I often come across Chief Executives and Business Leaders who are prepared to spend great amounts of money to maintain the technological advantage over competitors but do not feel able to commit the same amount to the development of their people. All too often the cry is ” Our people are our greatest asset” and yet everything that happens within an organisation goes against that mantra. Scant rewards, little engagement, no recognition eventually leads to someone moving on with a view to improving their lot. Well that’s a years wages down the pan to recruit train and develop a successor according to Price Waterhouse Coopers. That is without looking at the competitive positives that come with that employee in the new organisation.
Loyalty is a word that springs to mind. Loyal customers are vital and loyal employees bring similar rewards. They don’t require initial training, they spot opportunities, they understand the business, they know how to service customer needs and they know each other and all those benefits come without a bill!
Now should one of them leave and join a competitor what will go with them? Their knowledge of the organisation and the way it works will disappear, their experience and their training even perhaps their customers will all go! The gaining organisation wins hands down by investing in them and their future contemporaries.
Now lets invest some time with employees meeting and matching their needs, engaging with them, leading them properly, empowering them to greater productivity and rewarding them appropriately with well thought out rewards. Suddenly people will enjoy work. They will strive for future organisational success and ignore that other offer. With a little bit of investment staff will be content and happy to work with a caring and progressive organisation. When you work for one of those organisations you don’t want to work for anybody else.