Every business today is seeking automation of some kind but the people providing these solutions need to be effective and maintain high levels of performance. With modernization and automation in IT and Engineering domains, the role of many employees may seem like it is diminishing but in fact, recognizing the role of the people critical to these tasks is more important today than ever before.
I worked in a corporate setup upon a time and the companies I worked for strived hard to build the best systems. But, they failed at execution because they never focused on any kind of solid employee development. In essence they lost out on hiring and retaining the best talent pool due to various reasons.
Yesterday, I read this article with allegations from disgruntled former employees of a popular Indian startup 'Swiggy' against the ongoing mismanagement and mistreatment by the company towards it's vendors and employees. I would have dismissed it off as a load of crap if I didn't know people who had friends working there. I also have my own past experiences to reflect upon from my past formal employments.
People are the biggest asset for any company. If your employees are well nurtured it's likely they are going to stick with you for the long haul. Today, employee retention is the biggest challenge and in most emerging markets, several startups work like a sweatshop, round the clock, pushing their employees towards a complete burnout.
Scaling up any business requires tremendous input of working capital and human resources. If you have managed to find yourself with a solid team of people working towards realizing your vision for your company, then it's doubly important that you don't let trivial matters such as nationalities, geo-locations (in-case of a distributed team) and budgets come in the way of hiring the right talent. Because, these skilled employees could very well start turning your vision into reality from Day 1 of being hired.
Over the years I've been part of many professional teams. I've also built and led teams from the ground up, for my past employers and in my business. Now, I'm looking at scaling up a part of my small business once again that requires me to hire the right talent pool. So I'm at a juncture where I will once again be practicing what I preach.
Benefits of Investing In The Right People!
- Developing an underperforming employee to rise up to his/her full potential gives the employer the advantage in the market against similar positions in rival companies where no such benefits exist.
- This is because, loyal employees are unlikely to quit. On the job training and skill building ensures makes an employee feel important and they are less likely to leave the job for another.
- This culture of employee development and investing in human capital will sustain the company through it's high and low phases as loyal people generally stick around and work harder in times of crisis.
- This leads to a higher reputation for the company as a top place to work, where people are hired on merit, trained and encouraged to perform better at their job through positive reinforcement.
- It creates a culture where good people are likely to bring in similarly good people into the organization. People who are willing to better themselves and their skill sets by working for your company are the people you want to hire and retain.
Creating a Talent Pool
Highly motivated team members who work without need for constant supervision generally also make the ideal team-lead or managers. They are able to delegate their work efficiently and ensure their team remains engaged at work. Often it so happens that employees get bored and sloppy at their work, resulting in jobs that take an hour to completed, take twice as long!
Ensuring your upper and middle management keep your employees engaged at their work through interesting training programs, coaching, willingness to answer questions is very important and that is likely to create an environment of high productivity and learning.
Hiring is an expensive process and high employee retention generally leads to greater savings and a good bottomline. When you are looking towards the future and building a great team, you will need the right people to execute your decisions for you. People who can adapt to the constant industry changes, meet customer needs effectively, and deliver on expectations usually make the cut in the long run.
It may not always be possible to promote people from within without hiring an external source but often times, well trained employees are better suited for a promotion than an outside who has to learn the ropes before delivering results.
You will need to be able to meet these challenges with an effective leadership to sustain a rapid growth.
No Shortcuts
- Be grateful to your team as well as your customers. Regular appreciation of your team members for the work they do will result in a highly motivated and inspired team.
- You can forget building a lasting business if you cannot be accountable for your employees and treat them with care.
- No matter how good you are, there is always someone better. You need to accept disruptive changes and evolve with the changing business environment.
- Encourage discipline around team meetings and ensure everyone makes it on time.
- Don't lie to yourself, your investors or your employees about the progress of the company.
- Shake things up, constantly stress test your processes to ensure there's constant growth and improvement. Most entrepreneurial ventures succeed and grow because of this and even major companies follow these methods to succeed.
Note to Employees
- There is no space for any mediocrity in a fast paced, growth focused environment, where employers lead the way through positive reinforcement and great work-life balance.
- Employees who take their job or their employers for granted often find themselves sent out of the door.
- 50% accomplishment of targets set is still 50% work that still needs to be completed. Don't be satisfied with job half done and always ensure your professional goals are met or exceeded.
- You have to perform to expectations when the environment for work is conducive to high productivity level. Because there is no room for excuses when you are being paid to do your job.
Many employees often consider delivering mediocre levels of performance as something acceptable. This often plagues majority of the low-mid level workforce in most organizations but don't let this engulf you or you will miss out on great opportunities to rise up.
My participation on Steemit has been an interesting social experiment and case study because ever since I've been on the platform. I've had the opportunity to work with some great minds behind the scenes, and the level of professionalism and dedication I've witnessed from the members of these projects is unlike anything I've seen before.
If you are a business owner it would be wise to remember these words:
You can build the best systems in the world, but without the right people to run it, they will all fail sooner or later!**
I welcome your thoughts on the subject matter. There are many business owners here on Steemit and I would love to know what you have to say on this topic.
If you like my work kindly resteem it to your friends. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
- I Donated $1300+ Of My Income Earned On Steemit Last Month and This is My Mid-2017 Donation Update!
- Dummies Guide to Basic Steemit Account Security + Account Recovery Guide! Must Read For Steemit Users!
Very true @firepower, and this is especially true in India! The bosses need to connect with their team not just at the machine and professional level but also at the psychological and mental level as well because that is how you grow the bonding between the team, which will take you through the rough weather!
I know what you mean. I've had three jobs. All of them took a terrible toll on me. Startups are not very different from MNCs when it comes to treating their employees. People have become nothing more than numbers to these organisations. I got burnt out physically and mentally. They want us to turn into bots. If they could they would turn us all into cyber men (Doctor Who reference)
Hello @firepower
A lot of CEO's find it difficult to invest in their employees because they feel that they will lose their investment if the employee leaves.
But that should not be the case, I am currently in training with some other people, we are planning to launch a Media company, everyone is taking courses and training in their respective fields.
One thing I have learnt as someone preparing to be a CEO of a company is the importance of executive presence.
Executive presence is simply creating an atmosphere where your employees feel that you value them and want the best for them. When people know that you value them and care about their welfare, they tend to stay with through thick and thin.
Some Ceo's feel that being mean like Steve Jobs will get the most out of people. But with the little I learnt, i found out that people do more when you deploy Honey instead of VInegar.
Great Post Sir.
@ogochukwu
As a veteran employee of a few different companies, let me be one of the many to resoundingly agree! Investing in people is paramount to any businesses success - I would go as far to say it is just as important than the "business" you are conducting on the outside, in other words the product or service you sell.
It's funny because the jobs I left over the years were the ones where I felt the employees were not valued as much as the actual "work", which of course resulted in the work coming out sub-par. One of those companies closed a few months after I left (I dodged a bullet there!) and the other is still squeaking along but not really growing or thriving.
The other two companies I've been lucky to be a part of have been amazing! Great benefits, plush work environment, lots of free food, treats and other goodies, tons of company parties, fun outings, etc. Sometimes I feel like I'm a member of a social club and forget that I'm actually an "employee"!
Those are the places you want to work...when you actually forget for a time that you're doing "work". A bit like the time I spend here on Steemit too ;)
Keep the amazing posts coming!
Having worked in HR , this is one the biggest struggles
Profit drives most companies
Working as a contractor on and off for the last 8 years has taken a toll on my ability to work with others (with the major exception of my current contract). Primarily for the reasons outlined in the article (or lack thereof in some cases). Since contracts are limited terms of work, people assume they can avoid trying to create a great team environment and focus on the project goals and get them finished as soon as humanly possible.
Mismanagement or micromanagement also plays a heavy hand in demotivating a team of people and just causes a big mess.
Getting the right people for the job is definitely very crucial. However, given the current environment and the 'pull' of higher salaries, it is very difficult to retain them. I have previously trained a number of employees and provide them with promotions, still we lost some many of them due to higher pay else where. Their 'value' increased after they have obtained these training from us. Good post, thanks.
Human resources are crucial for every company and organisation. Without them, a company can't think of accomplishing the bigger objectives. But with advent of globalization along with the high competition, companies are cutting thier costs by firing thier employees- their best assest. Last I heard VIVO pvt ltd was cost cutting by having fired a considerable amount of it's human capital, although it keeps increasing it's advertisement cost. I have no idea what is the general think behind this decision but I am sure, it would not be too great.
Companies or employers in general should focus more on retaining the good employees irrespective of a slight increase in thier salary package. In the end, they are indeed going to benefit the company only. Managing the people is the greatest task. Not many companies can do that effectively.
every job needs unity
Human capital as the sum of skills, experience and knowledge. The work of another Nobel Prize winner, Becker, completed this first definition in 1964 by adding personality, appearance and reputation, and showed that the company was a place for training and investing in human capital . More recently, Bontis defines human capital as: "The gathering of intangible resources owned by members of the organization. These resources can be of three types: skills (including talents and know-how), attitudes (motivation, leadership qualities of leaders), and intellectual agility ... "
haha, thanks for the human capital definition :)
lol
Yes very much true. But now a days people are more interested in investing on things than people.
Very well writen article. Most companies are still not aware of the fact, that not money is their least ressource. Its highly engaged Employees.
The management should be aware of this and build a team with good harmonie.
A lot of big companys are already offering coachings to their staff, but there are still so many out there with such an high employee fluctuation, its disgusting.
Thx for you insight mate :)
Absolutely it is important but you have to know how to choose the right people!
totally agree with you
Iam I am looking for a job any jobs vacant
Preach! Very important topic to cover
I strongly agree. Sometimes in business it requires all elements. No major terms, all important.
investing in the right people not just in business but people you see potentials in any walk of life makes the world a better place.
Absolutely right! Satisfied people and good team are the basis of every good working business. Every enterpreneur should remember about it.
Nice write up Meghan. I totally agree with it and thanks for sharing.
Very true
T E A M !
Howard Schultz (Starbucks) on Building Your Team
“You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed your employees’ expectations of management.”
Empower your people and invest in them, success will follow and your business will surely bloom!
Amazing read from you as usual @firepower!
Cheers
@progressivechef
Thank you for sharing this awesome business tips. I'll definitely implement things mentioned above.
Cheers, Looking forward to read more of your business tips
Very nicely writen my friend
I think as an employee in the IT or engineering field, in a job that might become automated, it is your job to keep on learning to stay valuable for the company.
At the same time it would be very nice of the employer to offer programs for this. This is not mandatory though, and the employer wold definitely appreciate the initiative shown by the employee if he learned new skills relevant to the company.
I think employees who show initiative are of the highest value to any business.
Good post and useful greetings from @ abupasi.alachy
Steemit is a great practice in investing in ppl :)
Very true, and I work as a charisma coach who helps companies understand how to assess and develop the charismatic qualities of their future leaders. With limited resources, knowing who to invest in can be critical for the company future.
This is so true! Modern day companies just don't give a shit about employees not just in India man, funny how I thought things would be different in the Middle East lmao! I tell you esp. Indian bosses don't give a shit about their employees!
Jeez! Anyways great post man ! Keep it coming❤ !!! And yes, if you fancy travelling a bit you may like my recent compilation, its about the amazing BLUE City in our country https://steemit.com/travel/@alexkoshy/jodhpur-the-blue-city-also-familiar-as-the-sun-city-a-tour-india-series-vi
Alex Koshy
Nice article..treat your employ same way you treat your customers, they are one of your biggest assets...
I think, and hope, that as companies need ~20% less employees to perform the same tasks due to automation they will not choose to lay off 20% of their staff, but instead incentivize them to spend 20% of their time developing new skills, or new innovations.
In an age of accelerating change, I think companies that do not invest this way in their employees will be the ones most vulnerable to disruptive technologies. They should instead let their employees disrupt themselves, before someone ele does on the outside.
We have instincts. We have experience. We have emotions. Robots and computers dont have that, so...
As long as We ( human beings) make computers and robot, people will always be the best asset for any company.
The people are the most important things in any business!
I agree with this
Human resource is the best and important asset any business or establishment should recognize. Nice post @firepower :)
Take care about your employees and you don't have to take care about your customers.
En definitiva el trabajo, en equipo si quieres que sea exitoso es una relacion ganar ganar identificaese como empleador con el trabajador y viceverse es la clave¡
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its too informative and seen this this post make after work hard :)
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Interesting and informative post. In my experience working as an employee and later running my own small business I find that attitudes from all involved are of ultimate importance. Everyone involved must feel that working at this particular company is a good deal for each of them and not just a few "chosen" people.
I enjoyed your post. I liked the fact that you had a note to employees. If we want to change the culture in a workplace both the employer and employees need to work together to implement an environment of respect and cooperation.
Nice write up. "The people are the biggest assets for any company"
Thanks for sharing such a truthful insight @firepower. I like it how you paint the full picture in both employers and employees' perspectives!
As a student, I am very interested in having my own business, but capital is becoming a problem here. Your article is very useful to me and very motivate me to see the opportunities that are around me. I take electro majors maybe I will use the existing company in my area, to be able to work there and have the capital to be able to do business on their own.
Welcome friends, hopefully his business is always smooth, I really like doing business because the world of business will be the best experience in my life, and I am also a businessman in the field of aceh motive bag
Hi... Very nicely written, great post...
Greetings @firepower !
I found this post to be a great and valuable contribution to our Steemit community!
You have done so much for this community and I want to help promote and support you with my new project.
I just posted a new episode of ~(~Q2C2~)~ and featured you AGAIN in hopes to advertise it and bring in more support!
Keep up the great work!
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