Smaller companies, especially, can help themselves by having a specific plan for growing human capital. In my work with small-business owners, I found that most of them had under-performing staffs. Of course, there were many reasons this happened. Newer business owners often hired friends or relatives to help take the load off and/or they hired someone cheap enough or flexible enough to fit their needs. The owners were often so busy that they couldn't take the time to define the jobs, let alone get the right fit for the positions.
Now is the time to grow your human capital, making it a resource and a differentiator in the business world. Here are a few ways to begin:
1. Have all employees write down what they actually do and the amount of time devoted to each part of the position. They should separately list and track three main areas if they are hourly: tasks, duties, and responsibilities. If they are salaried, have them track their main roles and the responsibilities in each role. You may discover that what you thought they should be doing and what they are actually doing do not coincide.
2. For each position, you should determine the knowledge, skills, and abilities the position requires. Write this down for each position and compare it to the employee in each position. If the match is not close, you either have to move employees around or find the right fit. Remember, employees who aren't the right fit are frustrated employees because they cannot meet the job demands and expectations. Need some help defining jobs appropriately? Well, Uncle Sam will help you. Go to the following web site to obtain and/or develop job descriptions and job specifications for just about any job you can imagine: http://online.onetcenter.org/ (You can also go there to find out what professions match your own skill sets.)
3. Determine the "attitude" of each employee. Is the employee contributing to the position and the culture and vision you have for the company? You may have to take some corrective action. (Of course, the corrective action may also include you. Perhaps the boss is a contributing factor to their attitude problems.)
There is much more you can do to increase the value of your human capital, but matching personnel to the appropriate position is a good start. You and they will be happier when you leverage human capital effectively.
