Beef Tips

January 2016 Management Minute

“Investments”

by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist

Every well-managed and proactively-thinking business carefully considers the fundamental difference between a “cost” and an “investment”. A “cost” simply ensures the luxury of getting the job done today. Costs would include purchasing raw materials, paying the production team wages, paying the rent, paying the utility bill, etc. “Investments” are places in which we put our capital which we hope or expect that capital to be returned, and then some. Investments may be anything from buying a new fork truck for the warehouse to constructing a new, expanded, or updated production facility.

Many smart managers will say, “People are our greatest asset.” However, how many managers are truly viewing their people as an asset or simply a cost? We invest in assets, we simply pay our costs. To that point, how and how much are you investing in your human assets?

At the end of the day, we have only two resources: time and money. How are you expending those two precious resources on your human assets—what some claim to be their “greatest assets”?

You may be investing an hour or so every month for one-on-one mentoring and evaluations. You cannot expect to know the professional and personal needs and goals of your direct reports if you’re not spending regular quality time with them; anything less and you risk losing valuable “assets” simply because you were out of touch.

You may be providing technical training or paying for someone to attend professional development. Enhancing the skills of your team will yield great rewards, directly by improving their productivity and effectiveness, and indirectly by improving their connection to you as an employer who cares enough to invest in people.

You may be encouraging and even paying for classes or training in some aspect of personal development. This is where employers move to the next level. There are “table stakes” in employee retention: competitive salary and benefits, livable work hours and time off, etc. However, when you make a point to enhance the quality of life for your people, you’ve transcended traditional, bare-minimum, human resources management; you’ve truly raised the bar and raised the stakes. If your team connects this personal development with you, the employer, and knows that this development can and will be encouraged in the future, it will be very difficult—and costly—for a competitive employer to attract this employee.

If you want to attract and retain the truly exceptional employees, those who will provide value-added leadership for your organization for years and decades to come, you need to cover all the bases and fulfill all their needs. Seek out ways in which your organization may NOT be providing the most favorable workplace, and fix them. Then, seek out ways in which your organization can meet deeper professional and personal needs. Are there ways an employee could be a better financial planner with his personal finances? Would an employee’s spouse benefit from some training that would improve the quality of life at home? Do all your employees fully grasp all the benefits you provide? Would there be value in bringing in expert training (perhaps bilingual training) for the employees and their spouses on all the financial planning, health insurance, dental insurance, and other benefits your company provides?

In short, there are many ways to become the preferred employer in your field and in your geographical area; however, you may need to INVEST in your people to find them.

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