Employees are not assets
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from organisations the following statement: "Our employees are our greatest asset". Some even go so far as to publish posters of the same ilk, placing them in all of the high visibility areas around their premises. In fact, over the past number of years, I believe this has almost become the de facto statement by companies when they try to express how much they "value" their employees. Well - in my opinion - boy have they got it wrong.
Being an employee myself, I started doing some soul searching around what "our employees are our greatest assets" means to me - in addition to my efforts at work. This searching first led me to research the actual definition of the word 'asset'. As you would expect, a standard search via the Internet produced enough information for me to fill an entire publication, never mind a single article. In essence, I could – however - distil the information I found in the various online dictionaries available, and this is what I found:
An 'asset':
• A useful or valuable quality, person, or thing; an advantage or resource which has proven an asset to the company,
• A valuable item that is owned,
• A spy working in his or her own country and controlled by the enemy, and
• Anything of material value or usefulness that is owned by a person or company.
If we take a moment and analyse the above statements, we come across some words which firstly started making me cringe and would no doubt make most other employees shudder - especially if used in relation to how their respective organisation perceived their value of them. Here, here I refer to words such as:
• An item,
• Being owned,
• Material value, and
• Usefulness.
Should any of the above words be used by my employer in expressing how much they valued me, it would hardly make me feel as if I am in fact working for an employer of choice.
It is based on the above comments that I feel so strongly that employers who use the term "our employees are our greatest asset" have got it totally wrong!
Probably the scariest term listed as part of the definition of an asset is the term owned because, by definition, assets are owned but people are most definitely not. When looking at another term - such as material value - well this hardly speaks of the commitment, passion, experience and skills your employees bring to the table every day they come to work.
And then, finally, looking at the word usefulness, as an employee being told that I am useful hardly distinguishes me from the vacuum cleaner and I would certainly like to feel that I am more valued - and certainly not as disposable or replaceable - as one of the other office appliances. I honestly believe that most employees believe that they bring a lot more to the workplace each day than a mere appliance.
What are companies trying to say with "our employees are our greatest asset"?
One indisputable fact is that employees are the only means an organisation has with which to create value for their shareholders, stakeholders and customers. No machine, process, procedure or system can create value without the direct intervention of an employee at one or more points in the process.
So with the understanding that employees are the means with which organisations can create value, we should also understand that 'just acknowledging' this fact is not enough. The value is in showing your employees how valued they are because if you truly value them, now is the time to start expressing these sentiments in concrete actions because with the war for talent raging out there, if you don't, somebody else will.
Should an employee decide to leave your organisation, then so too does all your investment in their development, training, experience and the internal knowledge of your processes and procedures – all great challenges and new investment that will need to be made when hiring a replacement into the organisation. And, sadly, all your investment into their knowledge, skills and competencies usually ends up in your competitor's hands.
So how can you show your employees how much you value them, as opposed to just sprouting the overused statement that your employees are your greatest assets?
I think a huge step in the right direction, especially for the HR team, is to treat your employees as your customers, i.e. with the same principles your organisation treats its external customers. And no, the employee is not always right but they all have opinions, and suggestions on how they feel the workplace and productivity could be improved – and just as you should listen to your customers, so too should you listen to what your employees have to say.
We should all remember that nothing shows a person how much they are valued, as when someone takes the time to listen to what they have to say.
