Companies are oftentimes concerned with protecting their assets, and rightfully so! The problem is, a company’s most important assets are often overlooked and many times neglected. While your technologies, products and structures are definitely important to the success of your business, these things can be easily copied by your competitors. What your competitors can’t copy, however, is your staff.

If you really want your company to have an edge, you need the right employees. You need to hire professionals who can do the job right and you need to keep your employees motivated, engaged and well-trained. The right employees can mean the difference between a company’s failure and success, and you need to make sure you understand just how valuable the right employees with the right mindset can be.

The employees that work for you are more than just people who punch a time clock and complete projects or tasks. These people are banks of knowledge. They are a resource for ideas. Sometimes, they are even the image that your company presents to the outside world. If you don’t care for your employees and utilize their resources properly, you may be giving your competition the edge that you should have.

If you want to benefit from a truly motivated staff, you need to provide them with opportunities for advancement. You need to give them a chance to show their strengths and really put their skills to work. If you don’t, you may be losing what could have been your next Director of Marketing to the competition when that employee leaves your firm to find better opportunities elsewhere. An asset running away to the competition is the last thing you want for your business.

If you want to retain your employees and get the most from these valuable assets, empower the people around you. Make sure that you provide them with all of the training, education and motivation they need. Management alone cannot ensure the success of your company. Everyone from the CEO down to the staff in the mail room will do their part to set the tone of your company’s culture and will affect how hard your employees will be willing to work for you.

Remember, assets are something that you invest in. When you invest in your employees, whether it be through better benefit programs or educational opportunities, the money you spend is not an expense. It is an investment in your most important asset. If your employees feel that your company is lacking in an area, don’t be afraid to invest the money needed to keep the staff happy.

And remember, just because the job market may be bad right now, it doesn’t mean that you should be caring for your assets any less. While your employees may be “chained” to you at the moment, they can and will find an employer who will treat them better at some point in the future if they are being treated poorly by your business. Happy employees are employees that not only stay with a company, but give it their all. Better attitudes, better performance and better productivity all impact your bottom line, even if you can’t see it in black and white.