Increase Profitability Through Personnel

As we reported in our January trends issue, even though the battle for top talent has long been on our radar screens as business owners, the human capital arena has never been more competitive. Not only is demand for high-performing personnel increasing, but there’s also increasing pressure on exceptional employees to perform faster. The reason: The impact of personnel on profitability. Leading organizations understand that the people behind the company – from C-level to admin – are the key to reaching the next level of success.

In the early years, however, owners tend to staff with technicians who understand the organization’s products, services and/or industry. As the company gets more complex, additional skills like leadership quickly become essential, and the more   tremendous the growth, the faster the company outgrows its employees.

So, although your first employees took your company to the point of growth, they are not likely the same employees who can take your company to the next place. As we like to say, what got you here, won’t get there. The vast majority of organizations simply need a higher level of sophistication and experience to succeed on a growth track.

This is why thinking toward your organization’s future growth is a smarter perspective from which to make initial hiring decisions. If you can attain talent capable of growing with your company, you will establish loyal team members who are even more committed to the company’s success because the company is more committed to theirs.

Another reason to seek high-performing talent from the start is that experienced team members who are more able to bring innovation to the company, along with the ability to work flexibly and quickly, are an invaluable asset when it comes to keeping workforce costs low, revenue up and efficiency everywhere, leading to increase profitability. In fact, the ability to innovate can mean the difference between death and survival. Not to mention, between a turtle-like walk to the finish line and the brisk, smart growth and success you want.

In today’s marketplace, those you hire need to be more than hands to do the work. They’re directly related to your bottom line and are an important piece of your financial strategy. Establishing a strong team of full time, part time and/or outsourced people initially puts your company in position to grow and prevents you from having to rethink your org chart to get to the next level.

Taking a hard look at the team that got you “here” and asking if they are, indeed, the team to take you “there,” is the first step toward seeing the strength of the relationship between personnel and profit – and, by extension, toward implementing the human capital strategies that will carry your company to its future success.