Coping with the rising cost of the Asian workforce .. what do organizations do?

Employee related cost is not about the compensation and benefits alone. The hidden costs involving training, skills development, intellectual knowledge and associated skills, lead time in understanding internal procedure, costs around development of customer relationships are significant and far exceed visible costs of employing an individual. Add up all of this, then add the talent-cum-value component to it and you begin to realize how expensive it is to lose a valuable member of the team and then replace him/her!

To proactively prevent any of this, I believe in placing strong emphasis on people development within organizations. This not only augments knowledge and skills that help people stay motivated & productive on an ongoing basis while being aligned with the organization’s directions but also grow them as professionals and individuals progressively taking larger challenges & roles. I also value the need for recognition of outstanding achievements and celebration of success. Employees need to be made aware that their efforts have paid off and the organization has the performers on its radar! Any organization that consistently pursues these goals will create a first class workforce & build competitive advantage over its competitors by growing achievers & leaders at all levels much quicker than their competitors.

The flip side of the coin are employees unsuitable for the roles they are employed for. It is a cardinal sin to prolong with these engagements – these hurt both the employee and the organization! Organizational leadership should continually monitor these instances, provide opportunities for improvement and separate the ties (where that is the only option) as early as possible. This saves money, time & productivity for the organization and forces the employee to seek another employment that is more suitable to the personality where the individual might thrive!