Capitalising on human capital - a 2020 priority
Because acquisition and retention of talented staff has become so vital to so many businesses, making the most of their human capital will be a 2020 priority for success of a multitude of companies large and small – particularly in the current tightening economy.
So says the Workforce Institute - the research and education division of the global workforce management software provider - in a report that claims competition for first rate employees will compel businesses to expand and innovate rewards packages that offer staff support in and outside of the workforce.
The Institute says that increasing numbers of talented people want to work for companies that will provide them with “holistic wellness and improved income stability”, so that businesses failing to meet this level of expectation won’t be able to broaden their traditional talent pools to attract the best workers.
Macks Advisory notes that many business operators don’t seem to understand that if they want to attract and retain the best talent of today’s multi-generational workforce, their companies must be able to meet and accommodate with efficiency and compassion the challenges of ever-increasing natural disasters and crises.
Key requirements in this context
According to the Workforce Institute this can only be done where there is “a spotlight on mental health, financial wellness, childcare, shifts that work for all, and where there is a sense of meaning in the workplace”.
The Institute’s recommendation for employers wanting to establish and retain a more productive workplace, is to build it on formalised diversity, equity and inclusion strategies from a foundation of that fosters respect, openness and trust.
It’s expected the most successful businesses will henceforth tend to recruit veterans, persons with disabilities, retirees, gig or contract workers, so-called second chance workers, and people with tangentially relevant skills.
Aside from a rethink of labour operating models they will support existing employees through reskilling and multiskilling applicable across the full span of the business’s operation, thus potentially granting workers greater responsibilities and a healthier growth and development path.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable more accurate labour forecasting, automatic scheduling and easier shift swapping, voice-enabled smart devices and chat bots to drive informed decisions are expected to unburden HR teams and managers of many middle sized to large businesses.
However, Macks Advisory’s believes the successful businesses people that most admire, will always be those whose achievements are matched by the respect in which their persona is held.
Such people, according to the Workforce Institute, are “humble, down to earth, warm and friendly with whoever they meet. They know what goes around comes around – a smile, a kind word, a piece of advice leave a lasting impression. And you never know when you in turn may need that person’s help for something, or if they may become a loyal customer, if they’re not already”.
Employer tips for attracting and keeping staff
Be seen to be organised in a clutterless workplace, ready to seize opportunities as they arise. Review constantly how you live and work, decluttering professional and personal pursuits so as to be ready to approach tasks with an uncluttered mind.
Hire a cleaner, seek out a professional organiser, appoint a personal assistant, outsource whatever is necessary to allow you to invest your time and effort where they’ll be most valuable in achieving business goals.
Employees will want to work for and stay with employers they see surrounded by impressive teams.
The most talented employees will be drawn to an employer they see as having had good business coaches, who has respected partners and suppliers, is regarded favourably by industry organisations, and particularly if it’s apparent the employer has a strong personal support network of family, friends and personal mentors.
But remember, it’s of no use knowing people willing to help if you don’t ask for it, enunciating specifics. Don’t be afraid to ask the question. Don’t expect supporters to be mind readers.
Never, but never, forget customers
You’ll never get to consider the Workforce Institute’s recommendations for expanding and strengthening your staff and through them your business, if you forget the role customers play in this.
If your business is comfortably profitable, you are where you are now essentially because your product and customer service are good. But you are attracting new customers based on your old reputation, even as you are losing old customers for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with dissatisfaction either with the current product or service.
However, should the flow of new customers diminish, so will your business’s profitably, and diminish it will if you settle for the status quo, if you don’t keep up to date determining what customers want to buy, if you try to sell them something you want to sell that they don’t want. A product or service that sold well five years ago may not sell well today.
Seek and listen to feedback. Aspire to deliver to customers what is relevant in their here and now. Focus on customer retention, and you may well find customer growth will occur at least to some extent naturally -- especially if you bear in mind what the globally influential Workforce Institute says about capitalising on the potential of human capital, your employees.
