Employees are a Company’s Greatest Asset
The greatest asset a company has is not its financial capital, the number of buildings or locations, the amount of equipment or the services/products the company offers. The greatest asset a company possesses is its employees.
Without employees, the simple fact is, there would be no one to sell those product/services, manage the day-to-day operations or handle customers effectively.
A company’s employees are its intellectual capital. They not only bring their skills and talents; they also bring ideas and creativity to the table. Employees bring innovation, commitment and a desire to learn. They are self-motivated even before they begin working for an organization. That motivation stems from the need to provide a home, safety and food for their families and themselves as seen in Abraham Maslow’s 1943 Study, “A Theory of Human Motivation. Motivation then takes a new role in the workplace.
James R. Linder, in his article Understanding Employee Motivation, June 1998, Vol. 36 of the Journal of Extension, describes motivation as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. From the moment an employee accepts his position, company leaders can increase his motivation by following a few basic guiding principles.
Connecting with Employees Builds Trust and Creates Two-Way Dialogue
Employees like to know that management knows and understands the job the employee is doing. An employee wants management to know that they are being productive and they want their managers and supervisors to acknowledge his or her skills. Allowing the employee to set their own work-plan and goals allows them the opportunity to challenge themselves and to foresee a stable workplace future.
Provide Opportunities for Growth Through Training and In-House Instruction Courses
Management and department leaders who have acknowledged the employees’ productivity also will allow the employees to grow by providing opportunities to learn new skills and/or to move into a position of more responsibility.
Provide a Healthy And Safe Place to Work Through Safety Seminars and Preparedness Workshops
Employees know that a company cares for them when they walk into a work area that is safe, contains no health hazards and has a safety program this is adhered to by all company employees from management on down.
Communication Between Employees and Management Builds Better Corporate Decision Making Processes
Employees want to know what the company is doing. They want to know how the company is affecting their community and the world around them. They want to be a part of the process and the solution. Feedback communication is just as important as communicating from the top down. An employee who is heard by management will have a greater sense of responsibility and will be willing to believe in the same goals and strategies knowing that doing so increases his value to the company.
A motivated employee is more than just an employee. He is the organization’s friend; he is a valuable part of the engine that keeps any company operating. He is the survival of the company. In him or her, company leaders have an opportunity to not only create a dynamic and growing organization, they also are adding his skills, talents and expertise to the values and goals executives have set for direction of the company.
Motivated employees will carry a company’s message throughout the community. They are the ambassadors of what a company represents. By providing employees with solid values, core ethics and acknowledging that they are an organization’s greatest asset, corporate leadership ensures the company’s very survival.
