A Company's Most Valuable Asset

The most valuable asset for any company are its employees
Without the employees a company could not be where it is today.  The employees no mater the job all have a roll in the company and its success or failure.  With the current economic downturn many companies are neglecting the most valuable asset to ensure a profit.  As a business student I understand the occasional need for cutbacks.  As mentioned in When is it Time to Change the Status Quo blog post "There is no perfect business, formula, or strategy each and everyone can be improved and refined" There is not a perfect business with 100% efficiency and they all can be improved, so instead of resorting to layoffs and cutbacks first look for ways to improve efficiency.  Or invest in your employees, happy, motivated employees are more productive and efficient.  To make the employees content and motivated might not cost anything, employees care about more than just money.  I highly recommend that you watch this video by RSA Animate Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us and the other RSA Animate videos.

Treat your employees right and enjoy the rewards
The best employees are the motivated employees, so as a company you need to find a way to motivate them.  Google recently gave its employees a bonus and a raise to keep them happy and motivated.   If you watch Undercover Boss on CBS they show examples of the best employees who are motivated and who might also have a touching story.  Those are the individuals companies want to employ.  A motivated employee takes pride in what they are doing and understand their importance in the company AND the company understands the employees importance.  The difference between a motivated employee and an unmotivated or disgruntled employee is clear.  The difference is even clearer in the areas of customer service and quality control.  A motivated employee takes the time and effort for the customers behalf not their own.


Not all employees are right for your company
A company is like a machine it is made up of a lot of parts (people) and they all have their place.  If a individual does not fit in where they currently are or is not motivated the machine will not run efficiently.  The part is either in the wrong place or doesn't belong in the machine.  Don't force the part into the machine if it doesn't fit, it will damage the part and maybe the machine.  If the person doesn't fit or isn't motivated to do a proper job then their boss and the company needs to find a way to motivate them so they do or find someone who will.  The departments of Customer Service and to some extent areas that need quality control have high turnover rates.  Those employees no longer fit in the machine.  Once one part goes bad it starts to effect the rest of the parts in the machine.  Either repair or replace that part those are the only two options the company has.

What do you think are the most valuable asset?  How do you make sure to keep employees motivated?  Do you notice a difference between motivated employees and non-motivated employees when you deal with customer service or other areas?