“Our most valuable resource is our people.” That’s something that many businesses say about their workforce — but how many businesses actually treat their human capital that way?

Your success is driven by the health of both tangible and intangible assets. Neglecting the well-being of your intangible assets (such as your brand equity and workforce, which have value despite lacking physical substance) risks damaging your bottom line as much as issues affecting your tangible assets.  Your human capital requires savvier, more intentional management and maintenance. It’s not as simple as, say, a software upgrade or buying new printers.

This may seem obvious for your customer-facing employees — rude clerks and cashiers will torpedo your Yelp score — but the post-COVID 19 “Great Resignation” has made many workers reassess what they demand from their employers beyond just a paycheck, including a vibrant company culture and flexible work-life balance.

Building on the Wages-and-Benefits Foundation

A competitive salary and benefits package is just the beginning. Scan the feedback of any low-rated company on Glassdoor and you’ll find disgruntled former employees who wouldn’t return for any amount of money. Low morale, a lack of career-progression opportunities, and a work-life imbalance are some factors that lead to high turnover and disgruntled employees. Filling open roles can be expensive, but unhappy employees can be even more costly in the long run.

How costly? According to a report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) published in July 2019 (even before COVID-19 and the Great Resignation), toxic workplace cultures drove 20% of U.S. employees out of their jobs between 2014 and 2019, at a turnover cost of greater than $223 billion.

To suggest ways to stem the tide, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Willis Towers Watson, published Human Capital as an Asset: An Accounting Framework for to Reset the Value of Talent in the New World of Work, which offers a model to reshape human capital accounting. Businesses of all sizes should heed the report’s conclusion: “Actions to protect, preserve, and sustain human capital value will be important for an organization’s reputation and ability to chart a resilient path forward.”

That’s why, as you upgrade that network software, you should consider ways to upgrade the employee experience through investment in programs and perks — from well-planned training programs to simple fixes such as free-lunch Fridays — that will cultivate a constructive company culture.

The ROI will be engaged employees who live the values — and are the assets that power the growth and success — of your brand.

At Accu Data, we are committed to help our clients navigate the complicated waters of payroll and human capital management. Contact us today to see how our unified, single-source HCM solution can help you increase organizational productivity and profitability, with comprehensive functionality for Payroll, Human Resources, Time & Attendance, Benefits Administration, Learning Management System, ACA Compliance and more.