Tim Giehll and Sara Moss are excited to bring you a revolutionary blog about a revolutionary concept: human capital supply chains. Below is an introduction to the concept, and an executive summary not just of the book, but of this blog itself.
Corporations have been building and optimizing manufacturing supply chains for over three decades. Companies like Dell and Wal-Mart are famous for leveraging supply chain management techniques to breakout from their competitors and dominate their markets. In the past 30 years we’ve shifted from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy. For companies that want to grow their businesses in a post-recession economy, it’s time to refocus and apply the lessons learned from optimizing your product lines to optimizing your workforce.
Anyone in HR, procurement, staffing and the Executive Suite knows that there are massive and costly inefficiencies throughout today’s workforce planning and hiring processes. Everyone is interested in having a cost-effective, quality-oriented staffing process, but most firms have no idea how to refine their practices to hire the right type of talent at the right place at the right time at the best price.
In the U.S. there has been a long standing bias toward hiring a permanent and direct workforce. There are so many more types of employment that must now be considered, including: part-time, temporary, contractor, consultants and outsourced workers. In today’s complex and competitive environment, corporations must decide which type of talent is the best fit in each situation, and that’s not so simple. Companies need a strategic workforce plan, a methodology for making talent mix decisions along with supporting processes and integrated technologies. Building a just-in-time human capital supply chain is a big commitment, but one with the potential for big returns.
The opportunity to boost profits by creating a cost-effective human capital supply chain is real and proven. “Human Capital Supply Chains” explains how corporations can get their arms around their human capital spend and estimate the value of implementing a human capital supply chain. As we learned in manufacturing, establishing and managing a supply chain not only reduces costs in the short-term, but the long-term tuning of the supply chain can result in unprecedented growth and strategic competitive advantage.
For those ready to face the challenge and the opportunity, “Human Capital Supply Chains” also provides the practical steps of designing and implementing your own human capital supply chain. The book is structured as a “How To” handbook for implementing and managing the new processes, technologies and organizational roles that will be required.
HR professionals need to be more scientific about how they size, plan and shape their workforce. Procurement needs to shift more attention to understanding and managing human capital spending. Corporations must develop strategic supplier relationships in order to get best-fit talent. Executives, especially CEOs, need to stop viewing human capital as an HR issue and get more engaged in strategizing and planning their workforce, since their workforce is most likely their most mission-critical asset and their greatest financial expense.
Human capital is the key to America’s future success. So, why are we so slow to apply the lessons learned from manufacturing supply chains to human capital? Anyone personally impacted by the mass layoffs that resulted from the 2009 recession would respectfully ask that companies figure out how to better anticipate and smooth out their workforce changes. Firms that understand their human capital needs on a real-time basis should not be taken by surprise. Rather, they are in tune with market dynamics and are able to quickly react with agility, ramping down their workforce less aggressively or fighting back to pick-up core talent without delay.
As the economy rebounds, companies will all be competing for the same top talent. Firms that have been strategic during the downturn and established human capital supply chains will be best poised to react quickly and snap up the most qualified talent first.
It is vital that CEOs, HR executives, procurement and staffing industry executives answer this call to action and be ready for the post-recession ramp-up in hiring and the skill shortages that will return as the Baby Boomer generation actually begins to retire.
We must manage our human capital as efficiently and effectively as we manage all of the other parts of our business. Translating manufacturing supply chain lessons learned to the human capital supply chain is an obvious idea and makes perfect business sense. Companies hesitate to get started because so many entrenched roles must change and the ideas, as applied to human capital, feel new. There is no doubt that if you want your firm to lead in the post-recession talent grab, you must start building your human capital supply chain now. It’s your decision. Are you ready to get going or are you going to wait to be overtaken by competitors that act first?
Corporations have been building and optimizing manufacturing supply chains for over three decades. Companies like Dell and Wal-Mart are famous for leveraging supply chain management techniques to breakout from their competitors and dominate their markets. In the past 30 years we’ve shifted from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy. For companies that want to grow their businesses in a post-recession economy, it’s time to refocus and apply the lessons learned from optimizing your product lines to optimizing your workforce.
Anyone in HR, procurement, staffing and the Executive Suite knows that there are massive and costly inefficiencies throughout today’s workforce planning and hiring processes. Everyone is interested in having a cost-effective, quality-oriented staffing process, but most firms have no idea how to refine their practices to hire the right type of talent at the right place at the right time at the best price.
In the U.S. there has been a long standing bias toward hiring a permanent and direct workforce. There are so many more types of employment that must now be considered, including: part-time, temporary, contractor, consultants and outsourced workers. In today’s complex and competitive environment, corporations must decide which type of talent is the best fit in each situation, and that’s not so simple. Companies need a strategic workforce plan, a methodology for making talent mix decisions along with supporting processes and integrated technologies. Building a just-in-time human capital supply chain is a big commitment, but one with the potential for big returns.
The opportunity to boost profits by creating a cost-effective human capital supply chain is real and proven. “Human Capital Supply Chains” explains how corporations can get their arms around their human capital spend and estimate the value of implementing a human capital supply chain. As we learned in manufacturing, establishing and managing a supply chain not only reduces costs in the short-term, but the long-term tuning of the supply chain can result in unprecedented growth and strategic competitive advantage.
For those ready to face the challenge and the opportunity, “Human Capital Supply Chains” also provides the practical steps of designing and implementing your own human capital supply chain. The book is structured as a “How To” handbook for implementing and managing the new processes, technologies and organizational roles that will be required.
HR professionals need to be more scientific about how they size, plan and shape their workforce. Procurement needs to shift more attention to understanding and managing human capital spending. Corporations must develop strategic supplier relationships in order to get best-fit talent. Executives, especially CEOs, need to stop viewing human capital as an HR issue and get more engaged in strategizing and planning their workforce, since their workforce is most likely their most mission-critical asset and their greatest financial expense.
Human capital is the key to America’s future success. So, why are we so slow to apply the lessons learned from manufacturing supply chains to human capital? Anyone personally impacted by the mass layoffs that resulted from the 2009 recession would respectfully ask that companies figure out how to better anticipate and smooth out their workforce changes. Firms that understand their human capital needs on a real-time basis should not be taken by surprise. Rather, they are in tune with market dynamics and are able to quickly react with agility, ramping down their workforce less aggressively or fighting back to pick-up core talent without delay.
As the economy rebounds, companies will all be competing for the same top talent. Firms that have been strategic during the downturn and established human capital supply chains will be best poised to react quickly and snap up the most qualified talent first.
It is vital that CEOs, HR executives, procurement and staffing industry executives answer this call to action and be ready for the post-recession ramp-up in hiring and the skill shortages that will return as the Baby Boomer generation actually begins to retire.
We must manage our human capital as efficiently and effectively as we manage all of the other parts of our business. Translating manufacturing supply chain lessons learned to the human capital supply chain is an obvious idea and makes perfect business sense. Companies hesitate to get started because so many entrenched roles must change and the ideas, as applied to human capital, feel new. There is no doubt that if you want your firm to lead in the post-recession talent grab, you must start building your human capital supply chain now. It’s your decision. Are you ready to get going or are you going to wait to be overtaken by competitors that act first?
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Cesar: Thanks for joining the HR Revolution. Concerning Human Capital Supply Chains as well as the site, we are just getting started. Thanks, Tim Giehll