Supply Chain has always been thought of as a chain of activities undertaken to convert raw materials into finished goods to satisfy consumer needs, however all good things don’t come for free. The employees give their heart and soul to mold the company’s standard to achieve more than the global benchmark, however do they get their fair share of respect, credibility, recognition and reward?
How important are people for any organisation?
There exist organisations that treat people as a resource while some treat them as an employee. Many might think –“How does it even matter?” but it does matter a great deal. It might sound the same yet there is a huge difference between the two.
Giving some perspective to this thought - When the firm refers a person as an employee, she is regarded as an asset who in turn is investing her time and energy in the welfare of the company. In other words she is more like an investor of her time and talent which helps the company bear sweet fruits every quarter. On the other hand when a person is referred to as a resource, she is treated as a liability who in turn seems to be adding to the cost of the company. It is very crucial what perspective the company holds as it impacts different aspects of work culture of a company.
If a person is treated as an employee she gets a feeling of belonging that motivates her to contribute and perform more than she promises. This leads to better employee satisfaction, low attrition rate and higher profitability of the company. On the contrary if a person is treated as a resource she gets a feeling of alienation which hampers her confidence and motivation to get up with a fresh mind and make her way to the office.
It’s high time that companies realize the difference between product and by-product. More than anything else, supply chain needs the right people who are the main product (asset) of the company. They are the ones who will integrate logic, processes and technology to solve real life problems which in turn will result in great outcomes thereby generating tremendous profits for the company which is the by-product.
There is a cyclical model with a blend of multiplier concept inbuilt in this simple linkage of “People, Perspectives and Performance”. If a company invests in the right people and treats them right then these people will utilize and in turn invest the resources they are equipped with in the right way to generate better results for the company each day. Continually they will motivate additional people to align their personal goals with company goals to generate amplified profits for the firm. This is because now the employee of the company understands that the company values her as an individual who owns the resources.
Asian Paints is one such company that gives a lot of importance to its employees and recent researches mentioned of how Asian Paints has embarked upon setting up an Empathetic Supply Chain for the well- being of its employees. In this system once the employee enters the office premise she will be undergoing a health check-up. If all well then she is allowed to proceed to her desk but if not then she will be asked to unwind and be put in touch with a counselor. Post this she will be sent back home to relax with her family without any pay cut. The company had actually seen improvements in the company’s performance and in this way the company strongly believes that there is a positive correlation between employee health and profitability of the company.
All in all, one right step multiplied by millions of people can create a great impact in a positive way and this is one such example for the same. The seed is sowed but it has to be nurtured in the right environment and with sufficient nutrients to grow into a healthy plant. Analogically, once perspectives are refreshed, people are valued for who they are and what they bring to the table; personal goals align with company goals and this makes office a beautiful place to work. Hence, it is critical to understand that employees and customers are the most important stakeholders for any company to make a real difference in the right way and right time.