Safeguarding your organization's assets is a well-practiced routine. The auditors and audit committee scrutinize the bookkeeping and internal controls. Property is inventoried regularly and is insured against catastrophic loss. Vehicle use gets careful attention. Maintenance and upkeep of your physical facilities is performed systematically.
Many companies do all these things faithfully, yet fail to safeguard the most important asset of all — their people. Without proper care, those assets most critical to future success erode away. Given a strengthening economy and the perpetual need for people who can deliver results, do you periodically stop and reflect on your supply of highly capable individuals? What are you doing to ensure that this talent is retained?
The costs of going outside to hire key talent are high. It takes time to bring somebody on board, and while the search is in process, the function for which the candidate would be responsible can languish. Even the best searches have a significant risk of failure. And start-up time for the outside executive can consume months, even years.