The times have changed and the role of human resources within the organization needs to change. We can no longer be keepers of the records; we must become keepers of the flame. It is human resources' responsibility to lead the organization in tapping the one remaining resource it has: people. In today's global economy, everyone can have the latest computers and software. They can have identical products. What they cannot have are the same people. Each organization is made up of a unique group of people. It becomes the responsibility of human resources to mesh the people - with varying backgrounds with its vision and goals - to create a merger that will accomplish the objectives of both the organization and the individual. .
Management needs to realize that in the future, raw materials, finished products and money will not be the keys to organizational success. People will be that key. Future success will depend on how we use the things that do not appear on a balance sheet or a Profit and Loss Statement - the intellectual capital of the organization, the knowledge its people possess. A recent study of U.S. businesses showed that the best way to improve goods and services and become more competitive is through internal management and human resources improvements. Human resources' goals must change to adjust and cope with the new environment. The reality is that if human resources continue to operate with the goals it has held in the past, it will be left behind by the organization or eliminated. Human resources does not have a choice. Human resources' new goals must be to develop people that have the skills and knowledge that the organization needs. It does not stop there. These people must have the right skills at the time the organization needs them.
If the organization has to wait for these skills to be developed, it can lose its competitive edge, its market and its ability to compete. The other goal must be to assist people in developing the skills and knowledge that will help them achieve their personal goals.