People Skills: A debate for some when it comes to loosing the purse strings.

I don’t mind spending money but I really dislike wasting it. So here’s the issue!

At the government level, we regularly hear both the opposition and press criticizing government overspending in the obvious areas. However, the largest waste of government occurs in the less obvious…not in the mismanagement and the opulent lifestyles of politicians, nor some of the “vote for us” programs. By far the single greatest abuse of tax payers dollars is People Skills related. It is the inability of leadership, management, teams and work groups to effectively work together as a unit producing positive results that bring a higher return on investment. It is the same in any work environment regardless of sector. If people can’t work together as a cohesive unit, the project slows down, personalities get in the way, poor leadership practices occur and the outcome falls short of the standard…and that costs a lot of money. When morale is low for extended periods of time, job dissatisfaction sets in, and the discontent is part of the reason that 30% of employees are always looking for another job…and replacing that employee costs a lot of money.

So how do you fix the problem? People Skills, or Soft Skills training by qualified facilitators has been put on the back shelf for too long in favor of two other areas.

1. Concrete, hard skills instruction in technical & management practices, or
2. The purchase of the of latest overpriced technical equipment.

Though necessary, these come with the hope that better practices and machines will improve the situation. Let’s rethink that for a moment by contemplating what is missing.

People Skills training will:

• Help people understand themselves and others
• Improve communication
• Identify the behaviors, skills, roles, and abilities of the staff in order to match the person with the need
• Teach the essence of what makes people tick
• Strengthen the character of each employee and,
• Enhance the group and team dynamics of those that are behind the practices and machines.

Ultimately, this can create and more healthy work environment with better outcomes, at an increased rate of productivity. Predictably, in such an environment, there will be that far less staff moving on to other opportunities resulting in thousands of dollars being saved in staff replacement and training.

Dollar for dollar this could bring you your largest return on investment. In this economy when money is tight, investing in your human capital could be the best decision you ever made.

If you have a comment or a story that confirms or suggests something different that this post, please feel free to leave a comment!