The Hindu Business Line : Innovation vital to compete globally, says Maran

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Chennai Feb. 10 The human resources (HR) management division in an organisation must be proactive and create an environment to promote creativity and innovation at work.

According to the Union Minster for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, innovation is the single most important ingredient in any economy today.

"Unless HR functions facilitate innovation, businesses cannot compete globally," he said inaugurating a seminar on `HR— Catalyst for innovations' organised by the Madras Christian College, Department of Social Work and Human Resources Management.

BSNL case

He cited his experience in motivating the HR function at the state-run BSNL that helped the company turn into a proactive business entity. "When I took charge, BSNL had about 4.5 lakh employees with no competitive spirit and a disinterested HR division," he said. This was the time mobile telephony was picking up and BSNL was fast losing its landline subscriber base.

"We formed a panel and suggested that the company look at offering broadband connections and adopt a different business model," Mr Maran said. BSNL rolled out its broadband services in 2005 and is today a major player in the broadband category.

"The HR personnel motivated employees. Line men were made fully responsible for all broadband connections they installed and it made them feel important in the organisation," he said.

With Indian businesses growing large, there is a severe scarcity of expertise in HR management, he said. "HR professionals must be prepared for a career of continuous learning, he said.