“One can buy the employee's time, one can buy his material presence in a certain place; You can even buy a certain number of muscle movements per hour. But your enthusiasm cannot be bought… your loyalty cannot be bought… the devotion of your heart cannot be bought. These things must be earned. " (one)
Thousands of years have passed since Sun Tzu wrote "The Art of War" and the same principles exposed in this work can be applied to businesses and / or companies in every field, such as human resources management:
“Do not order people tasks that they cannot fulfill. Make a selection and give each person responsibilities appropriate to their ability. "
“Therefore, if you order courteously and instill in all the same combative ardor; it will be possible to affirm that the triumph is certain. "
"If the orders are justified on all occasions and are always carried out, the relations between the commander (manager) and the troops (workers) will be good."
Very few companies realize that many times their greatest advantage in the competitive business world is their staff, when they are adequately trained, highly motivated and committed to it. The vast majority of managers do not want to realize that the success of the company, and even its management not only depends on their ability, but also on the capabilities of all the workers of the same, moreover, many of them forget that workers are also human beings like them, with needs, problems and also desires for personal, academic and work improvement; they forgot that "in the depths of the human personality there is the need to be appreciated" (2). They think that serving behind a large desk gives them authority and for them it is like being on a pedestal,making communication and teamwork more difficult, the kind of manager whose motto is: "I admit everything, unless they oppose me." Few are those who realize that by facing disagreements, dilemmas and why not conflicts we can realize that collectively we are more intelligent and better than individually, accepting disagreement as a stimulus many times quality and innovation is achieved.
An adequate salary is not enough to motivate staff, there are several factors, one very important to achieve identification and commitment with the company is to make them feel that they are responsible for the successes and triumphs achieved, not only responsible for failures; For workers, recognition for a good performance goes beyond the economic, they feel as personal success to be able to contribute to an achievement and have the satisfaction of having done it.
It is very important to let them know that the bosses understand them, that the owner or manager knows their name, their functions, their role in the company, even their personal life; that is to say, make them notice that they are important within the organization to walk in parallel towards the established vision: it is important to promote the coincidence between the personal vision and that of the company. When workers commit to achieving the vision: it is also motivating and necessary for the organization to give them a certain degree of freedom to make decisions in their areas; in other words, empowerment, which will reinforce the participation and commitment of the worker; and why not say your loyalty to it.
Meetings should be encouraged where the Mission is explained, which will lead to the achievement of the Vision once both are understood, it is important that the opinion of the employees is taken into account, when you want to impose something on the workers it is counterproductive and negative: It should be invited to the personnel committed to the process, to the dialogue, to propose ideas, expose them and participate in their development. We are talking about elements of belonging in the work environment, and if we do not do that we do not generate loyalty, we only achieve demotivation and rejection.
Managers must realize that in a certain way they have a leadership role and as such they must try to satisfy as much as possible certain needs of their workers (physical needs, safety and / or stability, improvement, training, appreciation for their achievements, etc) This is what is done in smart companies, those that take into account that what distinguishes them from their competitors and gives them a competitive advantage is the quality of their staff.
Interesting is the case of companies like Lehman Brothers that have been able to train executives and star workers, committed and loyal; They have managed to give them an appropriate climate for the performance of their work and have managed to retain them even paying 25 to 30% less than what competing companies paid workers and / or executives at that level. (3)
Managers must understand that the company is responsible for 50 percent of the success or failure of its workers, therefore they must offer opportunities, promote a learning environment, provide resources and technology tools to train highly qualified workers. Having achieved this, they will have considerably increased the value of the organization; Well, an added value that is highly appreciated today was added, which is a true strength: the value that it gives to have qualified workers, committed and loyal to it; that is to say "the most valuable asset".
(1) Fortune-: Clarence Francis
(2) The Leadership Paradox-: James C. Hunter
(3) Harvard Business Review
“The high risk of hiring stars” (Boris Groysberg, Ashísh Nanda and Mitin Noria.
