Why Train?

Why do we change the oil in our vehicles after some number of miles driven? Why do we periodically paint the exterior trim on our home or business? Why do we upgrade our computers every few years?

The answer seems obvious. Our car, property, and equipment (and dozens of other “things” in our businesses) are all tangible assets. Their worth is easily measured, and we try to maintain that worth.

Why, then, do some companies not train their employees? Among the possible reasons could be that they don’t see their employees as tangible assets that need to be maintained through training.
Few employers would openly admit that the last sentence applies to them. But I think there’s a lot of truth in it. Here’s why.

Businesses use a balance sheet accounting system that shows assets (often referred to as “property, plant and equipment”) and liabilities (the debts of the business). Each item is measurable – if it’s not, the balance sheet can’t fulfill its required job of exactly balancing assets and liabilities.

Employees are only found on the liabilities side of the balance sheet – salary and benefits. These can be measured. They’re not on the asset side of the sheet – that can’t be exactly measured. This system worked pretty well in the 19th century. Workers came off the farms for the first time, without relevant skills, performed repetitive and easily-taught tasks, and were interchangeable in a job. Those workers were cogs in the machines. Once shown their task, they were expected to repeat it over and over again. Because they could be immediately and easily replaced, their contribution wasn’t fully valued – they weren’t seen as true assets. That mind-set still prevails in places today.
Are modern employees more than "cogs in a machine?" Don’t they bring significant worth to a business? The answer, of course, is “yes.”

My short list of assets that employees bring a business is:

• Experience, knowledge and education
• Innovativeness and creativity to solve business problems
• Eagerness to grow the business and grow with it
• Loyalty to the company
  

We all want these things in our employees. But because they can’t be easily measured they’re often ignored. I think that the failure to see employees as assets is the reason so many companies resort to layoffs as soon as their financial situation worsens. They can’t measure and therefore can’t see what value is being lost.

What happens if we don’t change the oil in our cars? They fail. If we don’t paint our homes? They deteriorate. And if we don’t upgrade our computers? We fall far behind our competitors. The same is true if we don’t upgrade, through training, the most important asset of all – our employees.