In the face of shrinking budgets and perpetual economic challenges, a successful human capital strategy is as vital as ever to organizational successes.  Successfully acquiring and retaining top performers can add tremendous value to both your organization and your people.

We have identified four key focus points to optimize a culture conducive to develop employees.

1) Show consideration to full spectrum of talent

Creating a positive, respectful culture goes beyond improved day-to-day task delivery.  Employees should feel humanized, and expect dignity even in adverse circumstances.  This doesn’t mean penalties are forbidden or reprimands are unproductive, but if all situations are handled with class, your talent will notice.

2 ) Create culture of continual growth opportunities

This does NOT have to be in the form of financial or status-based incentive programs.  While direct monetary rewards are always welcomed by employees, they’re not always feasible from an organizational standpoint.  No matter the age or experience level, many employees value ongoing skill development and training.  It may make their current workload more manageable, or it could help qualify them for expanded responsibility.  An increased knowledge-base is a cheaper alternative to offering a raise or promotion.

3) Money and power

This goes without saying – direct financial compensation is as valuable a motivator as any.  Duly noted should be the power of decision-making and status.  Such benefits can significantly boost the morale of your people.  Plus, it will make them feel more connected and involved in organizational successes.

4) Provide ongoing feedback

Direct feedback on work-related tasks is very valuable, however that alone does not always suffice.  Top employees expect – and often deserve – more impactful relationships from their superiors.  Whether it’s helping to accomplish a positive work/life balance, network development, or career mentorship, it’s an extraordinarily valuable focus area.

In our last post, we outlined some of what goes into the career decision of high level workers.  Specifically, we discussed the factors that go into the decision to pursue an MBA.

The hiring process has many layers beneath what’s evident at face value.  The first obvious step in talent acquisition is to get the right people in the right place for the right role needed to fulfill organizational goals.  To satisfy that objective, there are a lot of basic assumptions made by evaluating the surface level of a candidate.  Top management support is pivotal in developing and cementing a culture to effectively resonate through the workplace, and ideally, each hire would be a fit for that culture.  Organizations must create an environment for talent to seamlessly recognize the linkage of what they’re doing to the overall strategic approach, while still providing the direct skills required for the position.

Job seekers are often told success hinges not on what you know, but instead who you know.  Having a connection to get your foot in the door gives personalities instant credibility, affording companies a de facto gatekeeper opportunity to immediately decipher a good fit from a bad one.  It is indeed essential for a positive culture to be present throughout your workplace, however employers can sometimes overlook the importance of quantifiable skills in the true value of an employee to a company.

What are their computer skills like? Do they have direct evidence of their accomplishments through previous projects they’ve worked on? They may have driven impressive measurables in a previous role, but what skills did they show along the way?

With all the fluff that hiring and talent managers must endure, it’s essential to not neglect the core competencies necessary to thrive at a job’s task and to just look beneath the surface at who the person is and whether they’re the right personality fit.   That is, after all, what their direct contributions to your organization will become, and where it is most difficult to devote resources to improve.

Resources are limiting and organizations’ human capital is shrinking.  It’s become clear that the value of a worker is as significant now as any resource in a company.  So maintaining superior talent levels is essential to success.  We’ve previously discussed here how to motivate such top talent already in place within an organization.  But when choosing among a slew of applicants and prospective executive leadership, it’s questionable what is seen as the best differentiator.  Is strong work experience or advanced education the best indicator of future success?

In a vacuum, it’s difficult to assess the more influential factor.  However, with the rising costs and the time commitment necessary to obtain an MBA it’s important to understand some benefits of pursuing higher education to excel in the business world.  It’s expensive and time-consuming, but in some cases, the costs can be worthwhile.  Here are five scenarios we’ve discussed with MBAs.

To acquire specific skills

You may have never learned about a specific realm of business that interests you, or you’re intrigued by a complementary skill set for your career.  It’s often previous business undergrads or those with previous work experience who seek the skills to complement what they already possess. These people have already acquired a context and gone through training for the content they’re pursuing.  These scenarios are the most common, although there are those MBAs with completely unrelated backgrounds ready to pursue futures in business.

To network

It’s widely accepted that who you know is as important as any factor in business success.  This inherent benefit of an MBA is sometimes reason enough to devote 2 years to studying more business.  The value of this network as opposed to any you can develop through job-related activities is directly related to the quality of your school.  Prestigious programs can directly lead to a lifetime network of highly qualified long-term prospects of classmates.

To fulfill your career path

In many industries, it’s required to have an MBA to move up to desired high levels.  In such scenarios, a company will often advise you to pursue an MBA, and they’ll often even fund your education.  This is a no-brainer for many.

To change careers

People who are stuck in perceived dead end jobs often resort to graduate school as the answer to their next step.  There are certainly worse decisions you could make to get yourself out of an unfulfilling career path than specializing in business, meeting new people, and raising your profile.

To gain credibility

Having an MBA provides you a certain level a prestige right off the bat.  Your job prospects will be more plentiful, your salary expectations can be higher, and your reputation within an organization can benefit as well.  The expectations of someone who possesses an MBA is someone who’s motivated, effective, efficient, flexible, and accomplished can be very desirable to work with.  Consequently, you gain instant credibility from an MBA that cannot always be equally perceived from a few years of work experience.

If none of these uses are readily apparent, it may not be advisable to endure the high costs of pursuing an advanced degree.  The wide range of MBA motives produce differing prospects, so it’s important to fully understand the prospect – especially why their background led them to where they’re at, and what specific skills that’s led to.  We’ll write a follow-up post about understanding prospective employees.