Don’t Expect Success Where There Are No Morals...

Why are human assets not mentioned in the balance sheet? In financial terms employees are seen as an expense but many studies define happy engaged employees as the most valuable assets. Every business needs motivated employees for it to progress. Only if business owners knew the importance of keeping their workers motivated and treating them with respect. As human beings we thrive on acknowledgement, respect and motivation. It feeds our soul and the end product is what makes most companies successful.

Have you ever wondered why you are so disconnected at work? The only thing that you look up to is your pay day. This is not how it is supposed to be, only if employers valued their workers as much as they value their investment. What they miss is that it is them that guarantee return on investment. If as an employer you find yourself losing employees and have no familiar face from when you opened business there is need to reevaluate your business and personal ethics.

Do you remember in primary school when teachers would give stars for good work, the more stars you had the more motivated you would get. In every environment or type of relationship mutual respect and appreciation is the key to ultimate success, the results are tremendous. It is like hitting two birds with one stone, unfortunately most employers are stuck up on wanting to control rather than gaining respect. Just paying someone doesn’t give you the leeway to treat them like slaves. Strong relationships enable a more productive, more efficient, create less conflict and loyal employees. As much as money is necessary not everyone is one dimensional. Who would want to wake up every day to go to a workplace where you are not appreciated, valued and respected? 

A happy workplace is a productive workplace. It is like a math equation good work environment plus remuneration equals to motivated employees. There should be a balance. No one in their right mind would want to work at a place where one mistake overwrites every good thing you have done for the company. I read an enlightening article by Oleg Vishnepolsky which was pointing out the bad apples in a work environment that stunt growth. If you are leader and you been wondering what is going wrong? Why are my best employees quitting? Here are some steps to a healthier environment summed up by Anne Mulcahy, “Employees are a company’s greatest asset-they are competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make feel that they are an integral part of the company’s mission.”

• Avoid mind games and manipulation. Never force a job on someone, give false promises or oversell a pitch just to put your employee in a corner. Practice open, fair, authentic, honest, friendly and supportive leadership.

• Do not dwell on the wrongs, rather focus on learning from them. Pin pointing will not get you anywhere and will never change the wrong.

• Employees are your number one asset, your success depends on them. A motivated employee is important, so empower and trust your employees. Put them first. 

• Give acknowledgement for accomplished work by your employees. Never take credit for what is not your idea. Loyal is important than enforcing power to force obedience.

If you want to build a sustainable business, take good care of your people and build them – they will take care of your business and build it on your behalf.  To your clients and customers your employees are the company. If they are not motivated and unhappy so is your company. In the words of Narayana Murthy, “Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning.”