An Employers Greatest Debt

I hope I've never said it, because I cringe every time I hear it ... "Our employees are our greatest asset".
 

The relationships we have with our assets is vastly different than the relationships we should have with our employees. 
 

The last time I checked, my employees are not property. I don't own them, and neither does the company I work for. In fact, quite the contrary.  We are simply borrowing them for 8 hours per day. They are on loan to us from their families.
 

Their spouses, parents, and/or children have entrusted them to us for 1/3 of every week day. Their families loan them to us every day.  We are indebted to them, and as such, these families are our creditors.

 

The contract is simple.  Our employee's families loan them to us each morning.  And they expect the loan to be repaid in full, daily.  It is our duty to return them to their families in good condition every afternoon.  In addition, we pay interest on that loan (in the form of a paycheck) a couple times each month.  If we are satisfied with the arrangement, we get to take out that loan again and again and again.  If they are satisfied with the arrangement, they will repeatedly allow us to do so.

 

Everyday, your company perhaps takes out more than a hundred of these loans from an equal number of families.  And everyday, your company should heavily focus on honoring your half of the contract.  You must focus on such things as safety and ergonomics.  You must focus on creating an environment that discourages these families from loaning their dad (or mom, sister, brother, child, etc.) to another company instead of yours.  And when pay day arrives, you must pay an appropriate amount of "interest", to ensure a long-lasting and mutually-beneficial relationship with your employee.

 

Our employees are not our greatest asset.  They are not an asset at all.  In some sense, they are our greatest debt.  A debt that we need to carefully protect, nurture, and pay back.

 

My boss has often stated that if an F5 tornado came through the factory on a weekend, we could rebuild the business and survive.  But if that same tornado came through on a weekday, it would be a complete loss.  It's a great example to highlight the difference between our company's assets and our employees.

 

I am indebted to the families of my employees.  And I am grateful they trust me enough to loan them to me each day. 

 

 

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R. Dru Laws is Vice President of Seljan Company in Lake Mills Wisconsin, the Vice President of ARM (Association of Rotational Molding), and a global contributing editor to RotoWorld Magazine. Dru has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University, and an MSc in Polymer Engineering from the Queens University of Belfast.