Human Capital Advice from The Winning Is Everything Experts
In February, I attended the Winning is Everything Conference 2005 in Las Vegas and was pleasantly surprised to hear “Human Capital” at the forefront of many presentations. It appears that “people” are more important today then ever before! Now, you may be thinking to yourself… so what… I already knew that! Well, you may already know it… but obviously some of the firms out there are not listening.
Why would Human Capital issues remain at the top of the list for several consecutive years if we were listening and making changes that really were transforming our firms? The answer is – it wouldn’t! Let me share with you some of the wisdom that I gained from the speakers at the conference in the area of Human Capital:
Edie Weiner, President, Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc.
We all suffer from “Educated Incapacity”. Educated what? Just think of it like this. We look at things and see things in our firms the way we have been “educated” to see them. We become incapacitated because we will not work differently than the way we always have. Now, you might be saying, so what does that have to do with Human Capital? Think about it…if we don’t educate ourselves to develop our Human Capital differently than we ever have… we are setting ourselves up to be incapacitated for future growth and development.
L. Gary Boomer, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
Beginning 2005 with the publication of the “Guide to Human Capital” in his arsenal, Boomer says to remember to hire now… but don’t hire the way you always have. Hire smart, non-accounting individuals in IT, finance, service areas and firm administration. Once you have them, spend more time in the “training function” of the firm in order to retain those people.
Jay Nisberg, Jay Nisberg & Associates, Inc.
Be bold and don’t be afraid! That was the message that Nisberg gave the firms in attendance. Firm Management must learn to LISTEN to their staff and enact some bold programs in order to show their willingness to change and be a leader in the industry.
Allan Koltin, PDI Global, Inc.
Be prepared to enter a new school of thinking when it comes to Human Capital. Firms must become experts in the areas of benefits, recruiting, career development, retention and training. The more adept you are in these areas the more defenses you will have against other firms who are out their trying to find and recruit the best and the brightest stars – who may very well reside in your firm right now.
Gary Shamis – SS&G Financial Services
Knowing that he had to work extra hard to keep the staff he has, along with the challenge of adding new people due to the phenomenal growth of his firm, Shamis rose to the challenge by developing an employee retention committee designed to give feedback to management on what they could do to retain the staff they have. The second step was to get the entire firm involved in Strategic Planning and ensure that everyone in the firm knew where they were going and how they personally played a part in the plan.
Howard Putnam, Howard Putnam Enterprises
“Hire attitudes and match them to your vision and your culture.” While this may sound a little “out there” to some in our profession, it is the correct answer to where we should be heading today in Human Resources. It is much easier to train someone on technical requirements for a position than to try to teach them how to change their attitude. The key to this strategy…. You have to know what your culture really is before you can find the right people!
So, there you have it… now is the time to give serious thought to the Human Capital in your midst and implement a few changes for 2005. Remember what Jay said “Be Bold…. Don’t Be Afraid!”