When people think of human resources, most will probably first visualize the the long-suffering (and insufferable) Toby from The Office. Some have predicted that the future of in-house HR professionals like Toby may be going the way of the show in which he’s featured--wrapping up and ending altogether.

There is no simple, linear path to career nirvana these days - but that doesn't stop employees from shouting from the rooftops, hoping enough noise will show them the way. And whether a straight shot from the mailroom to the corner office ever really existed is debatable. Yet it's undeniable that today's workers are on a zig-zag career trajectory, and they're not sure they like the ride.  

Whether you are a well-known corporation, a startup or somewhere in between, getting the best talent is a key to business success.  And your careers site is one of the most important tools you have to convincing potential candidates that your company would be a great place to work.

If you're in HR, you're on point to innovate, adapt, and work with less regularly.  And that requires an approach that's creative, flexible and measurable.  But you can't get started if your new ideas are regularly crushed.

Do you work around innovation crushers?  They're easy to spot.  Just listen for these phrases:

• "We could never do that here."
• "There's no funding for that."
• "That won't get approved."

1. Carve out time with a small team of people who would be affected by a change you're driving.  Facilitate a brainstorming session in which ideas are generated, and the best and worst case scenarios of each is considered objectively, along with the impact on the business.  Set ground rules to banish the non-productive comments or concerns that may come up ("they'll never let us do that").  Have the group vote on the best idea and take a first stab at costing out the changes and the expected return.
2. Focus on the risks on not changing.  Determine what will be lost by remaining stagnant.  Gather some compelling examples of companies or teams that didn't adapt fast enough (think Kodak, Blockbuster, Tower Records, Sears) and then compare them with companies which have excelled at innovation (Apple, Amazon, JCrew, Salesforce.)  Get in front of the comments and actions that tend to crush innovation in your area by banning them in your work group or project team.  Regularly recognize those who think creatively, are willing to consider new ideas, and who identify effective solutions.
3. Bring in a thought leader with deep expertise in the area in which you're struggling.  Because you know the drill:  you can say the same thing over and over again, but when it's said by an outside "expert", it often elicits a different reaction.  Don't fight it - embrace it.  Consider it another tool in your toolbox to get things moving in the right direction.  (Are you struggling with a talent acquisition or talent management issue?  Click here.)

Today I had the good fortune of hearing a very old song I recall from my childhood: There's a Hole in the Bucket.  My kids and I got a kick of out the clever song, and they asked me to play it several times.  As I listened to it over and over, I realized that it's a perfect metaphor for what we at times face in HR. Just when we most need innovative thinking in the way we find, hire, develop and retain employees - we're least likely to get it in many organizations.

It's funny. We often hear about a new crop of HR Business Partner reorganization work taking place after a company's annual talent review or succession planning process. All the activity made me wonder about the range of reasons for reorganizations. Clearly, companies make leadership changes after talent review, and a leader often wants to shape the organization according to his/her vision. Given the disruption that accompanies restructuring, is this a good enough reason?

The Hay Group recently published their latest "Best Companies for Leadership" study - this one for 2012.  And while some on the list are oldies but goodies, some new names emerged while others dropped off.  You can read the study here - but we've summarized our key observations and thoughts below. 

As companies aspire to move more quickly – perhaps to innovate, respond quickly to market demands, or simply become more efficient – they have to tackle the age-old challenge of organizational silos.  Breaking down silos and streamlining handoffs between business units is key to rapid decision-making.  It simply takes too long for ideas to surface to the leader of a business unit, only to be conveyed to the leader of another, and then be slowly cascaded to the right expert to consider. 

The best talent acquisition metric is Quality of Hire.  Yet it is rarely measured or analyzed.  And it's even rarer that leaders are held accountable for quality of hire results.