When Gary Becker and Jacob Mincer introduced the term “human capital”, they were not just simply coining a term for employees of a company. For that one term, they can be able to describe the talent pool a company has because of their employees. Human capital embodies the skills, personality, social attributes, and knowledge of all their employees — traits that a company can gain value from.
While most of a company’s expenditure is pushed towards human capital, it seems there are still other businesses which do not find value in further investing in human capital development. In fact, for most of these companies, an employee development plan is either non-existent or is a privilege that is not open to employees of a lower rank.
Indeed, investing in the needs of employees, whether it is to improve their skills through training or wellness programs for their health, has countless benefits to the company. In this article, we will talk about why your company should be spending time focusing on your employees and investing in a human capital development plan.
Create an environment where employees are satisfied with their work
A lot of companies underestimate the power of job satisfaction. If their workforce is satisfied with the training that they are getting, the treatment, and the benefits, the employees will definitely work harder. This is because they are motivated to help the company achieve its objectives. Their level of commitment will increase as their satisfaction increases.
What you can do as a decision-maker is to provide your human capital with the proper education and training to further their skills and help them improve. Not only will they get up-to-date knowledge to do the task, but you are benefiting and learning from it. Additionally, create programs that focus on their well-being. Remember that while employees are motivated to work hard, they will not be able to execute their tasks well if they are mentally and physically tired. These wellness programs could be as simple as allowing them to rest in between work (this is separate from their lunch break, of course), or setting up a remote work system where they can work at home once or twice a week.
Personalise development
Note that millennial employees are not just looking for a workplace that offers fair salary, but also where they can develop their careers. In a survey done by Deloitte, they found out that 70% of millennials leave their current workplace because their “leadership skills are not being developed.”
The best way to deal with employees seeking to improve their skills and develop their careers is to ask them which areas they want to work on. This can help you assess how you can create a personalized program for them, of course, within the means of the company. To make it easy for you, create a survey and review the results, you can most likely group employees who would like to undergo the same kind of training.
Improve avenues of communication
When there are exceptional development programs, the next thing to improve is the avenues of communication. This does not just mean improving superior-subordinate relationships, but also the process of passing down information within the business. Make it clear which information they have access to and explain why there are limitations to it. This is company transparency that your employees will appreciate knowing.
Ultimately, these development programs and communication improvements will promote a company culture that focuses on employee satisfaction, engagement, and work done with integrity.
