I am continually both surprised and disappointed at the same time these days. We know the North American and world economies are in the dumpster (the press will not let us forget this). Financial markets are entirely unpredictable which puts most financial planning and service companies in the same effectiveness category as weather prediction. So it is no wonder that we have bought into the operating philosophy of hunkering down and weathering the economic storm both personally and from an organizational standpoint.
But here is the rub. Opportunity is everywhere right now for those who are open and willing to embrace it. Blue chip stocks are at their lowest in decades. Land is cheaper and therefore so is real estate. Even the doomed North American car companies have chosen to look hard at their existing business methodology and products and have chosen to either partner with other successful auto firms, tear down their existing infrastructure and build new ones or leverage successful business and product models from other parts of the world. Even a Canadian auto parts manufacturer is now an auto company owner. That would have never happened a year ago.
And so it is with organizations. There are those who have cut their costs, reduced or eliminated staff and positions along with pensions, benefits and contract positions all with the mindset that they are doing the right thing to stave off bankruptcy or going out of business altogether. For some this is entirely true. For others they have been slowly positioning themselves to ride the upturn as it happens and we all know where they will be entering the new climate of economic prosperity.
These companies have looked hard at what they do. How they do it and who they are doing it with. They have identified those in their human capital who represent the future and the future is attained through creativity, innovation, risk taking and energy. These companies are investing heavily in not only the present workforce, but have recruited others’ surplus, fully recognizing potential.
The final piece to the performance equation lies in the investment in people themselves. Training and development is critical at this time for both technical and soft skills. For, a company emerging on top of the new economy will already have its people performing at a high level.
Funny thing though. The common mindset for organizations at this stage is to cut training and company/employee events in hopes of saving a few bucks rather than investing in those who shoulder the responsibility for performance. Remember, most employees want to know that they are valued by their employers. So how does withholding training and recognition help those so key to the company’s eventual survival?