Employees as Assets or Commodities

More and more in the corporate environment the attitude of cutting costs has become predominant.  We have started treating our employees as commodities as opposed to assets that they truly are. Employees are now interchangeable, replaceable and discarded. They are treated like plastic water bottles.  The employees are no longer there to be treated like a human that can actually contribute to the well-being of the company, but rather if they make a manager uncomfortable for any reason at all, or if their questions rocks the boat, the employer’s tendency has become to get rid of them.  After all there are plenty more where they came from right?

Organizations not recognizing the value of their employees, turn into a revolving door.  This is not only not beneficial for the employee, but also puts the organization in great jeopardy; especially if the employees leave without proper hand-over.  No matter how easy a job/task may look from outside, the person that is making it look easy, has had many years of experience on the subject matter and worked hard to get the full understanding of the matter. Even though another person may be able to replace him/her, the amount of time required to catch up is a loss to the company.  

There are legal ramifications and dangers in viewing employees as disposable.  There is also demoralization of the staff that remain behind and hence having a less productive group who spend time seeking employment elsewhere instead of being dedicated to serve the current employer. The most motivated employee, is the one that is appreciated.  I am not talking about any monetary compensations either - even though they are always a nice surprise – the mere fact of few words of appreciation is all that is required to keep them going.  Not fireworks, just a small thank you or pat on the back; or at the least the support and attentiveness of the manager to the needs of staff.  Managers who appreciate talents within their teams, create the high efficiency and high energy players who will go to lengths to please.

The most proven employee retention strategies, have a very low cost.  Here are few to ponder:

Manager – employee relationship: this is a biggie. This is what makes an employee look forward to going to work or dreading it. An appreciative manager who is willing to listen and consider ideas, is one of the most important concepts.  Managers who employ the attitude of “my way or highway” are least favoured and hence have a team of people that do not respect them nor look forward to working with them.

Conducting expectation exchange: a little chat every once in a while to ascertain that there are no crossed wires in the expectations from both sides goes a long way.

Weeding out the incompetence: looking into processes and employees that are not quite there yet.  Re-engineering incompetent processes and providing adequate employee training or finding out whether the role is well-suited to their competencies.

Fun in workplace: this is one of the key motivators.  We spend most of our lives in the workplace rather than anywhere else.  We spend around the average of 2,440 hours at work every year and roughly 2,120 awake hours at home, this is not counting the overtimes that creep up. Without incorporation of fun into workplace, the rate of burn-out and lack of interest will be high.

Upward mentor: mentoring is another way of motivating the employees.  This basically brings about the hope that there is a ladder of success to climb in the environment and there is enough care from the employer’s side to address the employee’s career needs. There is a tacit understanding of the employee and employer relationship that requires to be honoured.  The failure to comply with the “expected terms” may be viewed as a breach of contract on either side. Employers seem to forget that this is a two way road.  

The age of “one-employer till retirement” is a gone notion.  This of course means that organizations strive to compete and need all their crew feeling valued and rowing in the same direction. Throughout my consulting career, I have seen a lot of good people left to sink or swim in the deep end of the leadership pool.  Their only saving grace is their most valuable “assets”, – their people. Unfortunately in any organization where the employees are treated as commodities, these leaders are doomed to sink. 

To position your organization in heading to win the race: embrace employees as your MOST valuable assets; develop your people to be the best they can be; and embrace learning and growth.

It is time for all organizations, employers and managers to understand that valuing employees will come full circle.  Your employees are your most valuable assets in securing your future. Always check this very simple term: are we all rowing in the same direction? If not, you can be sure that it is one of the three: management style and values, employees as commodities, or broken processes. Employees who feel valued will bend over backward to compete in the race and overtake the competition and be on the medal stand for the organization.

Best to you all;

EL