Role of HR in Co- Creating Value

The concept of Value chain as propounded by Harvard Professor Michael Porter is assuming greater significance in the light of business going borderless. The perception of offering product to the consumers or customers are out dated now . Firms only offer value to the users. The person who buys a Volvo car actually pay the price for its road safety and another person who take delivery of a Mercedes Benz, rides it for the pride value. The value is created in both these cases , by the employees employed by truly being committed to it. All firms without exception, besides HR , have materials, equipments, money, time and information as resources but it is employees who turn them into values in intangible form too. Brand is built over the product, supply chain is built over the materials, value chain is built over the service and it is a human contribution in the firm . When the value in all the above go up and put the firm product and service in demand, prospective employees naturally have a desire to work for such employers and in process term good employees migrate to good employers and all they do is good for all the stake holders in the society. This positive outcomes in HR terms is called Employer Branding a phenomenon assuming greater importance of late. The employer branding not only help managing IR, ER better but spills into other functions too. Good employer branding make product branding easy. Infosys in soft ware, IBM in hardware are classic example of good employer image working better in the market place. Market leaders when not having good relations with employees at all, has a serious bearing in market perception too. Air India even in monopoly time, never had kept its head above the water and today the situation is salary not being disbursed on time. The role of HR as a support function is a thing of past and now it is too important for value creation in the market place. As competitive pressure increases, its contribution in value management is bound to go up.