Page 14 - MetalForming February 2013

Human Capital
By Debbie McGrath
Why It’s Important to Invest in Your Employees
Posted to HR.com by Ryan O’Con- nell, vice president of business devel- opment for Digital Talent Agents It’s no secret that top talent makes
businesses go. Whether you are a
startup or a Fortune 500 company, you want and need top talent to grow and add value to your company. Com- pany culture, productivity and overall employee happiness stem directly from how much training, responsibility and empowerment someone has at their current company.
With the growing need for top talent and the escalating
Avoid high turnover rates and invest in your team with these six keys.
Hire for Character, Train for Skill
I heard this saying early on. At my company, we are so protective of our company culture that we cherish char- acter much more than skill. Just because someone’s skills are a perfect fit does not mean they are a perfect fit for your company.
In interviews, besides asking about a candidate’s qualifications, I like to figure out what type of person they
department or a direct manager. This allows for full transparency and true mentorship, and it promotes personal growth beyond a person’s job require- ments. It causes employees to be more involved and more knowledgeable about multiple aspects of the company.
Be Consistent
Consistency as a leader is the key to investing in your employees. Dr. Bob Nelson, president of Nelson Motiva- tion Inc., shares some great insight on consistency:
“Consistency builds trust and cre- ates a relationship where there are no surprises and you can count on the other person,” Nelson says. “If you are inconsistent, it makes it difficult to know what the future will hold, so peo- ple end up spending more time worry- ing about the future. If you don’t want the relationship to have wide swings in expectations and follow-through, you must systematically build your rela- tionship over time, being predictable in all aspects—including communication and development.”
Give Responsibility
Giving responsibility to those with- in your organization shows that you trust your employees. The goal is to replicate your own leadership quali- ties in your organization, and that will not happen without giving responsi- bility and showing your trust in up- and-coming leaders.
Michelle Randall, principle of Enriching Leadership, says, “Employees aren’t mindless minions who execute your orders for money. Giving them responsibility grows their abilities by valuing their input and opinions and giving them the ability to fail. It’s a show of trust and builds their capacity —and capacity building is part of a manager’s responsibilities.”
trend of high
turnover rates, it’s
more important than
ever to be investing
time, resources and
money into your
employees. Instead of
spending endless
amounts of dollars to hire and retrain new employees, businesses need to focus more on how to hire and retain top talent.
Additionally, startups simply cannot afford to have a high turnover because of a lack of cash flow early on. Startups (whether fully funded or not) cannot and should not throw away money, time or effort training employees.
Content for Human Capi- tal comes courtesy of Debbie McGrath, founder and chief instigator of HR.com, Aurora, Ontario, Canada. McGrath has a degree in computer sci- ence and business administration from the University of Guelph. Founded in August 1999,
HR.com aims to help build great companies by connecting them with the knowledge and resources they need to effectively manage the people side of business.
www.HR.com
tel: 877/472-6648
are, what they like to do outside of work and what their true passions are. It’s much easier to teach someone a skill if they are willing and moti- vated than it is to motivate someone
who has the skills—or worse—try to change their personality or workabili- ty within the company.
Our motto is, if we’re going to build this company right and have fun along the way, we want people who we’re going to like being around and people who will challenge us to be a better company. If you are not 100-percent sure if someone will add to the com- pany culture and mission you have cre- ated, then don’t hire them.
Establish Mentorship
One of the biggest reasons people leave a job or are unhappy with their current employer is that they don’t feel challenged or feel like they are experi- encing personal growth. Not only do people want to be led, but they also want to feel a personal attachment with their peers and managers in the workplace.
At DTA, every full-time employee is assigned a mentor who is not in his
It’s more important than ever to be investing time, resources and money into your employees.
12 MetalForming/February 2013
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