It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that your staff are the most important assets to your business. Without them, all the resources you have on paper becomes dry and lifeless, because you can’t utilize any of it. Perhaps one day entire businesses will be run by the functions of AI, but until then, people will remain as relevant as they always have done.
As such, investing in their capabilities, talents and morale will always be worth it. It’s not always easy to calculate the value a well-placed staff member can bring to your firm, but we can promise it’s exponentially greater than the investment you place in them.
That’s why smart employers know that a happy and productive team member is almost more important to cultivate than anything else. That’s of course true because the more you invest in them, the more you receive back, and the less likely they’ll be to take that investment elsewhere and use it for the benefit of another firm, which is always possible given how staff are free to leave pending the terms of their contract.
How are you to move forward, with that in mind? In this post, we’ll discuss how much you can realistically invest in your staff to ensure an appropriate outcome:
Continual Training
Some firms think that training is something you do once during onboarding and the workload is experience that sorts the rest of development out. But the business world changes constantly, and your team needs to keep up. That goes from training a team on the technical specifics of a software update implemented into the CRM you use, or even implementing the Fundamentals of IT Courses to make certain your digital organization and security is followed.
You can also talk to your people. Ask them what they want to learn. Always prioritize the practical skills that make their daily work easier. Maybe someone in accounting wants to learn basic design skills to make better presentations, and this can be enrolled into their learning credit option. Remember that cross-training can often help a team merge more, so it’s not just about how you can hyper-specialize people. This also means investing in your culture, such as taking time to create spaces where team members can teach each other, such as with a work mentorship or pairing program.
Compliance Adoption
Nobody gets excited about compliance training, because it’s not the most glamorous topic on the planet. But it’s essential to invest in this if you can make it relevant. You might train by using real examples from your industry or even your company (with details changed, of course). When people see how regulations actually affect their daily work, they pay attention and it might show them how to avoid legal trouble.
When staff feel as though they’re up to date on the fundamentals of their industry and the changing regulations around it, they feel respected enough to know, and perhaps more autonomous. It’s strange to think a somewhat boring lecture on the surface can help staff feel invested in, but this bears statistical weight.
Salary Packages & Benefits Reviews
Money is essential. Without it, none of your staff would be there outside of volunteers who cannot be there if the wheels aren’t turning with cash. As a boss, you can decide that the conversation around compensation doesn’t have to be awkward.
As such, frequent (such as yearly) salary reviews show respect for your team’s time and contribution. Don’t wait for someone to threaten leaving before discussing a raise, because by then, you’ve already failed. Set clear expectations about when and how compensation gets reviewed so staff know what to work around.
It’s important to make sure your staff receive at least the industry average, but maybe flexible hours would mean more to a parent than an extra 3% raise, or perhaps additional vacation days would prevent burnout for your hardest workers. Makes sure your team feels looked after. Arguably, nothing works well in this post without this backing everything up. You may also implement bonuses and performance incentives when they’re appropriate.
Assigned Responsibility & Growth
Many staff management guides often talk as if staff need constant motivation to do anything, but people want to grow. They want to matter. So, giving someone new responsibilities shows trust in a way few other things can, and can motivate them to stay with you.
You can start small, and let team members lead projects that stretch their abilities without setting them up for failure. You can do that by showing clear guidance, then step back and let them figure things out. That’s where they learn for the most part. This also means adjusting how you train and develop for future roles between managers and technical staff, or those who are creative with those who prefer running the creative team. That means intimately understanding your staff and their skills, which is the real time investment.
Sustaining Long-Term Careers
The days of 40-year careers at one company are mostly gone, or at least feel so. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create an environment where people want to stay for the long haul and use all the skills you’ve invested for your brand.
You have to talk about the future to make this more of a reality, having honest conversations about where someone sees themselves in five years and how your company might, or might not, fit into that vision. Sometimes the best thing you can do is help someone prepare for their next role, even if it’s not with you, and keep those helpful connections. It shows that you respect staff and as such, this should be returned, perhaps leaving a little institutional knowledge behind.
ROI Is Mythical
So what’s the right amount to invest in your people? There’s no magic approach nor can you calculate the exact dollar value someone has brought to your firm. But consider that replacing an employee typically costs between 50-200% of their annual salary when you factor in recruitment, training, and lost productivity that comes from the transition period, or just onboarding someone new. It’s a mythical art, but one you get a feel for. You’ll never be seen as foolish for trying your best to connect, respect and lift up your staff, so don’t be afraid of doing so.
With this advice, we hope you can invest in your staff fully, through and through.
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