Business Executive James L. Paterek says properly assessing the skills of employees is key to increasing employee satisfaction and employee retention.
The notion that business leaders need to make an effort to learn more about the employees who work for them is nothing new. In fact, business leaders like James L. Paterek assert that the proper management of human capital is essential to the success of every business no matter the industry. According to the business guru, many businesses do well in regards to some elements of human capital management but says that lacking in even one of the key elements of human capital can be disruptive if not catastrophic for businesses. “I think some human resource professionals try to prioritize what they deem to be the most important elements of human capital, and that is a mistake. Elements like managing employees based on their experience, skills, training intelligence, insight and relationships have to be recognized in order to manage employees successfully.”, Jim Paterek said.
According to Jim Paterek, it is sometimes difficult for human resource professionals to distinguish between human capital and the financial costs associated with each employee. “Human resource professionals have a lot on their plates. I can certainly understand why so many of them fall into the trap of seeing dollar signs when they think about employees. Everything centered around employees is associated with some type of cost, whether it is related to training, benefit packages or the supplies that are necessary for them to do their jobs.”, James L. Paterek said.
Jim Paterek asserts that it is paramount that human resource professionals do all they can to familiarize themselves with the employees they manage because the financial bottom line of their company depends on them to get it right. “When you are dealing with people, who have individual personalities and needs, the trial and error approach is simply unacceptable. In terms of employees, human resource professionals get one real opportunity to establish a relationship with an employee. This is why human resource professionals have to develop a strategic plan to interface with their employees so they can make ongoing assessments about their level of intelligence, how they think and reason, their skill level, and their relationships. Doing this will help in the development of systems, practices, and policies to advance employees and help them better understand how to improve job satisfaction.”, James L. Paterek said.
Jim Paterek says that he encourages resource professionals to help establish labor-management committees and employee research groups in their organizations. “I believe that it is strategically prudent to merge human capital and human resource management in this way. There are only a few people in a human resource department for the employees in an organization. It is simply not possible to speak with and assess every employee.”, James L. Paterek said.
“Employee resource groups and labor-management committees open the door for collaboration and greater communication between employees and their human resources team. A positive stream of communication can help companies mitigate small issues before they escalate into larger ones. In addition, one of the biggest complaints employees have is that they don’t feel they have a voice. Labor-management committees and employee resource groups, if run correctly, go a long way to establish an environment where employees can be heard.”, James L. Paterek concluded.