The old saying goes ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’. Maybe particularly relevant recently if that bird was a turkey 🙂

As we start the New Year of 2025, it is a good time to consider what we have to be grateful for. Indeed we are often told to cherish what we have and pay no mind to what we have not.

With that in mind, I wonder how many organisations will start the New Year cherishing the workforce they have and understanding the value that they bring. More specifically will there be the realisation that without them the company simply doesn’t exist.

It is definitely a harsh economic climate at present, and with that brings a ‘buyer’s market’ in terms of recruitment and employment. Unfortunately for some organisations this also brings about a false sense of security, an abundance of available resources in the marketplace leading to a lack of regard for those inside the walls. Based on many of the posts I see this is also reflected heavily in the attitude of recruitment professionals who switch from ‘when can we speak’ to ‘who are you’ in a heartbeat.

It never ceases to amaze me when I see talented individuals enter the marketplace because they are not required ‘today’. A fantastic cost cutting exercise to hit someone’s targets, which then invariably leaves a void, usually filled by a less competent and experienced person often at a higher salary.

Imagine being told your company Mercedes is too expensive and being asked to hand it back. Then someone identifies your need for a car (like it ever went away), you get given a smart car and told it will cost more than the Mercedes to run (because, you know … the market …). You could pretend its a Mercedes (some do 🙂 but it really isn’t.

I will always champion the development of people. It makes no logical sense to invest time and money in a person only to watch that investment leave and start the process all over again. This is particularly relevant in industries where the resource pool circulates in a small area and todays asset can become tomorrow’s competitor. Besides the return on investment, and more significantly, as an employer you have a duty of care to your people. A contract is a two way street, they have invested in you by delivering on their contract of employment and the same should be said in return. That relationship when nurtured can produce exceptional results and when neglected ends up costing both parties heavily.

We often talk about a ‘skills gap’ but how many organisations can say that they have attempted to address this through development rather than ‘buying in’. Yes it costs money, progress does, but at the most successful organisations will see the value of ‘speculate to accumulate’ over ‘survive today and worry about tomorrow later’. We will see which strategy prevails in the year ahead.