LEVERAGING HUMAN CAPITAL

Human capital refers to the individual strengths, capabilities, and knowledge that contribute to the overall success of the company (Salsbury, 2013). It is essential for any organization as it is necessary to the overall success and accomplishment of the company’s goal. The level of individual skills and knowledge comes in handy. This paper seeks to explore the importance of leveraging on human capital and the benefits that the organization accrues.

Most activities in the world are accomplished by the use of human capital as other forms of capital are formed through it. Despite the fact that there are modern day machines that are being invented to replace people, it took some time and efforts of other individuals to bring forth these pieces of work. Data, knowledge, and information are paramount for the overall success of an institution (Salsbury, 2013).

The human resource is responsible for the acquisition, cultivation, and retention of human capital. The personnel working in this department are responsible for discovering, choosing, and fledgling potential employees who pose the proper skills, abilities, and knowledge (Sheeler, 2015). The overall ability to collect and to process information in different ways, appropriate communication skills, and the capability of thinking critically and enhanced problem-solving techniques, come in handy with the existing human capital.

Some organizations focus on building up firm-specific human capital using training and orientation. Firm-specific human capital refers to skills and knowledge that are particularized to a specific business which makes an individual more productive and set the company’s goals (Sheeler, 2015). In general, human capital can be achieved through education and training which enable employees to be updated on the current trends in their areas of skillfulness.

Strategic planning and implementation of the human capital ought to include the human resource department. A partnership between the roles of the human resource department and the organization development should be in line so as to incorporate team modification practices and principles into the main activities (Sheeler, 2015). This partnership is essential building artifact of the strategic talent management. This command changes the overall drive of the cultural and environmental aspects of the organization after the increased display of employee engagement.

The team needs to ensure that there is an excellent retention in its human capital. Sheeler 2015 suggests that mouth-watering compensation aggregation ought to be fashioned that offers an adequate inducement for employees who possess valuable skills and knowledge to be still loyal to the company as the organization seeks to accomplish its goals.

Recognition of a job well done by employees is important as this acts as a motivator to them. Acknowledgment helps in the creation of emotional attachment between the employees and the employer (Salsbury, 2013). It makes the employees feel appreciated and have a sense of belonging. To be recognized simply assures the staff members that their work is in order. Things like sending a handwritten note, an email, or rather mention their good works in a formal meeting encourages staff members to work harder. Launching a monthly award program can come in handy in the recognition process.

A little amiable competition can also motivate workers in completing their tasks (Sheeler, 2015). Gamification brings an aspect of competition among team players as they seek to accomplish the most important tasks they have at hand. The facets seen in the accomplishment of activities through this process include monthly medals in the participation of team-wide campaigns, availability of badges for hitting particular milestones and trophies awarded to individuals who have performed in an unusual nature.

Money ought to stop being the motivating factors of most people companies as it sure has its limits. A shift in focus from extrinsic rewards to natural ones is critical (Sheeler, 2015). The income that individuals receive and the off-the-roof profits that a company makes does not necessarily result in contentment.

Teams need to have their sense of autonomy (Salsbury, 2013). A broad sense of ownership is important to them as it also contributes to their productive nature. The different individual life of employees is necessary. The diverse workforce needs to be addressed in ways that they all feel inclusive of all the activities taking place in the organization. All these are strategies that ought to be adopted to encourage employees.

Employee recognition program must be planned and clearly defined, capable of enhancing communication channels, improve the level of retention of the best staff, and improve on the self-worth and confidence of the employees. Moreover, an account of the accomplishments of each employee, however, small or big is necessary (Sheeler, 2015). The program should aid in the increment and overall improvement in productivity of the workstation with a mix of both formal and informal means of rewards.

At times employees may undergo an unexpected stressful situation or some hardship during their employment era. Even though it may not be professional to let emotional problems affect our productivity, it sometimes proves to be an uphill task. To navigate through this situation, empathy and showing compassion are necessary (Sheeler, 2015). Open communication will enable the management to know how to deal with the circumstance. Therefore after talking about it, checking in once in a while is courteous. Some employees work best when they are under a lot of pressure; this can be good and bad at the same time. To control the damage that may be caused, it is important to set the objectives, what should be delivered clearly and the quality standard of the results. Time lines and backups are necessary (Salsbury, 2013). 

The overall vision of the culture the organization aspires to develop is that of increased investment in attaining and retaining human capital. The staff should be considered valuable and a major contributor to the overall success of the institution. A shift in focus from just making money to having productive, highly skilled human capital is essential (Sheeler, 2015).

The current employee status is confident in the organization. The staff is well motivated, have clear and set personal objectives that lead to an increased performance of the team. The team building activities and the training offered to them to improve their already acquired skills makes them be up to speed with the issues affecting their areas of work. All these are attributed to the positive feedback received from our large clientele base, satisfaction metrics conducted, the number of customers retained, financial indicators, business indexes, back order dates, call times, and ticket analysis. Consistent and efficient work habits, improved decision-making process, clear communication channels within the organization, and improved teamwork are some of the key performance indicators that have attributed to overall increased job performance(Salsbury, 2013). 

Integration of both the rewards and incentives is necessary. It enables the organization to be competitive and still be appealing to the employees. Most successful companies attribute their success to a proper incentive program which is very useful in any business climate. Incentives can aid in accelerating introductions of new products in the market and the further distribution as it penetrates the market (Sheeler, 2015). Incentives offered to employees can either be informed of cash or non-cash. These incentives center the challenge and the overall excitement of the business challenge.

In conclusion, having a look beyond the conventional talent management approach and shifting the focus to employing, training, and retaining those who possess the much-needed skills in the organization. Leveraging human capital is imperative as it affects the performance of the existing employees. The strengths and the weaknesses of the employees are crucial to note and bank on the capabilities of most of the employees in the quest for achieving the company’s goal.

References

Salsbury, M. P. (2013). Human capital management: Leveraging your workforce for a competitive advantage.

Sheeler, C. L. (2015). Equity value enhancement: A tool to leverage human and financial capital while managing risk.