Leaving the tunnel:

how HR can help to re-innovate the company

Ralf Wetzel, Regina Regenass, Mia Vanstraelen

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1. How companies forget to innovate

2. The HR function: Within or without the tunnel?

3. How to turn the tunnel into a tower

Focus

2

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1 How companies forget to innovate: examples

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1 How companies forget to innovate: the logic of the tunnel

Sydow / Schreyögg / Koch 2007

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2 HR function - inside or outside the tunnel?

The HR Business Partner (based on Dave Ulrich, 1997)

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2 HR function inside the tunnel?

HR as part of the ‚forgetting game‘:

Unconscious strengthening of organizational tunnels

Service orientation to line

departments

Fragmentation of

observation

Rated by internal clients

lacking influence in shaping

strategies

Execution of business

strategy

lacking sovereignty in

expressing own perspectives

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2 HR function inside the tunnel?

Item (Human Resource Competency Survey, Ulrich et al. 2008: 191) % Impact

Ensure that HR strategy turns business goals into HR priorities 9%

Have an HR strategy that links HR practices to business

strategy

10%

Use empirical research to identify best HR practices 7%

Ensure that organization structure of HR is consistent with the

business strategy

13%

Create a workforce scorecard 5%

Track employee engagement 6%

Build the capability of the HR department to add greater

value

8%

reactive strategy

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2 HR function outside the tunnel?

= Rich foundation for reflecting organizational tunnels

Collects broad range of ‚rich‘ information (sleeping paths)

Connects operational with strategic levels

Supports and allows contact and communication

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3 Turning the tunnel into a tower

Baseline: Re-think the organization & reflect tunnels by:

• Reframe & re-analyze given information: use the

constructivity of conflict!

• Connect separated communities of the company!

• Turn around ways of action: shape companies

innovation strategy!

• Introduce external perspectives: customers,

investors, communities!

Mia Vanstraelen

Regina Regenass