Investing in Your Culture's Future

by Jonathan Jones

One manager told another manager that he did not invest in training in his people because he was afraid they would leave. The other manager responded that it would be worse if he did not invest in training and they stayed. There is a current war on talent. Training employees makes better companies. New employee orientation should begin with training employees about the company culture, including values and performance expectations. Better trained employees usually mean an organization can achieve more with less people.

The most significant investment should be in leaders. The future of an organization depends on the development of leaders. Not just one leader, but leaders at all levels. A leader at the top who does not develop another level of leadership in destined to be stagnant. While a lot may get done by telling others what to do, at some point there is a peak. If something happens to this leader, the organization will probably falter. By training and developing leaders, the organization can grow with new talent. Leaders can progress and the leader at the top take on more because she has a leadership team below her.

Looking long term, if a business owner is looking to sell a company, to get the most out of the sale, the buying company would expect a leadership team that can lead without the owner. Otherwise the price is less, or the owner will need to become an employee. More and more business owners are learning the lost value because they do not have a strong leadership team.

Train your employees, not only for improved performance, but for future value of the organization. Ensure you have continuously developing leaders, so you can retain your talent and strengthen the organization’s value today and tomorrow.n

Jonathan Jones (Jonathan.jones@vistagechair.com or 314-608-0783) is a CEO peer group chair/coach for Vistage International.