Creativity Management: a new dimension in Human Resource

Creativity adds innovation and effectiveness to human resource management. Human resource is that branch of management where we can expect the maximum innovation. When we compare it with other different fields we find it has changed exponentially. There was a time when machines were paid more importance and humans were merely treated as laborers. But the time has reversed and managers too, have realized that human resource is the backbone of all departments and hence it needs to be tackled creatively.

The field of Creativity Management narrows down the gap between imagination and reality. Creativity accelerates the performance development of the organization as managers have the edge of exploring something new and novel. Creativity can be used as an effective tool to manage people smartly leading to better productivity. Hence, we can say that, creativity management is a new dimension in the field of human resource management. When we look upon the basic functions of human resource management they are:



Recruitment and selection of employees:
The foremost function of HR is to filter the most appropriate candidate from the masses so that right person can be chosen for the right job. It is a test of the HR manager that the selection process should be reliable and valid otherwise the process will end up giving negative results. Earlier emphasis was laid mainly on the subject knowledge but with changing times HR managers have realized the need for new and creative selection methods such as psychological tests which give information about the personality as well as behaviour. Group exercises test the candidate on the aspect of teamwork which is important for organizational productivity. Similarly, work sample tests enable HR managers to know how effectively a candidate will be able to justify the work. Other innovative methods of recruitment are graphology and polygraph tests.

Employee motivation:
Creativity is again important for retaining the employees and keeping them motivated. Days have gone when mangers used to believe that money is the only motivator. It’s a tough job for HR manager to keep employees happy and dedicated for job. When creative ideas and focused goal mingle together then it gives rise to some interesting schemes which not only attract employees but also create a sense of belongingness among the employees. Some of the earlier employee benefit schemes were insurance (Mediclaim Policy), employee pension scheme etc. These are the schemes, which were used to effectively manage employees and projected an image as a caring company. But as time passes, humans want novel and creative ideas hence, it was found that there was a need for more creative schemes or policies to retain employees. This is how companies started coming up with offshore employee benefits, educational leaves; maternity and paternity leaves, giving loans on low rate of interest and distributing shares to some of the employees; these are some of the creative employee benefits’ schemes. These creative schemes are not only employee friendly but also earn lot of goodwill for the organization.

Employee evaluation:
Organizations shape the career graph of employees through employee evaluation and thereby it is of vital importance for employees. This core responsibility again falls in the jurisdiction of a HR manager. Earlier, there was only a set pattern of evaluation in which subordinate used to be assessed by her/his superior on the basis of the task outcome. Creativity had no role to play in the whole process in past but now it is necessary for every domain area of management. HR managers incorporated creativity with novel ideas to create some effectively used evaluation techniques. Some of the new techniques for evaluation are full circle appraisal, team appraisal, self appraisal, trait appraisal, peer ranking etc. If we notice, all these methods try to reveal at least one of the aspects of employees, which have some influence on the productivity of the organisation. These also highlight that in this competitive world organisations are eager to apprise an employee who has groomed personality, ability to work in team and creative skills. Hence, it is the need of the hour to design creative evaluation techniques rather than only rewarding task outcomes of the employees.

Industrial relations:
If an organisation wants to develop friendly relationship within the industry then it needs to design a creative and innovative policy for industrial relations. It follows a simple concept that if a farmer wants to harvest the crop then he has to cultivate it also. Similarly, to have a good image not only in front to customers but also in the eyes of fellow industries, HR managers need to enhance the image of the organization in a beautiful and creative manner. It involves the art of beautifully showcasing the positive attributes of the organization and tactfully overcoming the negatives. Nowadays, organizations have started recruiting personnel for this specific purpose. Industrial relations deals with effectively communicating with media and other stakeholders such as competitors, suppliers, customers etc. This is one of the most important areas for any organization as the goodwill of an organization is dependent on cordial relationships developed by HR personnel smartly and creatively.

Employee education, training and development:
Last, but not the least, HR managers have the core responsibility of development of acquired talent and converting them into assets for the organization, which can be further utilized for the benefit of the organization. This is done by conducting regular employee trainings and development activities. In past, trainings were more or less like classroom sessions but presently, HR managers are catering to the demand of time by designing and implementing creative and interactive trainings. This has helped in satisfying employees as this function of human resource develops the overall personality of employees and uplifts their career graph. Nowadays, creative training sessions involve delivering technical subject knowledge; video sessions; role plays; development of analytical and behavioral skillsets; problem solving and overall personality development activities. This function of human resource results in retaining talent and reducing turnover ratio thereby saving lot of time and resources of organization.

Creativity and innovation are the tools to measure productivity. Therefore, there is a rise in the demand of creativity management for increased revenues, profits, jobs and a growing economy. The ultimate aim of creativity management is to bring a positive change by making someone or something better. It is one of the major drivers of the economy especially in case of developed economies where organizations are creating need for creative and improved products.

In this era of cut throat competition organizations need to seed and feed new ideas so that a pipeline of creative ideas, products, services, processes, positions and paradigms can be exploited in the near future. Companies nowadays prefer to become pioneers in their fields and enjoy first mover advantage rather than struggling for their existence. It is safe to say that there is a necessity for organizations to handle their Human Resources creatively if they want to achieve success in the long run.

Article by
Nidhi Gautham, Management Consultant, Bikanerwala Foods Pvt Ltd.

Talent Development for sustained growth