Implementing innovative solutions to perennial problems - We start the new year with a feature looking at how many of the issues affecting human resources and personnel departments todav remain unchanged from those highlighted when EDB was first published 10 years ago. However, what have changed are the strategies and tools for dealing with them. Changes in the tools for training and development are also explored, with particular reference to the introduction of the world wide web and other technological advances, in the form of computer-based training. Other innovations include marrying the impact of drama with a training environment to produce a powerful training programme. These innovations are illustrated through case studies from six organisations. These organisations show just some of the developments, both in terms of the integral role that personnel now plays and the tools that are available to perform this role, from the use of computer-baded training to recruiting, selecting and retaining employees for the Millennium Dome.