what is the role of a boss in any organization?  He or she needs to make best use of all resources, including human resources, to ensure that the productivity of that particular department is always very high.  The boss has to ensure that he communicates the goals and objectives of the department and the organization, very well, and make sure that there is a great deal of role clarity in whatever is being done.  

While role clarity is so important, simply making it work, requires even more hard work. It requires understanding of capabilities of individuals and of allocating tasks on a priority basis, to different individuals.

However, the boss also has a very important task:  to improve skills and competencies in individuals that will enable the organization to go ahead.  It is in his own interest. in the department's in interest and in the organization's interest to understand the real developmental needs of subordinates and take appropriate action.

If everything were to be so perfect in the real world, there will not be any problem or imperfect organization in the first place.  The worst challenge to any organization is more with the managers, who, more often than not, have giant sized egos that will far outweigh their need to be objective and have the best interest of the organization, at any point in time.  

This never happens, and the managers often fear that if the subordinate is developed, he or she will loose his or her importance, and become obsolete,. or that the individual or individuals will become more smarter than them.  It is up to the HR professionals to understand the exact ramifications of this problem, and take the most appropriate action possible, under any given set of circumstances.

Hence, the boss has a big imperative to develop skills in subordinates.  The question is: how?

Firstly, and most importantly, the department's goals should align itself with that of the organization.  It cannot function in isolated compartments.  If this were to happen, the organization will not develop at all.

For instance, if there is a recession, the HR department has a clear mandate: to reduce costs of human resources, on a priority basis.  In meetings with the line managers, it will be wise for the HR Manager to convince them to reduce cost in all possible ways.  One shrewd way in which this is commonly done, is to not fill up a regular post that becomes vacant due to resignation or transfer to another location or even a different function altogether or even death.  What happens is that a junior level person is taken from outside, or some transfer is effected internally.  Sometimes, apprentices are appointed under the provisions of the Apprentices Act.  The most important provision of this Act that the organization gets fifty percent of the cost of appointment from the Government.  The Apprentices are purely temporary trainees, but even in foundry industries, graduate engineers and diploma holders in engineering are appointed as apprentices.

What then is the developmental need of the subordinate?  Very simple.  He has to liaison with the appropriate educational institutions, conduct campus interviews together  with the line managers and ensure that there is a big pipeline of apprentices who will simply join the organization whenever needed.  If the subordinate is not capable, a good amount of hand holding is needed or even mentoring is needed.

Let us take another issue of development.  In all HR departments, there is this big task of statutory compliance.  If the employee is a Management trainee, it is wise to put him or her under the care of a very senior person, who already has experience in this task.  This will ensure that the task becomes simpler, and the transference of skills becomes easier.

It is very important to understand the difference between a skill and a competency.  A skill will relate to effective execution of a set of tasks that will relate to a particular job, for example, management of the canteen on a day-to-day basis.  However, a competency will also involve behavioral aspects.  For example, if the subordinate were to make an urgent presentation on various aspects of canteen management on a priority basis, and also come up with suggestions for better administration, and this presentation would be need to be done to the Top Management within just two days, the subordinate would require practice, he would require feedback, he would require a bundle of skills, for example, the ability to bear with any inconvenient question, during the presentation.

The latter would call for behavioral competencies of a tall order.  It is exactly this type of competency development, particularly leadership development, which is becoming a big developmental need.  If the boss is himself an old horse, he would have to be changed compulsorily.

What would be the developmental need at a particular point in time would be a question of organizational goals at a particular point in time, and the different competencies required to manage situations as they develop.  

For example, during a merger and acquisition, the competencies of the parent HR department would be very complex indeed.  The HR Manager would need to work overtime to alley the fears of the new employees and even start re-aligning the designations, pay scales, the perks and so on.

This is easier said than done.  It is a very complicated exercise and it requires entire teams to be on the complicated job.  Pro-active organizations plan to have in place, well trained behavioral experts, with background in advanced behavioral research, to deal with these kind of situations, and develop such capabilities well in advance. 

Similarly, in the area for marketing for example, the subordinate would need experiences in corporate marketing strategies, positioning of the product or products, distribution network and management of the same, the larger supply chain management nuances, and so on. 

In each and every area, there should be a clear career path for the individual concerned, which meshes the individuals' particular developmental needs with that of his organization.  It is very important that this takes place in a very systematic manner.

Developing talents and capabilities of individuals in organizations is a very important aspect of the role of any boss.  He or she needs to do this very seriously and with a great degree of professionalism in these modern days of Management and its application in the real world.