Family Matters
a talent management blog focused on the family business
by Kevin Logterman

Is Talent Your Most Important Asset?

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If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard, “Our people are our most important asset”, you wouldn’t be reading this article and I’d be teeing off at Pebble Beach.

A May 25th article in the Wall Street Journal (http://bit.ly/c3Jgla) cited a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that, in February, the number of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs surpassed the number being fired or discharged for the first time since October 2008 and that, before February, the BLS had recorded more layoffs than resignations for 15 straight months.

Couple this report with a recent poll conducted by Right Management at the end of 2009 showing 60% of workers saying they intended to leave their jobs when the market improved and you can see the issues many companies may face if these (2) reports come true.

The WSJ article cites two reasons for this trend; the recession did not create opportunities for talent to advance their careers and many chose to stay where they were versus risk themselves by making a move.

The other reason, and one I’ve heard often in the past 12 months, has to do with the effect of heavy cost cutting and downsizing and the burden it placed on those remaining. Recently, I interviewed an exceptional Human Resource candidate who is dissatisfied and burning out as a result of her company making cuts in her department and asking this person to basically perform the duties for 3 other s. As talented and hard-working as this person is, she just can’t maintain her current pace and, most importantly, perform at a high level and get things done.

If, in fact, talent is your most important asset, are you protecting it from the outside elements and insuring its value for the future?