A well-worn cliché bandied about (particularly by HR managers), is “employees are your greatest asset.” But are they? Are all employees created equal, and if not, which ones are assets and which ones are liabilities?
Truth be told, an employee in the wrong job can be an outright liability – particularly in small business. In larger companies, selected individuals sit at the management table and decide the direction and future of the business – the remainder are retained to simply ‘carry out the orders.’ In small companies, management discussions can be difficult to isolate, and those carrying out the orders can have a significant impact on the direction of the business. But what happens when contributors are disengaged, disgruntled, unmotivated and/or in the wrong job?
Gallup polls and Gartner statistics all point to the same conclusion: 70% of the workplace is disengaged or non-engaged – and when our ‘greatest asset’ is not committed to their work – the organisation as a whole suffers. So, while employees could be an organisation’s greatest asset, in reality they are not. Statistics show that in the majority of instances, they are stopping organisations from reaching their full potential.
Over the past two decades, companies have invested in infrastructures, computer hardware and social media. They’ve automated business processes and developed better systems in order to propel the organisation. But employees have changed, and their perception of work has too. So next time you go to hire your new recruit, go in eyes wide open – find out why they want to work, determine what they look for in a leader and understand what they want to get out of their role in your business. Most importantly, understand what your business needs (and wants), and persist until those wants and needs are met.
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