Investing in employees

Companies are fond of the maxim employees are the most important asset, yet they still regard and manage employees as costs forgetting the fact that workers are the only source of long- term competitive advantage.

According to an expert in the management field, many companies that fail to invest in employees jeopardize their own success and survival.

“Today motivating people is very different to what it was some years ago. A happy workforce can reward a company through better profits, better productivity and lower staff turnover,” Vice President of IFS Solutions South Asia Jayantha de Silva said.

He said that it does not essentially take money, size, or market share to become an employer of choice but rather, its enlightened HR policy and leadership that is committed to its staff; the organisational capabilities that create products and services that result in a customer taking money out of their wallets and putting it into ‘ours’ instead of giving it to their competitors.

“Today the Indian sub continent is becoming an employee market, with job seekers having the power of choice. Candidates are increasingly selective and know their market value,” he said, adding that it is a candidates’ market as more of them are turning job offers or negotiating salaries aggressively.

“But due to a short supply of good talent an open war for talent is being fought in our corporate corridors by companies to recruit the right candidates for their companies despite the number of CVs being received by them increasing drastically compared to five years ago in Sri Lanka. The brain drain too has added to this problem and made it difficult for companies to fill critical short-term talent gaps,” he said.

De Silva said that the demand for vertical skills and companies looking for a closer fit is putting pressure on recruitment consultants to move the limited talent from one company to another at a much faster pace causing much anxiety to HR managers.

He also reiterated that firms to prevent their business objectives languishing in the face of shortage of the right talent are willing to pay big bucks to prospective candidates; these companies have thus been involuntary contributors to a big increase in salary levels. “In today’s context a talented employee can be as valuable and hard to replace as a loyal customer and this could only be attained by proper skillful and tactical management of the manpower available through IT enabled solutions,” he added.