HP Innovation Journal Issue 07: Summer 2017

HR INNOVATION HP Affinity Groups HP’s novel human resources model for the 21 st century cyber physical age by C handrakant D. Patel, HP Chief Engineer and Senior Fellow, HP; Kristy Feldkamp, Global Head of Human Resources, Future Technology & Innovation, HP H P is one of the most multi-disciplinary printers — and apply data science to deliver companies in the world. Years ago, value to our customers. our engineers, transfixed by the This multi-disciplinary technical com- boiling phenomenon of water — bubble munity has uniquely positioned HP for the formation, bubble departure, and vigor- 21 st century cyber-physical solutions that ous boiling — tamed the bubble to create combine information sciences and physical the ubiquitous HP Inkjet. The same pas- sciences to address socio-economic and eco- sion for fundamentals runs in the veins of logical megatrends-driven challenges. These today’s innovators across all disciplines at HP. As in the past, User experience our ink chemists are steeped in funda- Machine generated data, machine mentals and spend learning algorithms, controls years developing in- tellectual pr operty Firmware in ink formulation. These formulations Micro-technologies, materials, have led to print- chips, circuits, thermal ers that print doc- management reliability uments and print Art on rigid surfaces as 3D Jet Fusion Printing (Drawing by Chandrakant Patel) well. Indeed, HP’s 2D printers will not only continue to print doc- solutions, from experiences that improve uments but will also change our built envi- quality of life at home with HP’s computing ronment — from wall and floor coverings to devices, to the “art to part” technical pipeline furniture. Furthermore, the engineers at HP, in HP’s Jet Fusion 3D printers, have to be built by applying the fundamentals of mechanics using multiple disciplines and technologies. of solids, fluids and heat, have devised mod- Therefore, HP has applied even more em- ular inkjet writing systems that can have phasis on developing the depth and breadth meter-scale dimensions and are applied in of our technical talent and ensuring that the various length scales in 2D and 3D printing. brightest minds tackle the most complex Not to be outdone, the HP engineers in com- business challenges across the company. In puting and information sciences have con- order to do this, one can’t be bound by orga- nected millions of our devices — laptops to nizational constructs. Therefore, one of the 18 Innovation Journal · Issue 7 · Summer 2017 tenets of HP’s talent strategy is promoting a growth mindset, where employees are continuously learning and they consider the corporation as their classroom. Because HP enjoys a deep bench of technical expertise, the employees themselves are the faculty. Chief Engineer Patel leads by exam- ple and is also the Chief Professor. He has driven the creation of affinity groups in salient technical topics with the in- tent to learn, teach, guide and strength- en the company’s key technical capa- bilities. The journey began by mapping HP’s worldwide tech- nical community into capabilities in chips, Part printed circuits, ma- terials, thermal man- agement, data management, machine learning, security, user experience, etc. Exhaustive mapping was conducted for the range of HP’s evolving business needs giv- en the company’s current and future port- folio. Next, starting at the grass roots level, through novel techniques in informal self-or- ganization, the HP worldwide affinity groups in these technical capabilities were formed. For brevity, the list of all the affinity groups are not shown by name.

HP Innovation Journal Issue 07: Summer 2017 | Page 18