During our years of consulting in a wide variety of industries, we have been continuously amazed by the gap between what a company’s mission or value statements say and what their executives do.

Many companies, for instance, have mission or value statements proclaiming employees as the company’s most valuable asset or resource. But a cursory examination of what they have invested in communications, training, benefits, or work environment shows that it is just a bunch of horse pucky (as we say in the Midwest).

What a manager does speaks louder to employees than what a manager says, and your management team should talk the same talk. The CEO might say that employees are the company’s greatest asset, but the CFO is complaining that most of the company’s overhead is walking around on two feet.

High-performing companies invest in winning environments that emphasize communications, training, benefits, competitive compensation packages (including non-compensatory rewards), and pleasant facilities. This is particularly important in our changing society. As the country moved from an industrial-based economy to an information / technology and service society, we are less reliable on machines and more reliable on intellectual assets (people).

To achieve the high performance of companies such as Motorola or Hewlett- Packard, follow their lead by making substantial investments in employee training and development. Successful companies have recognized that providing employees with opportunities to learn pays off for both the company and the employees. Employees get an opportunity to learn, and you get better skilled employees who can improve quality and productivity, know how to do their jobs better, and appreciate the investment you’ve made in them and their future. Why is it that companies will spend thousands on machinery and computer maintenance contracts, but little or nothing on maintaining their intellectual assets?

Training has a positive impact on employee loyalty too. For example, an acquaintance of mine is going through an executive training program on his own nickel because his company won’t pay for it. Rather than becoming a greater resource for his company, his attitude now is that it will make him a more attractive candidate as he begins a new job search.

As my example illustrates, loyalty cuts two ways. Executives may think employees are portable or replaceable, and employees may think they can be laid off without warning. But employees who feel their employers care about them and their future are more likely to stay around and put forth extra effort when it’s needed.

How much should you spend on training? The National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, D.C., recommends that companies spend 3 percent of payroll on training, and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in Alexandria, Virginia says that companies spending 3 percent or more of payroll on
training achieve exemplary financial results.

Whatever the amount, what’s most important is making sure that the money you are spending on training is designed to foster your company’s growth. First, identify the core skills that your employees currently have and the core skills they must have to work at your company today. To determine the skills that you’ll need in the future, step back and take a big strategic breath. Re-visit your strategic priorities and business goals.

Where do you see your company in three years, and what skills will you need to take you there? Match those skills with your employees’ current skill sets to identify gaps. This will identify the areas where you need to invest in training today. Companies that excel are those that hire and train employees today for the skills they will need in the next three years.

Another significant area to invest in is benefits. If you are not providing benefits, you aren’t positioning your company as a place where people want to work. In fact, benefits are so expected that they aren’t considered a motivator, but rather, the absence of benefits is considered to be a major reason for employee dissatisfaction. Medical insurance in particular is a must for attracting quality workers. For example, Starbucks Coffee Company provides part-time employees with insurance, which has helped them cut turnover to less than 50 percent in an industry where turnover typically is more than 100 percent annually.

Paid time-off (PTO) days like vacation and sick days are also musts. One current trend is to put all PTO days into a single "pot" where employees get 15 days off, for example, to use at their discretion for vacations, illness, personal business and so on. Other benefits like life and disability insurance and retirement plans can help make your environment more attractive.

On average, companies spend 25-30 percent of their employees’ salaries on benefits packages … this amount, misspent, can be a tragedy! No-cost or low-cost benefits are available such as flextime, job sharing, telecommuting options, and holiday parties, which all can add to creating a high-performing work environment. Whatever you decide to do, first survey your employees about what they value, and then give them as much of what they want (or need) as makes sense.

Payroll represents yet another investment opportunity. If your company’s compensation isn’t competitive, you won’t keep good people. It’s a fine line, because top employees are motivated by many things, and money is just one of them. But if they are adequately compensated, the chance of earning a few more dollars a week somewhere else won’t lure them away if they feel their present job is personally enriching and challenging. Designing interesting jobs is much more effective for retaining good employees than is simply designing the most lucrative pay plans.

Investing in a pleasant work facility has rewards as well, and it doesn’t have to be a tremendous investment. Take a look around --- is your facility set up in a way that encourages teamwork and communication, or does it create divisions? Is it a comfortable, inviting place where people can look forward to spending their work
hours? Inexpensive ideas are plants, artwork, clean carpets, good lighting, adequate meeting space and break / lunch spaces, and a pleasant reception area.

Last, but most important, is that you invest in the time to communicate your company’s goals and objectives to employees, and then recognize them for a job well done. Catch people in the act of doing things right! Create a reward system that recognizes employees for innovation, extra effort, the most sales, or whatever is appropriate for your company.

If you invest in your people and make your mission or value statements more than just words, they will truly become your most valuable assets and a source of competitive advantage. However, if you don’t, they will, in fact, be just "overhead walking around on two feet".