Investing in People Makes Cents

Last week, Emily kicked off our new series on professional development. What it is and why we should care about it. I’m pulling that thread to talk about the dollars and cents of why you should invest in people and why you should do it NOW.

I just read a powerful article from McKinsey titled Increasing your return on talent: The moves and metrics that matter that hit me square in the face with this quote: “McKinsey research indicates that companies that put talent at the center of their business strategy realize higher total shareholder returns than their competitors.”

One more time for the people in the back: spending money on your people makes you more money. McKinsey’s research let them to the startling stat that some companies could be missing out on $480 million a year just by not investing in employee engagement and skill development.

McKinsey goes on to lay out a 5 step plan for companies to “maximize their return on talent”, and it’s a an excellent plan that relies on an already existing, already strong HR team. If that doesn’t describe the situation at your company, you might not be ready for McKinsey’s 5 step plan. Instead, maybe you need the Dollar Tree plan.

Last week, I had lunch with a great friend who also works in the HR space. She recently stepped in for me to facilitate some pro-bono training when I couldn’t make the date work. Her tactic? Conversation cards from Dollar Tree.

She spent $3.75 plus tax on conversation cards that turned into meaningful relationshipping for the group and several people left interested in adopting conversation cards with their own teams. Weeks later, my friend is still riding the high of a $3.75 investment. When we invest in people, it’s about the intent and the follow through more than the amount of money spent.

Horizon Point’s operating values include Continuous Learning & Improvement, and it’s truly part of everything we do. Our operating values make up the structure of our planning meeting agendas. Seriously, the line items are grouped by value:

1. People First
   • Catch up
   • Review accomplishments
   • Schedule one-on-ones
2. Productivity
   • Company performance
   • Open projects
   • Business development
3. Continuous Learning & Improvement
   • Review program & project feedback
   • Identify continuing ed / professional dev opportunities
4. Give Back
   • Volunteer leadership
   • Financial support

Just the act of talking about our learning with intention generates engagement and a future-focused mindset. But the impact is compounded when we put our money where are mouths are. I asked Mary Ila today about Horizon Point’s investment in continuous learning for team members, and the total so far this year is over $10,000, just for the 5 of us. She doesn’t hesitate to invest in people, as long as the purpose is aligned with the mission of our work at HPC and, of course, as long as the investment is reasonable and works in the current budget. Our work is about talent development and better workplaces, and it only counts if we practice our own preaching.

To close the loop on the McKinsey research, they reported that:

the most effective organizations encourage personalized, adaptive learning. Employees are motivated to own their journeys by deciding which skills and areas of expertise they want to focus on. They are given feedback, along with coaching and peer-learning opportunities, and they are supported by a digital ecosystem that can help them track their progress over time.

We strongly agree with this approach, and we spend a lot of time and resources talking about it and being about it. We learn together, we learn individually, and it’s all based on the skills or areas we want to develop. As McKinsey puts it, we own our journeys. We also train and coach our clients on this adaptive learning model using our Leaders as Career Agents process. We help them customize learning opportunities that drive their organizations forward and create more value.

To invest in people is to invest in a thriving future. Talk about it and be about it. Investing in people makes cents!