Despite what your financial spreadsheets may show, today’s business leader recognizes that employees don’t represent an expense so much as a priceless investment. Rather than looking at personnel costs as a liability, it’s important to view employees for what they really are: the core creators of value in your business.
Every investor knows that the most likely predictor of a company’s long-term success is how effectively it’s managed. When you remove efficient processes and innovative products from the mix, people are at the heart of what makes a business tick.
As one of your most valuable assets, employees who perform better will help your company perform better, too. That’s why it’s essential that you take an active interest in becoming an employee-oriented small business owner.
Progressive business leaders often claim to measure their success by how engaged and invested their team members are - rather than by their company’s revenues - since one tends to lead to the other.
Building on this, a large part of your success as a small business owner will be dictated by how fairly you treat, and how effectively you interact with, your trusted employees. Are you a true business leader, or are you stuck in the boss-like rut of overseeing assignments and managing schedules?
A common leadership approach to investing in personnel revolves around inspiring and rewarding:
There’s a great deal of research to suggest that engaging employees through recognition is key when it comes to creating a workplace culture that promotes success through a shared sense of achievement.
When good employees feel valued, they’re far more likely to feel good about each other, and about the idea of coming to work each day. Positive feelings equate to improved output. And a staff that believes you’re invested in their needs is going to reciprocate by investing in the workplace they’re part of.
It’s interesting to note that most investors will shun a company whose words or actions make it clear that they view their staff as a necessary expense, rather than as an asset. Why? Because these companies are unlikely to promote the type of positive employee relations that have been shown to steer a business in the direction of success.
Indicators of genuine investment in a company’s personnel include things like:
Prioritizing and keeping good people can up your chances of financial success. Investing in the well-being and professional potential of your employees not only pays dividends in efficiency and profitability, it can also help you to hang on to valuable team members for the long haul.
Assessing your business culture with a critical eye will go a long way toward ensuring that your employees are motivated, and that they’re receiving the support they need to do the best job possible. Remember, people who are engaged and happy in their work don’t generally leave without cause, so it’s important to determine where your business stands in terms of employee attraction and retention.
You can probably feel confident that your business boasts a healthy work culture, if you can answer “yes” to the following questions:
Showing your personnel how important they are, is the best way to promote a positive mindset that will spill over and embrace the people who buy from you. The business that goes out of its way to help its employees communicate, collaborate, and strive to exceed expectations, can expect to reap the financial returns that go hand-in-hand with investing in your company’s most valuable asset.