Employees as an asset

Employees are a valuable asset to any firm. The contemporary company market is complex, requiring numerous firms to invest in their personnel in order to realize overall corporate growth. Essentially, when employees are content, the owner of the business profits the most. The study will explore numerous literatures from 2011 to 2016 in order to evaluate different authors’ points of view. The articles chosen will be written in English. Furthermore, authors who have dealt with the topic in depth will be considered to assist in obtaining accurate information. Following the selection of the literature, research questions will be developed to allow for guided study without deviating from the core goal. Consequently, research method applicable will involve regular reading of the literature to identify the effects and consequences of investing in employees to improve productivity. Further, critique work will also be considered to help build thesis statement. Summation of all ideas will be concluded by consolidating opinions from the literature. Some of ways through which an organization can invest in its employees is through training, provision of conducive working environment and protecting their wellbeing. The consequences are increased retention rate, good communication within the organization and job satisfaction.

Investing in Your Employees Leads to More productivity

Performance of an organization is dependent to its employees. The two are not distinct and they complement each other (Denton, 2011). A business cannot perform well if it has no consideration for its employees. Investing in human capital is a trend which is taking shape in the world. With increased competition and changing marketing strategies, various organizations have resorted to improving the status of their employees with the intention of retaining them. The rate of turnover is also increasing. In Jordan for example, the rate of Nurses turnover is about 50%. This figure is scaring and sheds a signal to other sectors (Famitangco, 2016). Failure to satisfy the employees has more negative effects and can result to failure of the organization. The role of management is to continually keep the employees in good state to prevent poor performance.

Engaging employees in every activity is an important thing which can foster cordial relationship. Workers are part of the organization and keeping them away when making major decision demotivates their effort (Denton, 2011). Employees are looking for jobs where they can be enthusiastic and feel appreciated. A survey conducted in United States, with 500 respondents indicated that employee associated their performance with the treatment they received from the employer (Meziani, 2014). It was noted that the more an organization value its workers, the more productivities they become. Managers also reports that quality services are pegged to the attitude of the provider (employee). It is worth noting that the culture of an organization has direct impact on performance of employees. Exposing business culture to employee is a milestone towards growth (Denton, 2011). Traditional form of recruitment considered less about culture. People tend to adopt to what others do, irrespective of whether it benefits the organization or not. This is where a disconnect starts. Investing in employees through educating them regarding the organization is a starts of any progress. It is therefore paramount for any institution to consider employee satisfaction to enhance productivity.

Maslow’s Theory

This also known as the hierarchy of needs as stipulated by Maslow. This is a theory which is based on the needs of human beings. They are the basics which have to be fulfilled for a person to be able to perform tasks (Denton, 2011). According to Maslow, there are five needs; psychological needs. Human beings cannot survive without these. They include water, shelter and food. Any employer should ensure its employees can access these facilities. The second one is safety. This involves both physical and financial security. Employees would like to work in an organization where their safety is guaranteed (Meziani, 2014). The working environment should not pose risk to them. Adding to that, they should be assured of their salary without delay. When the two are worked out, employees will tend to work without psychological stress and deliver as expected (Verma, 2016). He further notes that belonging remains essential for any person.

Friendship and teamwork cannot be eliminated. According to his argument, people have to coexist in unison to accomplish tasks. In a business set up, there should be no limitation of social life. After long working hours and complex assignment, the administration is supposed to create time to have fun and help the employees recalibrate once more (Denton, 2011). The fourth aspect is esteem. This is ability to feel confident. Working environment should be designed in such a way that the vulnerable are not sidelined. All people should be treated equally, without any form of discrimination. Finally, self-actualization is the last element in the hierarchy of need. Employees value organizations which gives them time to develop their skills. This is less considered by majority of organization and it’s the source of turnover (Qiu&Largay, 2011).

Research Methods

The strategy employed to search for literature involved selecting articles dated 2011 to 2016. Some of the key words which were used to search for the literatures are; investing in employee, employees’ productivity. All literature were written in English. The first reading was done to identify defining attributes. These are issues which are repeated in various literatures selected. They included the positive and negative effects of investing in employees. Further, the second reading identified the controversies from authors who have criticized the topic. Ethical considerations were not considered since most of the data was gotten through consultation of documented facts. There was no directs contacts with respondents and therefore secondary information was used largely.

Positive Consequences

Developmental programs within the organization are sometimes expensive to finance. However, the benefits which comes along with such programs supersede the cost. One way an organization benefits by investing in its employees is through increased retention. This is achieved through improved reputation and loyalty by employees (Verma, 2016). For example, an organization which does on job training improves the skills of its workers. They feel valued and associate with the organization as their own. Workers are good ambassador to the outside world. If they are badly treated, it will outwardly show to the customers and other stakeholders. Retention of workers means that the quality of goods will continue to improve due to experience garnered by old staff (Meziani, 2014). It also alleviate possible costs which are realized when recruiting new staff.

Second, employees are always engaged. Boredom at workplace is a source of all evils. Organizational conflicts emerge from idle minds, which are not involved. Strategy to involve employees prevents the worst from happening. Effects of politics in a business are felt across board, touching every party which associates with the business. The management which is able to come up with training sessions and other activities to keep employees busy are able to contain sanity in the working environment (Denton, 2011). Creativity and innovation is also associated with people who are busy in their work. New ways to solve problems would emerge in an organization which has designed and structured its environment to disown laziness and appreciate hard work.

A good employee is an equivalent of money. Well trained employees who have been facilitated to perform their tasks makes the organization grow. They help the institution save money which could have been lost. There has always been a problem of employing less qualified workers. They consume a lot in terms of training (Qiu & Largay, 2011). They have little to offer towards growth of the organization. The beauty of investing and developing the current employees is continued efficient output. In the long run, sales also increase. Quality goods sell faster which makes the production line to increase its target. This makes it easy for the organization to make more profit. This is what is classified as employee’s investment. Building human capital is a good indicator of the business performance (Verma, 2016). It radiates light of success as opposed to institutions which are rigid in embracing value for its employees.

Negative Consequences

Some of the cons associated with the organization’s decision to invest in its employees emanates from internal resistance, whereby employees are not ready to take any development agenda brought across by the management (Denton, 2011). While change is inevitable, most of the strategies fail to pick due to employees tendency to fail in their part. Organizations could be willing to support various training seminars but the recipient unanimously boycott the system. Second, investing in employees involves huge capital on the side of business. Although it’s a worthwhile ventures, the outcomes might fail to produce the desired effects. Instead of increased productivity, the output could lower or even remain stagnant (Kaplan & Donovan, 2013). This is not healthy for any business.

Controversies Regarding Investing in Employees.

Most of the literatures have based their argument on various ways which can be employed to improve productivity. The Authors have seemingly converged at similar strategies which can be used generally by all institutions to ensure their workers deliver the required quality of work. However Famitangco (2016) argues that every organization should come up with a different method to invest in its employees. According to his research, he confirms that business culture differs. What a certain company does could be different from what another specializes in. Moreover, he affirms that operations of internal systems are completely different and therefore there is no common approach to improving productivity (Verma, 2016).

Training for example is meant to improve the skills of the employees. Meziani (2014) notes that more skilled employees have high probability of being poached by another well-paying organization. As business conducts training, they do it with intention of utilizing the skills to increase productivity. They fail to consider the worst of such well-trained employee relocating to other sector. It is more benefiting for an organization to consider its own internal plan, in which it can motivate its employee (Qiu& Largay, 2011). Coming up with a homegrown policies to boost productivity is the best way to safeguard employees. This would enable the organization reduce the rate of turnover and at the same time improving human capital as well as increasing sales.

Conclusion

Investing in employees has an effect of improving performance of an organization. The discussion above reveals that the organization is able to save cost, retain its employees and improve its image when it appreciate its employees. However, the cost and resistance of the program can derail growth. Understanding the business culture is the background of having a well guided and streamlined employee investment strategy.

References

Denton, D. K. (2011). Engaging your employees in times of uncertainty. International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 7(2), 202.

Famitangco, R. F. (2016). Investing in Employees, Investing in the Future. Critical Values, 9(3), 10-12.

Kaplan, M., & Donovan, M. (2013). The inclusion dividend: Why investing in diversity & inclusion pays off. Brookline, MA: Bibliomotion. 

Meziani, A. S. (2014). Investing with Environmental, Social, and Governance Issuesin Mind: From the Back to the Fore of Style Investing. The Journal of Investing, 23(3), 115-124.

Qiu, X., & Largay, J. A. (2011). Does Investing in Employees Affect Firm Debt Levels? Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(3), 76-78.

Verma, D. O. (2016). Employees Working Hours and Their Productivity. Journal of Extension Systems, 32(1).