Many years ago the head of Saskatchewan Coca Cola said to me, “All these people here are my assets. If you take away my building and my machinery, no problem, we can be up and running quickly! However, if you take away my people, there is no way I can be running tomorrow.” People are your biggest asset, regardless of what your accountants tell you. The building, the equipment, the computers, staplers and pens are merely assets to the people who use them.

It’s your people who make your business run and who can often coach a little more effort out of the machines they use to help you improve your output. The difference is, people think, machines work! You and/or your staff regularly oil your machines, do tear downs to catch any unobserved challenges and ensure the machines can run for a given length of time without breakdowns. Take one of our clients who regularly oils and greases the cogs on his conveyor belts so they keep running in top shape. Jack calls it preventative maintenance. He can’t afford to have breakdowns at any given time and so he and his team ensure the shut downs occur at convenient times for the organization.

“Preventative maintenance!” Those words are music to my ears. My challenge is that so many companies do this for their equipment, yet they fail to do it for their staff. What leadership, guidance and training do you provide for your people so they too can continue to function well for you and your organization? Let’s have a look at some of the things needed for staff today:

• Have you helped each of your staff develop a career plan for their future while they are with your organization
  • The younger the employee the more critical this step is – young people have been raised to believe they can have whatever they want and thus it is very important to show them how they can get to the level they want

• Do you walk the talk?
  • Often I hear my generation complaining about some of the behaviour of the younger generation. And at the same time I watch some inappropriate behaviour from my own generation. We always used to say, “Monkey see, monkey do!” Look at what you are doing on a day-to-day basis to ensure you are doing what you expect your staff to do.

• What training do you provide to your employees?
  • Some employers believe training should have been accessed in school. While this is partly true, every organization needs to help its people become better employees. Sometimes I hear, “But if I train them, they’ll leave and go to a different job and then I will have to train the new person.” Duh!!!!!! If everyone felt like this it would mean no one ever would receive any kind of training after they started a job. Instead, think of it this way – if I train my people and someone else trains theirs, then in the end we will all end up with well trained employees.

It can’t be repeated often enough – people are the backbone of any business, regardless of its size. By implementing the three points above you will be on a good first step to realizing greater potential and improved results in your organization. When do you plan to start? I’ll bet you looked after your equipment yesterday. What are you doing for your people, your number one asset?