, HRIS etc.; making it a substitute for Personnel function with Human Focus. The formation of CHRD at XLRI, NHRDN as a professional body and AHRD as an institution to promote HR research and education are attempts to keep HRD and HRF human focused. Recent attempts to focus on Human as Possibilities than merely as resources is another attempt to keep “Human” focused. Renaming personnel function as HR and in some cases Training Centers as HRD venters without incorporating anything else prompted us to start these institutions to keep the original thinking intact. Each of these institutions (CHRD, NHRDN and AHRD) achieved to a significant extent the goals though a lot more could have been done.

Opening of the Indian economy in early nineties, raises in salaries, pay for performance initiatives and consequent pressure of talent to compete globally, and create excellence, provided a new opportunity for HRD to make a higher-level impact. A few organizations have propelled by the new economy and liberalization, made a marvelous shift using HR as a strategic business partner. Many remained to struggle using traditional personnel management tools and approaches (largely control centric) with small changes. A few of them have succeeded. High degree of target orientation, strategic search for talent to remain competitive, using new opportunities to make an impact with short term results and some times at any cost, mergers, acquisitions without caring for employee interests in mind have brough new form of reputations as well as disrepute to HRF. HRD became a “department” than “development” and “Human” slowly got pushed to the background in our search to be competitive and global. The focus shifted to achieving quarterly targets for brand building and win talent wars in global platforms. A few organizations continued to do great work with occasional ups and downs but not giving up their Human focus. Some of the business houses and professionally managed corporations in India like Tatas, Murugappa Group, TVS, Aditya Birla group, JK, Eicher, L&T, Bajaj,  are examples of this as HRD philosophy and values are largely ingrained in them. In the new IT sector corporations like TCS, Wipro, Infosys etc. to mention a few also exhibited a high degree of HR values and philosophy. Many PSUs and PSBs had these values as a part of their DNA but struggled balance this with administrative issues and project this adequately to the employees as well as community. Their good work often got drowned under their success or failure in making them profitable and project themselves adequately. There were many good ideas and practices from public sector that got drowned under them under rated profitability and social responsibilities. It is recognizing this need for continuous focus on people as instruments of change and making things happen, we have even started a new slogan “Human is not merely a resource but also a Possibility”. Accepting and promoting the new slogan “ Human is not a resource”  was meant to draw attention of employers and employees to the forgotten or underplayed “H” and “D” in HRD reducing it to “R” (Resources to achieve KRAs and targets.

Pandemic Provides new Opportunity to Re-focus on forgotten HRD

 Covid19 and the Corona Virus pandemic has hit the entire world uniformly. Even well-developed nations with high Human Development Index (HDI) were the first to be affected badly. The pandemic has demonstrated the following:

1.       With all the developments in science and technology (AI, MI, etc.) and invasion into space by reaching the moon and the mars, there is still a lot that we do not know, and we cannot control.

2.       When such unknown factors like the Corona virus or Covid19 or the pandemic strikes us, all human beings look equal. It strikes us without caring for country, caste, religion, community, geographic positioning, richness, economics status etc.

3.       Everyone should take care of self by using protective gears like the masks, washing of hands, and avoiding contacts with potential people and spaces that spread the virus. “Self-Management” becomes the new norm by focusing on taking care of Self. In Eastern cultures like Asia, where relationships are valued, the care for self extends to family. Individuals and their families become the targets for safety and survival

4.       Assault on nature creates a very unhealthy atmosphere and live and let live philosophy gets extended from humans to animals, plants and all other forms of life and energy. The five elements of nature earth, air, sun, space, water needs to be respected (ancient Indians used to worship each of them as Gods). It is important to recognize that we are a part of nature and assault on nature is not in the best interests of humans in the long run.

5.       When pandemic struck the world some of the firms started disappearing and or transforming and a new economic activity that aimed at protecting lives and livelihood of people started emerging. For example, some hotels got converted into hospitals and schools became shelters for migratory workers and many started diversifying their activities to manufacture equipment to guard lives. Corporations changed their orientation to care first for people (employees) a, their families, and the communities where they live and “Human” got refocused.

These significant lessons from Pandemic are likely to remain as reports from across the world from scientific community warn us to be prepared for more such universally impacting emergencies or crisis situations like the pandemic.

Role of HR Post-Pandemic

I have argued in many of my recent webinars, posts, and videos that anyone designated as HR Manager or HR  Leader or HR facilitator must come to the forefront and demonstrate that he/she can make a difference in the lives of people. This is the most needed as well as opportune time to demonstrate the might of HR Profession and professionals. Like the health professionals designated as Corona Warriors (Doctors, Nurses, Paramedical staff, drivers, support staff at hospitals and many others), has the single most important task of saving the lives of people, HR facilitators in firms have the even more challenging task of saving the lives as well ss livelihoods of the employees. To work towards this purpose, I argued that first protect yourself  (keep yourself healthy and fit to function well) and your family, then your employees and their families, also ensure the community where you live and community at large are also protected from the pandemic and future calamities. All business activity is to be focused therefore on remaining healthy and keeping each other healthy and planning for future to make our environment healthy and the company we work healthy. The five focal responsibilities of HR are: self, family, employees and their families, community and employers who provide livelihood for all these. Remain healthy and protecting all from the virus become top priority. The next priority is helping the organization to be productive and ensure its economic and monetary wellbeing. It is only a healthy and productive organization that can provide for the livelihoods of employees. HR has the difficult and yet challenging role of ensuring the lives and livelihoods of Humans beings that work for them. Work from Home, wearing masks, remote meetings, remote discussions social media become focal points besides restructuring work, multiskilling employees, creating new product and service lines, cost savings, reallocation of portfolios, work redistribution and compensation management. For example, some firms have reduced the salary of high-end managers and ensured the bottom levels are secure economically. These created perhaps some new tensions in the world of work and new opportunities for some.

This has brought in new perspective for HR. Once the pandemic is over or even when it is going on what will be the role of HR? What happens to all that we talked of earlier as HR systems and processes or practices? Will there be a culture change or philosophy change? Will there be a new Avatar for HR? How should HR people sue the pandemic as an opportunity to build a new culture or use new technologies or systems and processes to make the organizations a healthy and happy place to live?

 

What Changes and What Does not Change

Almost three decades ago I presented a framework to help understand HRD’s contributions to organizational excellence in my book on “The HRD Missionary”. In this framework organizational excellence outlined five dimensions: (I) productivity measured by financial performance, (ii) Growth and diversification, (iii) Cost management, (iv) brand and (v) shareholder value. In recent years I added to this intellectual capital value of the firm as represented by market value minus tangible assets and went on to argue that HR’s role is to build both tangible and intangible assets through people processes. In this conceptualization: HR systems and practices are instruments designed to facilitate achievement of these organizational excellence indicators and outcomes. HRD systems or instruments create HR processes like role clarity, collaboration, positive organizational culture, HRD climate and values. These in turn lead to HRD outcomes like more competent employees, higher work commitment, higher utilization of employees, better job satisfaction, or happiness at work higher retention etc. In this model HR systems and Practices lead to creation of a Development Climate and positive Organizational culture and should result in tangible talent management and intellectual capital building. These in turn affect organizational excellence.

While converting this to audit methodology for HR and its impact we identified a four-dimensional model of auditing. These a were considered as four pillars of HRD audit to create organizational excellence. These are:  (i) HR systems and strategies, (ii) HRD values and Organizational culture, (ii) HR Competencies including those  of HR staff, Top management, Line managers and other categories of employees; and (iv) HR’s Impact  on talent management, intellectual capital building and financial performance. In this framework the dependent variables are both tangibles like increase in sales, financial performance, and cost savings etc. and less tangibles like intellectual capital and talent. The independent variables are (i) HR systems and strategies, (ii) HRD Climate & Positive Culture and (iii) HR competencies (five categories of people). These three sets of independent variables are interactive but also independent. Our research has indicated that good HR systems effect firm performance through creation of culture (Fr. Abraham’s work at XLRI). Both are driven by competent HR managers, line mangers and top management and all other employees. Our research indicated that each one’s impact on the other is not automatic. It must be driven in an integrated way. However, we found very competent HR staff sometimes did not deliver results if the culture is not well set and systems are not fully mature. Similar way we found that even without sophisticated systems some businesses houses in the past have created a HRD culture and impacted performance. Our approach assumed each of these three sets of variables need to be independently evaluated and an improved. Alongside their impact on tangible talent management, less tangible intellectual capital, and financial performance also to be assessed. This provided the framework for HRD audit and HRD Score card 2500.The audit was based on an assessment of 12 HRD systems and 8 HRD strategies which can be combined now to be termed as 20 HRD systems and processes. These include:

1.       COMPETENCY MAPPING: Current and Future

2.       WORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS & MANPOWER PLANNING: Aligned with Vision and strategy

3.       RECRUITMENT: Scientific & Aligned

4.       INDUCTION AND INTEGRATION: All levels culture focused

5.       PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: Ownership & Performer focused

6.       COACHING AND MENTORING: Performance & Potential

7.       LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: 360 Feedback & ADCs focus on agility and resilience

8.       EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION & ENGAGEMENT: Rewards & Recognition

9.       CAREER DEVELOPMENT:  VESATILITY, MULTISKILLING

10.   TRAINING AND LEARNING

11.   WORK FROM HOME or REMOTE WORKING MANAGEMENT

12.   SELF RENEWAL SYSTEMS & ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

HR Processes (Earlier called as strategies)

13.   COMMUNICATION- families and community

14.   EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

15.   QUALITY ORIENTATION

16.   CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

17.   EFFICIENCY ORIENTATION

18.   ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND SET

19.   HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

20.   CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Each of these ae audited to make a 1000-point scale

HRD Values and Organizational Culture was conceptualized as contoured by the following variables

1.       Openness

2.       Collaboration and Teamwork

3.       Trust and Trustworthiness

4.       Authenticity

5.       Proactivity and Initiative

6.       Autonomy

7.       Confrontation

8.       Experimentation

9.       Leadership Climate         

10.   Motivation         

11.   Communication               

12.   Decision Making              

13.   Goal setting       

14.   Control, direction, and supervision of work,

15.   Shared Values

16.   Quality Orientation        

17.   Rewards and Recognition            

18.   Information       

19.   Empowerment

20.   Learning Orientation

21.   Openness to Change

22.   Corporate Social Responsibility

23.   Health  

24.   Safety

25.   Work Satisfaction and Motivation

Some of these variables figure out both as systems and culture. For example, safety, quality, CSR, care for environment etc. figure out both as systems and processes as well as culture. They are distinguished and defined accordingly.

HRD Competencies are considered separately for the following categories of employees

1.       HR Staff (10 competencies were identified also incorporating Dave Ulrich’s earlier studies across the globe

2.       Top Management (Focus on styles)

3.       Managerial supervisory staff (Learning orientation)

4.       Labor and Workmen and

5.       HR Department’s credibility

20 variables were identified to assess the Impact of HR on Talent management, Intellectual capital, and Financial performance. These include 5 dimensions of impact on Talent Management, 10 Dimensions of impact of Intellectual capital and 5 dimensions of impact on financial performance:

HRD Impact on Talent

1. Talent attraction and acquisition                

2. Talent management: induction and integration

3. Talent management: human resource utilization, and employee engagement— (PMS, placements, incentives, etc., performance management, mentoring and coaching, feedback)               

4. Talent management: HR development or competency building, and renewal           

5. Retention and separations management

HRD Impact on Intellectual capital

6.       Intellectual capital formation and structural capital: customer capital      

7.       Intellectual capital: impact on structural capital formation attributable to HR interventions           

8.       Intellectual capital formation: contributions to human capital formation                

9.       Intellectual capital formation: contributions to social capital                        

10.   Intellectual capital: contributions to emotional capital

11.   Intellectual capital: HR contributions to relationship capital          

12.   Intellectual capital: contributions to knowledge capital formation             

13.   HRD systems, strategy, and structure     

14.   HRD competencies

15.   Values and culture

Business Linkages on Financial parameters

16.   Cost reductions attributable to competencies

17.   Degree of financial literacy among employees

18.   Increases in sales per employee attributable to HR interventions

19.   Market value to book value attributable to HR (image and brand building due to competent managers and leadership development)

20.   Extent to which top management shows commitment to leadership and knowledge sharing         

 

Dave Ulrich’s Framework of Organizational (HR) Excellence

I am inspired by a recent linked article by Dave Ulrich (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-well-do-you-manage-your-portfolio-hr-initiatives-dave-ulrich/) outlining 35 dimensions of Organizational HR excellence on  Y axis and five stake holders on X axis and making a 36x5 =180 cell matrix that helps to guide firms on examining their HR investments in each cell.

The five stakeholder results that a company may prioritize include: [1] employee (wellbeing, competence), [2] business strategy (differentiated position, ability to execute), [3] customer (net promoter score), [4] investor/financial (profitability), and [5] social citizenship (environmental, social, governance).

In his conceptualization, HR delivers value through:

1.       9 possible talent initiatives (e.g., acquiring talent, managing employee performance, development employees, managing employee careers and promotions, communicating with employees, retaining and employees, managing departing employees, ensuring employee commitment by tracking employee engagement, and ensuring their contribution by creating a positive employee experience).

2.       6 leadership initiatives (building a business case, agreeing on what leaders know and do, assessing leaders, investing in leaders, measuring leaders, and ensuring reputation).

3.       12 organizational capabilities that can be created (talent, agility, strategic clarity, customer centricity, right culture, collaboration, social responsibility, innovation, efficiency, accountability, information/analytics and leveraging technology). These are akin to OCTAPACE Values and organizational culture in our HRD audit framework.

4.       9 domains of activity for HR effectiveness (HR reputation, HR customers, HR purpose, HR design, organization capability, HR analytics, HR practices, HR professionals and HR relationships)

Using these elements Dave Ulrich goes on to create a 180-cell portfolio of organizational HR effectiveness. He suggests the use of this guidance system to analyze the investments in each cell and measure the extent to which the fiver results to stake holders are delivered. Dave’s analysis and presentation are based on his work with globally HR professionals and rich in conceptualization. It is based in his own research and framework. Inspired by this work I have reexamined our HRD Audit and HR score card 2500 an tried to examine if I need to relook at the audit or score card  On the basis of my own review and discussions with a few colleagues, we  have come to the conclusion that the four pillar framework we have been working for the last three decades and modifying from time to time through a series of “ train the trainer”  and “ HRD auditors” workshops in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other countries as similar in objectives with differing conceptualization. Thea se are perhaps two different ways of cutting the cake. I think it is cutting the cake differently but with a similar objective of making guidance available to enhance HR and organizational effectiveness.

However, the big contribution of Dave Ulrich’s portfolio is the addition of each of the five stakeholders of HR and creation of the 180-cell matrix to help examine HR investments. I consider this as extremely useful. Although we have been talking about the need for HR to focus on servicing multiple stakeholders, we have not so clearly tried to link each HR activity to impact on stakeholders: Internal (Employees &s Strategy), External (Customers, Investors and Communities). 

In our four pillar framework of HRD audit, the methodology itself based on inter views and other forms of inputs given by four of the five stakeholders: Strategy is our starting point, Employees are an integral part of the audit and Customers are interviewed wherever appropriate and customer centricity figures in all the four pillars. And community as addressed by CSR and related systems the entire focus on results should make investors happy. Thus, in our settings and given the four-pillar model our preference is to retain our framework and modify it to suit the post-Pandemic experience. This has been done in the above framework.

Conclusion

After reviewing and revisiting the original conceptualization of HRD and Human Resource Function and the four-pillar framework of HRD Audit and HRD Score card 2500, I conclude the following:

The original postulates of HRD, HRF, HRD Audit and HRD Score card 2500 are inclusive and comprehensive to make HR function as an all-weather leader to create excellence. They can well take care of the changing business scenario post-pandemic. A few modifications in HRD systems, and Competencies to suit the changing role of HR in creating organizational excellence and create agility and resilience in Asian organizations will be good enough to make them more relevant and contemporary. Consciously incorporating a few HR systems and practices like the following will help HR to re-emerge and establish itself as the future driving function for organizational excellence:

a.       HRD systems should include: Work from Home and Work Management Systems (restructuring of work, reallocation of portfolios, multi-skilling, managing contract and migratory workers, job rotation etc.)

b.       HR strategies be reformulated as HR systems and practices with emphasis on CSR, HSE and aligned with changing inside and outside community needs

c.       HR Competencies be modified to emphasize the HR’s focus on safety, health, self-management, family of employees as well as community focus as customers are a part of the community and firms main job is to serve the society while conducting its business profitably and top management styles to deal with emergency management.

I hope with these changes our Post-Pandemic HRD Score Card 2500 will assist organizations to drive excellence with HR playing a major role and even taking the driver set to build corporations for a better future.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

TVRLS-WFHSQ:A New Tool to measure the suitability of working from Home

T V Rao Learning Systems Develops a New Tool to measure the suitability of working from Home

Work from Home Suitability Quotient (TVRLS-WFHSQ)

© T V Rao Learning Systems Pvt Ltd

Work from Home does not suit everyone. By making it a policy and making everyone work from home on some days or all the time firms may bring down their productivity and increase transaction costs.

When you pay Rs. 30,000 (thirty thousand rupees) to any employee, he/she costs three rupees a minute. An hour wasted is 180 rupees wasted. Working from home is more suited for certain individuals who save commuting time and related energy and give higher level of productivity. Those with do not have infrastructure and other facilities to work from home, are subject to interruptions and social pressures due to multiple roles they have  to perform at home may not be able to give their 100% working from home. Hence it is advisable for firms to identify those that are ideally suited for WFM home and develop a framework for WFH than rushing into policies.

If you have a workforce of 50 employees and all of them are asked to work from home, even if it does not suit 20% of them you will be lowering your productivity.  For example, if the CTC of each of the 50 employees is Rs. 12 lakhs. That means each one of them is on a rupees one lakh per month gross remuneration and each of them cost you Rs. 600 an hour. Approximately. a productive time loss of one hour a day means at least 20 to 25 hours a month per employee or equal to Rs. 12,000 a month per employee. For 10 of them (20% of the 50 employees) it costs 12 months x Rs. 12,000 x 10 = Rupees 14,4000 (14.4 lakhs) and opportunity cost is Rs. 1.4 crores. That will be the saving your company can have by differentiating those who are suitable from those who are not suitable and take preventive or corrective action.

How to deal with those not suited to work from Home?

Firms must first identify the reasons. The diagnostic tool by TVRLS, Work from Home suitability quotient is based on the assumptions that employees can give maximum productivity f they have the following to work from home:

1.      Infrastructure facilities measured by Infrastructure quotient (InfraQ)

2.      Interruptions and Interference quotient (InterQ)

3.      Personality and attitudes Quotient (PAQ)

4.      Productivity and Time saved quotient (PTQ)

 

The four quotients add to give a percentage score or an overall WFHSQ. The corrective actions of company based on this tool include:

·         Providing infrastructure and other facilities

·         Training to manage WFH (attitude and time management training)

·         Family counselling

·         Establishing monitoring and other support in consultation with employee

·         Decision to encourage WFH all days or some days for each employee

·         Decision to discourage not allow some individuals to work from home

·         Job redesign and work allocation and reallocation to facilitate those with high suitability to WFH

·         Etc.

 

The tool takes 10 minutes and will be available soon for use. Firms will be able to identify with the help of this tool those who are suitable to work from home and save a lot of unproductive time. They will also get the best from employees by using the tool and designing appropriate interventions.

Enhance your Employee Productivity by using this Diagnostic Tool

Firms may desire to enhance their employee productivity by diagnosing individuals who are suited to work from home and also suggesting mechanisms to save time and use talent appropriately

TVRLS believes that happy people give higher levels of value add. Participative diagnosis helps enhance happiness, satisfaction, and engagement. Using this easy to use tool:

 Plan interventions to maximize productivity through WFH

 Formulate polices or frameworks to work from Home

·       Examine the impact of these frameworks and policies and recommend to firms. 

     Coach employees to maximize the impact of WFH


  

For details write to: tvrlsblr@gmail.com


Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Are you the Sower or the Seed: A Question for Leaders

Are you the Seed or Sower: Reflections for Leaders & Coaches?


T. V. Rao
(tvrao@tvrao.com)


A sower went to sow the seed. Some fell on the rocks and did not germinate or as soon as they germinate the sun burnt them. Some fell among the fence and soon after they grew a little the fence suppressed from growing. Some fell on the fertile land and they germinated grew and gave fruits and shelter to many others.

 This parable has many lessons. Every leader is a seed. Without growth and germination, you cannot give shelter and lead others. In my interactions and even in coaching sessions I am confronted with many types of people:

Type 1: I am like a seed on the rocks. Most people around me are rigid with strong views and I am unable to do anything. I am simply breaking my head and finally I am giving up.

Type 2: I am surrounded by strong fence. Only their opinions are heard, and I have no say. I am not given an opportunity to show my talent and lead. I can even be better leader then them if only given an opportunity.

Type 3: I am happy to be in an organization where I can do a lot of things. It is very fertile and prepared organization to bring change and make an impact.

 My response to Type 1: Remember you are not merely a seed; you are thinking seed, walking seed, and talking seed. Think of alternative ways to break the rock. The rock may not be as solid and rigid as you think and it may be fragile rock or a rock of ice that needs a little heat and it will melt and change the surroundings to the advantage of all. If you still find the rock to be rock despite your talking, then walk away from the rock and search for a more fertile soil. If you are finding yourself on the rocky terrain all the time, introspect if you have a knack of going on to the rocks so that you can defend your non-germination or use it as an excuse for your laziness or incompetence. Examine the nature of yourself and since you are a thinking seed you can transform yourself to be a seed that germinates even in rocky terrain. How many plants have we not seen among the rocks and even on the rocks? Be one of them!

 My response to Type 2: Perhaps the fence you see around you are imaginary. Check your own thoughts and try experimenting by removing the fence. Fortunately for you, like you yourself, the fence around you is filled with thinking, walking, and talking plants. You can enter a dialogue with them and convince, negotiate and if necessary, even threaten of walking away to their disadvantage. They are perhaps living there by making others believe they are there to protect you. Perhaps they are being nurtured to protect you and they do not even realize that in their eagerness to protect you, they are not allowing you to grow. Think, reflect, dialogue and experiment to convert the fence into your support. If they continue to still cripple you, walk away. Do not go in search of more fences and plants to protect you. Go to free and fertile land as you are a thinking, talking, and walking seed with tremendous potential and possibilities.

 My response to Type 3: Good, you are lucky. You have made it. How about making it more. Causing more happiness to others and multiplying your type of seed that can germinate anywhere and help others. Build yourself to be self-multiplying seed. You can do it because you are not an ordinary seed. You are a seed that can think, walk, and talk. Teach others your experiences. Perhaps your story will tell others how you converted a rocky terrain into a fertile land. Or how you managed the fence around you and over grew to the current leadership level. Convert yourself to be a sower of seed. You can be an institution builder. and multiplier of talent.

 For Leaders, CEOs, CXOs, People Managers HR Professionals: You are both the sower and the seed. As a seed, reflect and attempt to be like Type 3 above. As a seed you should be excellent. As a sower you have even more responsibility to choose right seed, separate them from bad ones and ensure that they are planted in the fertile soil. It is your responsibility to prepare the ground or chose the ground that is fertile. Sometimes you are not even aware of the ground where you planted your seed. You may have mistaken the rocky terrain to be fertile soil or may not have even noticed the fences around the place you planted the seed. Once you planted your job is not over. In fact, it begins after you plant. You must be in touch and see how the seed is germinating and growing. You need to handhold until such time they become mature enough to grow by themselves and withstand weather and other fluctuations.


It is easy to be a seed (constant learner) and it is more difficult and responsible to be good sower, because, as a sower you should your self be a good seed and as sower  you should have nurturing ability, judgement,  empathy, compassion, and ability to convert the rocky soil into fertile place and remove the fences or work with the seed to remove the imaginary rocks and fence around them that is not letting them grow.


As a leader you are a thinking, talking and a walking seed and sower. What can you not achieve if you realize the greatness of a leader, Teacher, CEO, CXO, HR Professional? Whoever you are you could be more- because Human is a Possibility. 





Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Functonomy ; A Less Recognised Disease in Organizations

Functonomy, Systonomy, Structonomy and Actionomy: Organizational Diseases Less Recognised
T. V. Rao

About 55 years ago I read about an interesting concept called "Functional Autonomy"introduced by the famous Psychologist Gordon All port. The concept said that actions started to fulfil certain needs originally become autonomous over a period of time and get continued for their own sake even when the original need ceases to exist. As one of my professors of Psychology  Dr. E G Parameswaran explained those days, a person with a failed love resorts to drinking or or smoking to manage his frustration; and after a few years even when he has a new partner and is happy, continues to drink or smoke. The behaviour of smoking and drinking has become functionally autonomous and has become a goal in itself. It is powerful concept of Allport.

Structonomy: I find this operating in many organisations. Structures that are started to fulfil originally a need (for expansion, problem solving, growth, quality assurance, supply chain , speed, customer delight etc.) are continued for unlimited time and are made self-perpetuating even when the original need ceases to exist. This goes some times to a pathological extent and becomes a burden on the organization. For example if you started a "Recruitment Division"in a company when you are recruiting large numbers of people the department continues to not only exist but expand even when recruitments are reduced drastically. Some of them are maintained o serve the recruitment consultants who then find new forms of work in that organisation.Recruitment is just an illustration, there could be many departments structurally become autonomous and continue to exist and even become a drag on the organisation as they have created enough work for themselves and others. Organizations find it difficult to wind up structures once they stated and structures make sure that they continue to exist by finding out new reasons for their existence adding a lot of fat to organizations. This is particularly prevalent in government and there is always a protective reasons of social purpose and employment.

Thisi true not  only with structure but also with Functions (Functonomy) where functions started to fulfil certain needs, goals become autonomous and continue for their own sake without fulfilling the original goals or needs. I have seen this happen with HRD or Human resource Development where the function converted itself into Human Resources Department and found many reasons to continue and even expand. Originally starts with one HRD Managers and gets eventually elevated to AGM, DGM, CGM, Director, Executive Director or President etc. without even fulfilling the original goals and coming up with new vision, mission and values etc. This is not to say what exists as a genuine growth of the function is unwarranted. Many grow in a planned way and fulfill the needs or create new needs and change themselves to strategic business partners etc. Needed or not needed is subject to review and examination. A training department started to build skills among unskilled workers eventually transforms itself into Training Institute or Leadership training Institute or Management development Center even when there is no need for skill development and some one else (including an outsourced agency) is developing skills. 
Please don't mistake me a cynical as I am not saying all such functions are not needed. I only mean those that have become autonomous and continue to exist even after the original purpose does not exist.  

Systonomy is a disease where a system or a set of systems started to fulfil originally certain purpose or goals continue to exist even after  the original purpose for which the system is needed ceases to exist. For example performance management systems started to bring objectivity in assessment and bell curve as a means to reward employees and promote internal competition will continue even after discovering that the bell curve ahs the reverse impact of demotivating people and than motivating them. 
Actionomy  (I prefered to sue Actionomy rather than Actonomy as certain companies have that name and I don't mean offence to them) is a disease where certain activities or actions a startered to fulfil originally certain goals (reflection ,review and development)  continue to exist when those ends are no more an issue or not needed. For example I have seen many organisations starting 360 Degree Feedback as a development tool and eventually incorporating it  and continuing it as a PMS tool rather than a voluntary reflection and development tool. 

Solution: The only way to eradicate this disease is a periodic review of the structures, systems, functions and activities to ensure that unwanted ones are discontinued. Management as a class and as a process could some time be a self perpetuating and self multiplying virus. If this virus spread unwanted systems, processes and activities the disease could become cancerous and g bring doom to the organisations. I would particularly cautious government departments for this as most government departments are subject to this virus. They were already infected with the virus of target setting in departments like police and taxation whre targets form a part of Performance appraisals and innocent public suffer due to the virus of target obsession. This happens even with Doctors in private hospitals, who else can be spared?

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Human Possibilities Department


Human Resources or Human Possibilities: A New Look at HRD
T. V. Rao
Founder Professor CHRD, XLRI; Founder President NHRDN and Co-Founder Academy of HRD
 Chairman, TVRLS, India

In this article the author traces the history of Human Resources Development and analyses the distractions the function and philosophy faced over the years from what was originally envisaged in mid-seventies. The author goes on to propose a new orientation in HRD philosophy by treating human beings as possibilities than merely measurable resources. He also suggests creation of new structures or facilitation mechanisms in organizations to promote bliss or happiness at workplace and make people more productive and contribute more to themselves, their organizations, teams, families and the society. The author maintains that this will be natural evolution of HRD into a spiritual function.
HRD in India
It is more than Four decades the term Human Resource Development or HRD got initiated and became popular in the country. It was in 1975 a decision to start a dedicated Department to promote Human Resources Development was initiated in India at Larsen & Toubro Limited. Pareek and Rao (1975) outlined a philosophy for the new HRD system. They outlined 14 principles to be kept in mind in designing the HRD System. These principles deal with both the purpose of HRD systems and the process of their implementation. Some of these principles include:
  1. HRD systems should help the company to increase enabling capabilities. The capabilities outlined in their report include development of human resources in all aspects, organizational health, improvements in problem solving capabilities, diagnostic skills, capabilities to support all the other systems in the company, etc.
  2. HRD systems should help individuals to recognize their potential and help them to contribute their best various organizational roles they are expected to perform.
  3. HRD systems should help maximize individual autonomy through increased responsibility.
  4. HRD systems should facilitate decentralization through delegation and shared responsibility.
  5. HRD systems should facilitate participative decision making
  6. HRD system should attempt to balance the current organizational culture along with changing the culture.
  7. There should be a continuous review and renewal of the function.

By mid-eighties HR has become an accepted role and most organizations have changed their personnel, training and other related functions to HRD. Some have differentiated Human Resource Development from Human Resources Department and some did not. However, HRD has come to mean new expectations, new body of knowledge and new function. The establishment of Center for HRD (CHRD) at XLRI; the formation of the National HRD Network (NHRDN) in 1985; the starting of the Academy of HRD (AHRD)  in 1990; Starting of Diploma Programs in HRD; starting of Symbiosis Center for Management and HRD; starting of the Doctoral Program in HRD jointly by AHRD and XLRI etc.   are highlights of HRD in India. (Rao, 2003, Pareek and Rao, 2008)
 The ISTD and NIPM did not lose time in focusing on HRD in their conferences. Although this diluted the use of Human Resources Development and contributed to the confusion between HRD and HR, expectations from HRD continued to grow.  Today almost all Managers dealing with Personnel, Training, Social Work, Welfare, Administration, Recruitment, Compensation, and many forms of Talent acquisition and management etc. functions call themselves HRD Managers or Facilitators. In some of the IT companies those who deal with Visas and arrange transportation for employees are also called as HRD staff (meaning Human Resources Department staff or even Human Resources Development staff). On one hand we have specialized courses including a Doctoral Programs in Human Resource Development and on the other hand even unqualified undergraduates are projected as HRD Managers. This has created a lot of confusion in the field as the number carrying HR titles in their designations multiplied overnight without corresponding multiplication of HR skills and HRD competencies. Lay people and the public could not differentiate the fine distinctions between Human Resource Development Professional and HR Professional as both carried HRD designation. In one case it meant Human Resources Development Manager and in the other it meant Manager of Human Resources Department and, in both cases, referred to as HRD Manager and became difficult to differentiate.  This confusion is shared by other countries and did not solve the issue but reaffirmed the need to remove the confusion.

A significant source of information on HRD in the US as well as worldwide is available from the Academy of Human Resources Development, USA. For a long time, Human Resources development in the US is identified with Training and Development. It is in the American Society for Training and Development convention sometime in early seventies Len Nadler of George Washington University is supposed to have formulated the concept of Human Resources Development. Nadler (1970) defined HRD as a series of organized activities, conducted within a specified period, and designed to produce behavioral change. Some of the common activities he identified within HRD are training, education and development.  He identified training as those activities intended to improve performance on the job, education as those activities intended to develop competencies not specific to any one job, and development is preparation to help the employee move with the organization as it develops. In a revised definition Nadler (1984) defined it as organized learning experiences in a definite time to increase the possibility of job performance and growth. 
A review of the definitions of HRD by McLean and McLean (2001) provides a lot of insights into the field. The following are some of the highlights of this review article:
Ø  While there have been many efforts to define HRD no consensus seems to have emerged
Ø  The US definition of HRD seems to have influenced the definitions many other countries
Ø  It appears that definitions of HRD may vary from one country to another, and the national differences are a crucial factor in determining the way HRD professionals work
Ø  There appears to be differences in the perception and practice of HRD in local companies as compared Multinational companies
Ø  In several countries HRD is not distinguished from HR but is seen systematically as a part of HR.
Ø  Professional organizations and academics seem to contribute to the definition of HRD

The following is a sample of definitions cited in McLean and McLean (2001):
China: “A planned and organized education and learning process provided by organizations to improve employees' knowledge and skills as well as change their job attitudes and behaviors. The process helps unleash the employees’ expertise for enhancing the individual performance and achieving effective organizational functioning." (The China Training Center for senior civil Servants). McLean observes that in China there is no difference between HR, HRD and Personnel.
France: HRD covers all practices that contribute to enhance the contribution of people to the organizational objectives: competence development, satisfaction to the human requirements of organization development, training, internal career paths etc.  The term 'development social' is often used synonymous with HRD. 
Germany: There is no field defined as HRD. Personnel specialists in Management schools do some research.
Japan: The concept of HRD can be identified by three terms: Noryuku kathatu (development of individual abilities); Jinzai keisei (formulation of a mastery level of human resources through the work system and training), and Jinzai ikusei (fostering of development of human resources through management of human resource process. Individual development, career development and organization development are the three major components of HRD in Japan.
Korea: Most Korean staff treats it as equivalent to Training and Development. OD, CD and T&D are included sometimes.
United Kingdom: HRD is relatively a new concept which has yet to become fully established and accepted, whether within professional practice or as a focus of academic inquiry. Key elements include: Activities and processes which are intended to have impact on organizational and individual learning; planned interventions in individual and organizational learning; interventions that are intended to change organizational behavior; strategic, long term, cultural and organizational changes.
Singapore: In Singapore major public agencies describe HRD as the activities related to knowledge and skills development through organizational and community development through education, training and re-training, in a lifelong learning process for improving productivity at the personal, organizational and community levels.
Most popular among the definitions of HRD in the U.S. seems to be the one by Patricia McLagan of ASTD, as “the integrated use of training and development, organization development, and career development to improve individual, group and organizational effectiveness. (See Walton, 2001).
It is worth noting an observation made by Ruona (2000) “As a profession we have not done a very good job of working to identify who we are, what we stand for, and what we can do for those we serve." (p.2). (Quoted by McLean and McLean, p 1064)
Lee (2001) argued that the notion and practice is dynamic, ambiguous and ill determined and hence any attempt to define HRD may do dis-service to the development of those who wish to become HRD professionals. Lee concludes in this paper on “Refusal to define HRD, “Each of us, in our professional lives, carries some responsibility as we contribute to what HRD is becoming. We need to be aware that to attempt to define HRD is to serve political or social needs of the minute- to give the appearance of being in control. Instead I suggest we seek to establish, in a moral and inclusive way, what we would like HRD to become, in the knowledge that it will never be, but that we might influence its becoming" (p1078).
McLean and McLean (2001) have offered the following global definition of HRD after reviewing various definitions across the world:
“Human Resource Development is any process or activity that, either initially or over the long r-term, has the potential to develop adults’ work-based knowledge, expertise, productivity, and satisfaction, whether for personal or group/team gain, or for the benefit of an organization, community, nation, or, ultimately the whole humanity” (p1067).

Strategic HRD puts…" particular emphasis on the development of comprehensive, coordinated and dynamic approaches for major learning initiatives within and outside an organization to facilitate the achievement of all stake holder objectives in a competitive and turbulent environment.

It is not helpful given this perspective to think of HRD as subset of HRM, either in the structural or functional terms. As the strategic significance of organizational and individual learning as a source of competitive and cooperative advantage gains recognition, a strategic need arises for appropriately positioned " learning architects" with the distinctive competencies and consultancy skills to orchestrate learning initiatives on behalf of their clients. They need to be partners in the formulation of strategy as well as developers of "quality" people to deliver strategy" (Walton, 2001 p. 1082).

A similar view is reflected in the HRD Audit approach of Rao (1999) and in a recent article suggesting if HRD Managers should be retitled as Knowledge Managers or Chief Learning Officers (Rao, 2000)
 In the last two decades Dave Ulrich at the University of Michigan has contributed a good deal to HRD globally. He is in fact known in many countries as Father of Modern HRD. Starting with is earlier books on "HR Champions", Dave went on to argue for HR Score card and in recent times identify global competencies for HR professionals and leaders. (Ulrich, 1997; Ulrich, Borckban and Ulrich, 2013a, 2013b). Dr Dave Ulrich is one person who has inspired thousands of HR leaders across the globe with his thoughts, books and talks. As Ulrich (1997) argued, human resource professionals need to have highly specialised skills to realign HRD. A competent HR manager is required to be a specialist in HR systems, facilitator of HRD processes, diagnostician, change manager, skilled craftsman and a leader. There are many other qualities required to be a good HR manager. in the recent past Ulrich and team (Ulrich et al., 2013a) have identified eight strategic variables that bring competitive differentiation in the modern world: 
1. Managing risks
2. Global positioning
3. Leveraging Information
4. Managing globally diverse work force
5. Adapting or changing
6. Building corporate social responsibility
7. Collaborating or partnering across boundaries
8. Focusing on simplifying.

A Mystic’s View of HR
In 2016 in a Leadership Conclave (Isha Insight) attended by one the authors (T. V. Rao) at Isha Foundation Jaggi Vasudev popularly known globally as “Sadhguru” said that “Human is not a Resource. He continued to say that resources are measurable and anything that is measured limits itself. Human is unlimited, and Humans are possibilities” (reproduced from personal interactions and your tube talks of Sadhguru). Sadhguru continued to say later that to reduce human beings to a  resource is a crime. (see various YouTube references on Human is Not a resource from Isha Foundation given at the end)
I was hit by this Mystics pronouncement that “Human is a Possibility”. Mystics are philosophers and conceptually they can say anything as it comes out of deeper reflection and thought and a different understanding of the world of our existence and many other phenomena. Sometimes to understand them requires a different perspective. But when I heard this from Sadhguru it has hit me as a good solution to my struggle. I have been struggling all these years to say that HRD specialists or HR as a function’s first focus is on “Human”’. Being human means understanding the unlimited talent (resource) one is born with. It means for HRD Facilitators “creating conditions for discovering the unlimited talent one is born with and at times even the limits to one’s growth and talent”.
My own view and struggle are that many resorted to use HR or HRD or renamed Personnel or T&D as HRD out of perhaps a genuine desire to start a new function with a new outlook and philosophy but over a period means have taken over the original intentions and have become  self-perpetuating. HRD or Human resource department and HR staff exist today in most countries to ensure compliance, evolved strategies to compete, achieve quarterly and even monthly targets sometimes at the cost of values and vision etc. HR has now become a strategic business partner. HR needs to be lifted to Board level and needs to be consulted for all strategic moves etcetera etcetera.  I have no issues with this if it lifts people working in an organization and treats them with respect. I found that as Sadhguru said, it has reduced employees or h Human Beings to a “resource” rather than lifting them up to be talented contributors and makers of organizations and even societies. The ‘Source” embedded in the term “resource” has been totally ignored.  
Though we have started the Center for HRD at XLRI in 1983, The National HRD Network in 1985 and the AHRD in 1990, they also seem to have washed away partially in the tsunami like global competition and competitiveness that hit India post liberalization in 1990s. Global competition and competitiveness was needed in a country like India to bring up the talent and make use of it. But the systems meant for discovering and nurturing talent or human capabilities eventually became mechanisms to be implemented for their own sake or for certification of ISO or PCMMM, they become systems driven procedure driven and human suffers. In my view this is what has happened in India and globally in the last decade or so. 1990 to 2000 was purposive and focused to become globally competitive. It has put a price on talent and encouraged people to discover and nurture their talent. Subsequently we may be losing the game by gross neglect of the very Human which is the source of all innovation, creative, and technological developments across the globe. Imagine the developments in Artificial Intelligence leading to robots doing all work including driving cars in heavy traffic, conducting surgeries, answering your telephone calls etc. Where have all these innovations, new products and new technologies come? Who are they serving? Are they being used to bring happiness, peace, health, education etc. or are they leading people to have more territorial disputes, create more terrorists, kill each other? If technology takes over humans by the very technology they created, and they become pawns, nothing will be left to save this world. In a small measure this phenomenon of “Means taking over ends and becoming ends in themselves “(a phenomena Psychologist Gordon Allport called as Functional Autonomy) seems to have taken over the HR world across the globe.
HR’s job has become that of HR system maintainers in recruitment, on-boarding, performance appraisal and management, training, career planning, feedback, and even OD work. What has become important is the capacity utilization of training centers, reducing Cost in training, compensation benchmarking, ranking in Employee Commitment surveys, attrition rates and their reduction etc. seem to have taken priority over creating happiness at work place, discovering new talent, utilization talent, nurturing talent etc. The original purpose of HRD function as that to creating commitment, competence and culture building seem to have gone to the background and maintaining tools that were created for satisfying a few have become the way of effective HRD.
 In sum, I was feeling that in India what started as HRD movement to enhance happiness at work through competence, commitment and culture building has gone to the background. We dropped the Development in HRD and made it Department. Slowly we dropped Human also and focused on resources. Now what is left in HRD is Resources Department. “That is why when I heard Sadhguru talk of “Human is not resource, Human is a Possibility”. It struck me like lightning thought and I have taken to it instantly. In fact, I readily agreed to assist in designing and even participating in conducting a HR conclave that focused on Human as a Possibility in the year that followed, and we are now going it for the fourth time HINR program (Human is not  Resource). I have also revisited the HRD Climate survey designed about 36 years ago at XLRI and is being used globally. I have revisited the same and modified it to refocus on Human possibilities. (See Appendix)
Implications for HR Systems:
Human as Possibilities: How does this change our outlook on HR Systems?
In the following table I have attempted to differentiate the various dimensions and systems of Human Resource practice from Human Possibility practice.                                    How is HINR different from Human as a Possibility
Dimension
Human is a Resource
Human is a possibility: A Source
Meaning and Orientation
Is a Department
Is a Function
Managed by Professionals
With replicable structures, systems and processes and planned and measurable outcomes
Reporting relations ships and accountabilities
Is a philosophy and a way of looking at people in their context meant to discover, nurture and utilize human talent or capabilities.
It is also meant to discover new contexts for exploration by humans for their and others’ future lives
Possibilities are possibilities and are not easily measurable
Value and process dominated
Every person take charge and organization facilitates exploration through culture and values
Purpose



Defined as pay for performance. Perform and collect money.
Talent for money and money for talent
State the purpose. Give freedom and opportunity to redefine and reformulate new purpose.
Discover new purpose and new avenues of fulfilment
Vision
Vision is for the owners and top management. Need not be shared. If shared it only for providing to meet aspirations
Align all activities to grand vision of the owner or top management
Share vision
Develop vision by assuming each persona as a source of vision
Collective vision
Vision is only to give direction at a given point of time. Encourage everyone as a visionary
Structure
Design structure based on the objectives and purposes. Normally directed by financial goals and company aspirations. Use existing and tested out structures
Let structures evolve. People can provide appraise structures if given flexibility,
Structures are tools and should be kept flexible

Systems and processes
Plan systems and rigidly follow processes. Deadlines are important.  Benchmark with the best.
Predictable, consistent and objective systems to be planned and followed
People and their emotions are more important. Capture what interests’ people and build processes around them. Values nd culture are more critical than rigid systems and processes. Discipline is valued but systems can be made flexible to suit individual potential and opportunities.
Create your own benchmarks
Recruitment and placement
Competency based recruitment
Recruit people using tests and other objective criteria

Interest is the first qualification. Self-selection enhances motivation
Assist in making wise choices
Indicate possibilities and recruit for purpose and with offer flexibility. Don’t rigidly hold to first placement. Give freedom to express and explore.
Induction
Induct into the organization, department, role and tasks and targets.
Induct into purpose, vision, values, culture. Induct to explore and experiment. Define boundaries but not limit explorations and experimentation
Performance management
Structure PMS: Performance planning, KRAs/KPAs/KPIs/Tasks/Targets etc.
Balanced Score card and 3x 3Performacne Matrix
Forced distribution
Performance based incentives and pay
Periodic reviews
Objective appraisals
Use scales, weightages, Behaviorally anchored rating scales
Subjectivity is a part of life.
There is nothing like objectivity. It is in the mind of the perceiver. Enjoying what one does (work), choosing what one enjoys within the context, changing the nature of work keeping in mind always the purpose and vision and values is important.
Organizations re platforms to explore, apply, discover and grow. Focus is important but exploring new possibilities. S discovering better ways of doing things and better things to do re also valued
Don’t compare performance of one gain the other. Help perform oneself continuously.
Rewards
Claim your rewards and shift if your worth is not recognized or incentive sed
Pay for competence
Work itself is req ward. Learn to enjoy work. Look for doing things you enjoy. Time is important and is limited. Wasting time is wasting talent. Not discovering talent is not having time.

Training or Learning
Targeted training. Planned training
Budgeted training
Measurable training impact
Learning is continuous
Learning is a part of life. We are growing every day by learning
Learn to recognize your learning.
Leadership bench and succession planning
Use assessment centers and 360 Feedback for identifying and developing successors Break down all hierarchies.
Provide various tools and opportunities for each person to discover his/her talent continuously.
There is no hierarchy and there is no level. You create your own levels.
Take charge of your learning and be your own HRD manager. Self-development and continuous renewal are part of life. Each person monitors his growth organizations can only provide contexts and some investments. Invest on yourself.
Employee engagement
Survey help organizations ensure that employees are engaged.
Change policies and practices based on surveys
Survey should help people assess where they stand and sue it for self-improving, and growth. Engagement surveys are more for individual action than HRD interventions

Structuring of HR function or department
Hierarchical
One per 100 employees
President/ VP/GM/DGM/SRM
Manager/Dy Manager, Officer/Assist officer etc.
Every person is his/her own HR manager
Take charge of your HR
Provide inputs to HR department to facilitate your exploration into yourself and meaningful contributions to your and organizations life
No hierarchy
Anyone with interest can be a HR manager
Have separate teams to deal with legal and statutory compliance and not mix with People managers

Coaching and mentoring
Train coaches
Offer coaching services
Appoint coaches and make people accountable for investments on coaching
Self-coaching is the best coaching. Coaches can’t help you learn unless you re interest in learning. You re your own coach. Do have mentors of your choice at every point of time. Change them freely. Let wisdom flow from all sides.
Culture and values
OCTAPACE Values needed for organization Development
OCTAPACE Values are the essential values for Human Development. Strong belief that openness, collaboration, Trust and trustworthiness, Authenticity, Proaction, autonomy, confrontation and experimentation are also human possibility values




Human Possibilities Department (HPD)
I like to propose a new Human Possibilities Department or alternately a Human Possibilities Leader (HPL) or Facilitator (HPF) to be appointed in each organization or a Government department or NGO or Institution. It is based on the following premises:
1.      Human beings are born with unlimited talent and their potential need to be explored, used and developed every day. Everyone should take charge of his/her own discovery and development. HPD like HRD is primarily the job of every employee person. No one else will develop you and others can only create a climate or a platform or a facilitation mechanism to help you explore your talent and possibilities. You are the explorer, creator, designer and implementer of possibilities. Human being is the source of all ideas, innovations and actions.
2.      Organizations as entities can create and facilitate exploration of human talent and its application for creating new business opportunities, solve problems, issues, enhance productivity, markets, profits, sales, quality of service, reduction of costs  etc. and take their organization and people working for it forward. This can be done through creation of happiness at work and treating human beings as possibilities
3.      There could be dedicated facilitators of this process and they can be put in a department merely to facilitate and honor the current forms and structures of the organization. The concept of department is merely to integrate into the system and save transactional energies that facilitate the work of the HPD
4.      To begin with each entity or organization could have a Human Possibility Leader (HPL) or Facilitator (HPF) who is a spiritual leader for the organization with the primary purpose of helping people to re-engineer themselves through various interventions like “inner engineering”,  ‘feedback” (see the eight forms of Feedback for development by the author in YouTube) and yogic exercises. Large organizations could have several such leaders grouped into the HPD and the budgets provided for facilitation. Innovative organizations need not have HPDs but create mechanism to facilitate Human possibility exploration by creating a self-exploration mindset among its stake holders.
5.       HPD departments in large organizations could undertake various forms of research to explore human potential, document incidents, cases and stories, gather information across the world and use it to stimulate explorations of human talent and possibilities. They should constantly use this research and documentation for lifting the energies of the employees to explore more possibilities and help create peace and love in their won surroundings and the world at large.
6.      HPD and HPLs or HP Facilitators are not designers or influencers of the existing HR systems like recruitment to retirement and should keep away from getting drawn into their administration. Any change that comes through spiritual upliftment of the employees should happen automatically and not directed by the HPD or HPL. HPLs and HPFs are hierarchy less and are not to be involved in any positions or other structures while their advice may be sought from time to time by any interested set of people. HPDs, HPLs and HPFs will also do community work and facilitate any work around the place of location through guidance and spiritual upliftment.
A few issues that arise out of implementing these proposals are given below:
Main Purpose: To create happiness and bliss in the lives of people and particularly at workplace through various spiritual processes that inculcate right thoughts, feelings and actions that help humans see meaning in life and live like humans.
Relationship with existing HRD Departments: HPD or HPL or HPFs are creations to facilitate Human Possibilities exploration. Their primary purpose is to create “Bliss” or “Happiness “at workplace, as people give their best when they are in a state of happiness. The current systems and processes that exist to direct human effort and energies to accomplish organizational, departmental, and role related tasks and goals should continue and at best with an enhanced human orientation where possible. HPD does not in any way interfere with HRD and it is only meant to enhance its impact through helping people find meaning in what they doo and enjoy what they do. HPD is thus helps to take HRD to be more evolved function.
Tools and Systems of HPD: These need to be evolved and explored. At present Inner engineering, Vipassana, Meditation in its various forms, Yogic sciences, Human Process Laboratories and various methods like self-renewal exercises, seminars, inspirational talks, coaching, mentoring etc. that are useful inputs. Many organizations are already using these methods.
Structuring of the HPD:  Structures are also limitations. Ideally there could be no structure. However minimum structure is provided for legitimization through budgets and role clarity. This could range from a one-person department to a team engaged. These could be volunteering whose livelihood is taken care of by the organization without fitting them necessarily into any hierarchy. The team itself is hierarchy less and works for all employees without discrimination. The HPF or HPD or HPL should be independent of any other department while he/she may closely work with some departments like HRD and the CEOs office. Full autonomy and independence are given to them as spiritual leaders. Their help and assistance could be sought by any department or people. If the organization has the capacity and innovativeness to keep a loosely hanging structure, it can do so.
OCTAPACE Culture and Values: These values and culture have been found to be the most critical in promoting exploration of human possibilities. Openness, Proaction, Autonomy and Experimentation enhance exploration of human talent and make possibilities happen. Trust, collaboration, authenticity, and confrontation minimize transaction costs and enhance respect for each other and as humans. The HRD Prayer described by the author in his book on HRD Missionary could as well become the HPD prayer.
Appendix 1
Human Possibilities Climate Survey
(modified for “Humans as Possibilities” than Resources” from HRD Score Card 2500 by T. V. Rao: Sage Publications: New Delhi 2008 Originally developed by T. V Rao and Fr. E. Abraham at XLRI, Jamshedpur)
Instructions
Several statements are given here describing the Human Possibilities Climate (earlier called as HRD Climate) of an organization. Please give your assessment of the Human Possibilities climate in your organization by rating your organization on each statement using the five-point scale. A rating of 4 indicates that the statement is almost always true with your organization; a rating of 3 indicates that the statement is mostly true; a rating of 2 indicates that the statement is sometimes true; a rating of 1 indicates that the statement is rarely true and a rating of 0 indicates that the statement is not at all true about your organization.
----1.                    The top management of this organization goes out of its way to make sure that employees enjoy their work.
----2.                    The top management believes that it is people (employees) who create new possibilities (products, services, markets, innovations, solving issues etc.), and that they must be respected and treated with respect.
----3.                    Development of every junior is seen as an important part of their job by the senior managers/officers/employees here.
----4.                    The HR or people management policies in this organization facilitate learning and employee development
----5.                    The top management is willing to invest a considerable part of their time, and other resources to ensure the development of employees.
----6.                    Senior officers/executives in this organization take an active interest in their juniors and help them learn their job.
----7.                    People lacking competence in doing their jobs are helped to acquire competence rather than being left unattended.
----8.                    Managers in this organization believe that employee behavior can be changed, and that people can be developed at any stage of their life.
----9.                    People in this organization are helpful to each other.
----10.                Employees in this organization are very informal, and do not hesitate to discuss their personal problems with their supervisors.
----11.                The psychological climate in this organization is very conducive to any employee interested in developing self, by acquiring new knowledge and skills and exploring new possibilities.
----12.                Seniors guide their juniors and prepare them for future responsibilities/roles that they are likely to take up and explore new possibilities.
----13.                The top management of this organization makes efforts to identify and utilize the talent and potential of the employees and treat them as possibilities for future.
----14.                There are mechanisms in this organization to recognize and reward any good work done, or any contribution made by employees.
----15.                When an employee does good work, his supervising officers take special care to appreciate it.
----16.                Performance review and assessments in our organization are based optimism, hope, and faith on the employees and what they can accomplish rather than fear and pressure.
----17.                People in this organization do not operate with biases or restricted views or preconceived impressions of each other.
----18.                Employees are encouraged to experiment with new methods, processes and try out creative ideas.
----19.                When any employee makes a mistake, his supervisors treat it with understanding and help him/her to learn from such mistakes rather than punishing him/her or discouraging him.
----20.                Weaknesses of employees are communicated to them in a positive way to build them and not in a threatening way.
----21.                When behavior feedback is given to employees, they take it seriously and use it for development and exploring new w or different ways of doing things.
----22.                Employees in this organization take pains to find out their strengths and weaknesses from their supervising officers or colleagues.
----23.                When employees are sponsored for training, or given learning opportunities they take it seriously, and try to learn from the programs or activities.
----24.                Employees returning from training programs are given opportunities to try out what they have learnt.
----25.                People trust each other in this organization.
----26.                Employees are not afraid to express or discuss their views or feelings with their superiors or juniors.
----27.                Employees are encouraged to take initiative and do things on their own without having to wait for instructions from supervisors.
----28.                Delegation of authority to encourage juniors to develop handling higher responsibilities is quite common in this organization.
----29.                When seniors delegate authority to juniors, the juniors use it as an opportunity for development.
----30.                Team spirit is of high order in this organization and we work here with family spirit.
----31.                When problems arise, people discuss these problems openly and try to solve them rather than keep accusing each other behind their back.
----32.                Career opportunities and future possibilities for talent utilization and growth are pointed out to juniors by senior officers in the organization.
----33.                The organization’s plans and projects are shared with seniors to help them develop their juniors and prepare them for future.
----34.                This organization ensures employee welfare to such an extent that the employees can save a lot of their mental energy for various activities and work purposes.
----35.                Job rotation in this organization facilitates employee development and exploration of new talent and possibilities.
----36.                When resources are strained financially or other ways the top management takes a positive view of employees and takes them along to solve issues by exploring new possibilities than adopt a “use and throw” attitude.

Please assess your HR Team or Staff or Formally Designated HR Facilitators or Role Holders using the five-point scale as earlier.
----1.      HR staff treat employees with dignity and respect and treat them as positively than merely as numbers and tools for achieving short term targets.
----2.      HR staff set personal example by high standards of their own behavior and practice what they preach
----3.      The HR staff can be relied to carry out their promises
----4.      The HR staff are sensitive to the potential of people and the problems they face is using and exploring new possibilities
----5.      The HR staff go out of way to facilitate exploration of talent in new areas and creation of new opportunities and new avenues for expression of talent
----6.      The HR staff are very sensitive to the issues the society faces today (water, energy, employment, skills, poverty, health, education etc.)  and facilitate CSR activities in all possible ways.
----7.      HR staff have a deep understanding of our business (products and services, customers, key drivers of business, competitive challenges and strategy of the business unit
----8.      HR staff play an important role in the strategic planning and decisions.
----9.      HR staff participate actively in the weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings and review of business units
----10.    HR staff understand what drives customers to choose the organization as their service provider
----11.    HR Partners and team are highly respected, treated as significant and positioned at high level in the organization.
----12.    HR team is very supportive to all functions and take time to understand their needs and assist them
----13.    HR Partners, as a part of their development process, rotate into the business units playing line function roles
----14.    HR Partners, as a part of their development process, accompany sales people on customer calls
----15.    HR team is learning from various sources including employees, other organizations, HR forums, academic institutions, books, articles, visitors, seminars etc.
----16.    Our HR team conducts perioding reviews of themselves for self-renewal and rejuvenation
----17.    Our HR team walks the talk and implements al that they expect others to practice.
----18.    Our HR team can be relied highly to carry out what they promise or commit verbally and informally
----19.    Our HR team exhibits a good degree of empathy.
----20.    Our HR team evolves systems and practices that reflect a philosophy that “Humans are Possibilities rather than merely resources”.
Administration
The questionnaire uses a five-point scale. It could be administered to all employees (especially supervisory and managerial staff), and a HRD climate profile can be drawn up. Annual surveys of HRD climate could be conducted and profiles maintained for review, reflection and action




References
McLean, Gary N and McLean, L. D. (2001) If we can’t define HRD in one Country, how can we define in an International Context?” in Oscar A Alioga (ed) 2001. Academy of Human Resources Development, 2001, Conference Proceedings, February 28- March 4, 2001, Oklahoma
Nadler, Leonard, (1970) Developing Human Resources, Gulf Publishing
Nadler, Leonard (1984) Handbook of HRD, New York: John Wiley and Sons
Pareek, Udai and Rao, T. V.  (2008) From a sapling to the Forest: The saga of the Development of HRD in India, Human Resources development International, volume 11, No 5, November 2008, 555-564.
Rao, T. V. (2003) Future of HRD. New Delhi: Macmillan
Ruona, W. E. A. (2000) Should we define the Profession of HRD? Views of Leading Scholars; in K. P. Kuchinke, (2000) Academy of Human Resources Development 2000 Conference Proceedings, Baton
Ulrich, D. (1997). The Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding
Value and Delivering Results. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.
Ulrich, D., J. Younger, W. Brockbank and M. Ulrich. (2013a). HR from the
Outside In: Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources. New Delhi:
Tata McGraw-Hill.
Ulrich, D., J. Younger, W. Brockbank and M. Ulrich. (2013b). Global HR
Competencies: Mastering Competitive Value from the Outside In. New Delhi:
Tata McGraw-Hill.
YouTube references
Most Isha Foundation videos deal with Human Possibilities
T V Rao’s talks related to HPD: