Human Resource Practices in Innovative Clusters

It has been said that people are the center of success for any organization. They build things, invent things, and sell things. Leaders rely on their highly skilled workers to keep their business growing in the right direction. Clusters are sources of innovation and it is necessary to recruit and attract the right kind of people for success. According to an article in the International Review of Management and Marketing Journal, Human resource practices can have a big impact on corporate success within a cluster setting (Doronina, et. al., 2016).

Human resource practices are important for innovative clusters as the essential soul of such systems is their high quality talent and technical "know how". Management of people within a cluster have two important aspects such as...

1. Defining and enacting business objectives.
2. Managing people within the cluster.

The first aspect applies to all types of businesses regardless of where they are located. The second aspect takes on considerable importance as we consider the nature of creativity and innovation needed to lead the market.

Human resource management entails hiring the right people and preparing them for the highest performance possible. Cluster oriented employees are high performers and typically have attained a significant amount of skill and knowledge. According to the study 85% of people have gained higher education degrees and 10% specialized skills.

Because skills are advanced, managers will often spend a considerable amount of time training and retraining employees to ensure they are up-to-date on job requirements. Advanced clusters that offer leading edge products, need specialized skills that can make those products. Higher education and training are a part of that process of product development and manufacturing.

Companies will also need to develop creative environments that offer opportunities to maximize idea generation and exploration. They may consider the use of new management techniques, environmental design, and corporate culture to encourage employee's creative juices to start flowing. High technology and innovative companies often seek to create stimulation rich environments that foster the mind as the greatest asset.

While many of the principles of strong human resource tactics make their way into clusters there is an increased need to attract and foster highly educated and innovative employees. High innovation employers will emphasize the recruitment of highly educated/skilled employees, continuously train them to work on leading edge products, and develop environments that enhance their thinking abilities. Creative and innovative environments use human resource practices designed to feed and enhance these environments that leads to greater intellectual capital within the company.

Doronina, I, etc.. (2016) Human Resource Management Features of an Innovative Cluster. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6 (6s).