Purpose: This paper aims to explore the benefits of intellectual capital assessment for facing current challenges of human resources work and organizational development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes findings of studies on challenges in HR work and maps them with features of intellectual capital assessment methods. It is thus a theoretical paper, based on practical experience, and findings of practice-oriented studies. It can serve as the basis for formulating new hypotheses to be further investigated and discussed. Findings: There is a considerable overlap of HR challenges and potential benefits of IC assessment in several areas of human resources' work, closely interlinked with organizational development. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this paper may stimulate research on organizations as social systems and in applied research on human resources. It provides a starting point for further investigation of psychological, social and organisational success factors and to the practical challenge of building intelligent and sustainable organisations in a continuously changing environment. Practical implications: Using participatory IC assessment approaches may change practices in HR work and enrich the portfolio of methods used and enlarge the application of IC assessment. Social implications: The paper fosters the value of expertise and experience of people in organizations. This may lead, in the long run, to changes in organizational cultures. Originality/value: In research and practice, IC assessment and HR work are mostly disconnected. This paper proposes to establish a link and explore synergies. This may have considerable impact on research and practice in these areas. (Contains 3 figures.)