The question of the day? by Allen Laudenslager

The question of the day?
by Allen Laudenslager


Do you spend as much time and money “maintaining” your employees as
you do maintaining your other production equipment? How much time
and effort do you spend each week (on the clock) to service computers,
drill presses, lathes, and the rest of your production tools? How much did
you spend in the same time frame on employee training or retraining?


If you have a computer sitting on a desk without someone to operate it,
it’s just a paperweight. In the movie Conan the Barbarian, James Earl
Jones asked “What is the sword compared to the arm that wields it?” In
the same way what are your tools of production compared to the person
who operates them?


Is it cheaper for your company to go find someone with a particular skill
set or to train current employees? When you bring in someone from the
outside, you send a subtle unspoken message to all your current
employees - this company does not value your experience and knowledge
of our company and product enough to use it at the next level.


If you think of your employees as replaceable and disposable they will
soon think of your company as replaceable and disposable. This means
they will take the value they are adding to your business down the street
to your competitors for the smallest salary increase. If you’ve ever asked,
“Why doesn't that person care about their work?” Perhaps it’s because
the company doesn’t care about them.