“Our employees are our greatest assets”. Back in the ‘70s, the radio station I woke up to every morning burned that phrase into my brain. They played an Edmonton company’s ad everyday for months and they ended every version of the ad with that statement. It was the first time I recall hearing it, but many companies since have made that same claim.

But for the most part, it’s a lie! How do I know? When I see a constant stream of new employees, when I read continual job ads, I know I’m looking at a company where employees are not very happy or satisfied in their jobs; they are not being treated as ‘assets.’

Employees who are treated as important assets, would not be leaving. They’d be telling all their friends and acquaintances about the wonderful employer they have and the company would have a pool of applicants knocking on their door waiting for an opportunity to join the business.

Many companies treat their employees as just another expense. And what do most companies do with expenses? They try to reduce them in every way possible. Keep the wages as low as possible. No training that isn’t absolutely necessary. Make do with outdated equipment. Produce more with less.

And then wonder why their lazy employees aren’t motivated to work harder. “The economy is too good – nobody wants to work.”

And yet, there are companies around who aren’t hurting for employees at all. There are some companies that never run job ads, while others in the very same industries, in the same localities have ads in the paper every couple of weeks.

So what’s the difference? Employees love to work for companies that value them – that treat them as valuable assets. Let’s think about assets for a minute.

Because we usually invest in assets, we check them out before we sink money into them. For example, before we invested in our home, we had a home inspection done. It cost us a few hundred dollars, but we felt it was worth it to know we weren’t purchasing something that would cause unforeseen problems.

Employers who value their employees check them out as well, by assessing them prior to hiring them. In doing so, they’re sure the new employee will “fit” in with the company and bring the necessary qualities that will allow them to match the brightest and best current employees.

When we invest in an asset, for example a home, we expect to invest more money in improving and maintaining that asset. We expect assets to improve in value.

Employers who believe their employees are important assets, also invest in improving and maintaining those employees. They provide generous training allowances and work with their employees to choose courses and programs that not only benefit the company, but develop the value of the person as a whole.

Employers who believe their employees are important assets, do what they can to keep them. They know employees want to be challenged, want to be acknowledged and rewarded, want to enjoy coming to work every day, want to be part of something important. These employers know that while money isn’t everything, it does have importance and they provide above average wages or salary. 

Employers who believe their employees are important assets are Employers of Choice. These employers are literally chosen by their employees and they have their pick of the brightest and best candidates.

Becoming an Employer of Choice is not something you can do by declaring that you are one. Your actions and results will speak far louder than your words. Becoming an Employer of Choice takes commitment and time, sometimes as long as a couple of years. Is it worth it? Well, do you want your employees to be expenses or investments?

Tell us what “Our Employees are our Greatest Assets” means to you. Leave a comment below!

The ideal boss (read: CEO, owner, manager, or supervisor) inspires their staff to achieve and produce exceptional results for the company every day.
Sometimes when we look at the don’ts the do’s become more obvious.
Take an open, honest look at these four less-than-ideal types of bosses and you may find ways to begin to become the boss you’d really like to be - the boss who could be a contender for a Top 500 type of award.

The ‘No Time’ Boss

You want things to happen, but don’t believe you have the time to “hold the employee’s hand” and teach them how to do the job properly.
You may even say, “If I have to take the time to show employees how I want the job done, I might as well do it myself, because doing it will take a fraction of the time teaching it will.”

The trouble with this thinking is, by not taking the time to teach the employee how to perform the job to acceptable standards, you’re going to have to do the job forever. Think: short term pain for long term gain.

Yes, it may take repeating the instructions several times, or modifying the employee’s process, before the outcome meets your expectations. But look at the big picture. Once one employee gets it they’ll be able to teach it to the next person, freeing you up even further.

The ‘My Way is the Only Way’ Boss

You micro manage your employees, making sure they do things exactly the way you want them done every step of the way.
You believe you’ve worked all the bugs out and found the perfect method for accomplishing the desired result. And maybe you have. Maybe you’ve spent years and mega dollars perfecting your methods.
If this is the case, explain the process you went through to develop your system. Explain why you insist on your method being followed to the letter. Most employees will respect this once they understand it.

If, on the other hand, you are convinced your way is the best way because that’s the way you’ve always done it, prepare to be astounded once you loosen the reins a bit.

It can be much more effective and efficient to explain to an employee what end result you expect (quality, quantity,) what restrictions they must deal with (time or budget,) and then leave them to do the job.

It’s always a good idea to set up frequent check-in points to reassure yourself that the job is on target or to deal with any problems that may have come up.

The ‘You’re on Your Own’ Boss

The opposite of the My Way is the Only Way boss. Your employees may feel they have no idea what it is you expect until it’s too late.

You assign tasks or projects, but your employees just don’t have enough direction to accomplish them to the standards you expect. They may feel incompetent when they have to ask you for more details or instruction.

If you have any inkling this may describe you, the solution may be to make sure the outcomes are clear. Give them ample opportunity to clarify what procedures they’ll use, what standards must be met and any other requirements such as budget or timelines.

Set up check-in meetings along the way and let your employees know either where to get additional information or when it’s convenient for them to get any further clarification they may need from you, once they begin the project or task.

This is especially important when you assign a task to a new employee or assign something unusual to an experienced employee.

The ‘Seagull’ Boss

You guessed it! This boss flies in squawking, craps all over everybody and then flies off again, often still squawking about something.

Think about it. Do you believe no news is good news? Do you notice only the bad things your employees do? Do you wonder why nobody ever seems to take any initiative?

Employees do need to be corrected. Privately, immediately, and humanely.  They also need praise when they’ve done a good job. Publicly, immediately, and with passion. What you focus on, grows!

Fear is a huge demotivator. When employees know the boss cares about them, and will treat them fairly, they’re much more likely to perform well and take innovative risks.