Many organizations take a "grocery shopping" approach to finding talent. They continuously look to cultivate new resources to fuel growth. This approach can and does work, but it may not be the most cost-effective or growth-effective strategy. Challenging both your organization's management, and its employees to dig deeper into their capabilities and potential, given the intelligence of the current human resource pool, and the learning and development provided by the organization, can save your organization thousands of dollars in salary costs. Setting goals to reach a higher potential, whether it is that of a smaller team, or across the organization, will motivate employees to work towards internal growth. A fraction of the potential salary money saved can be used to provide rewards for the group that reached their goal. They can be rewarded with intangibles, such as an extra day off, or they can be rewarded with a small gift, such as a
Cheesecake Factory gift card, so they can enjoy a nice meal with the family, courtesy of their employer. Leading with an internal growth strategy, rather than raising your organization's head count can be a great learning experience for your employees, and a great money saver for your organization. That kind of smart leadership can help you maximize the investment in your employees, while making sure they feel their worth and importance to the organization.
For more information on leading smart, and using internal growth tactics check out this article in Harvard Business Journal.
