Value Expression

The expression of Value is something so important in every person’s life. Yet, there’s such little thought put into it by most people, and most organizations. My perception of the importance of “Value Expression,” as I call it, was strengthened by my own personal experience.

When I began working for a company many years ago, the Value Expression was balanced. Let me explain what I mean by it. Value can be either Tangible or Intangible. By Tangible we could mean everything material, like money, gifts, incentives, and such others. By Intangible we could mean things like power, position, responsibilities, and such others.

I believe that there is a connection between the Tangible and the Intangible. A proper balance of the two is necessary for a person to be happy and content with his / her status or role in the company. If one is increased without a rise in the other, a disbalance is created.

I remember that I was happy when I began with a particular role in that company, and the money seemed to be the standard I had expected or perceived to go with the role and responsibilities.

However, when, a year later, I was promoted to a position of more power, and definitely greater responsibilities, I found that the balance between the Tangibles and the Intangibles had been lost. Tangibles were not increased. As I tried to use self-motivation to perform my new role even without the increased Tangibles, I found it to be a very difficult task. Although performance did not take a beating, the mental stress and exhaustion were tremendous. Finally, when I was on the verge of losing my performance, the Tangibles were increased (after six months of increased Intangibles, and the disbalance). However, I did not find any motivation at this point in time, since my new role and responsibilities had already created an impression of a certain Tangible Value which did not match the increased Tangibles provided by the company.

I decided to move on and join a company which would provide me with the right Tangibles (as per my expectations and needs).

Any Human Resource personnel needs to keep in mind the importance of Value Expression. This requires constant monitoring of work profiles, responsibilities, market standards of Value Expressions, and definitely the employee and his / her expectations. According to me, this is the fundamental retention strategy that any HR professional can utilize. This is where one needs to begin. No amount of coaxing, counselling, promises, or even plain money can help in retaining good people in a company. What you need to do is balance the Tangibles and Intangibles and create the right Value Expression, keeping in mind the expectations of the employee.