Research suggests businesses waste their greatest asset

New research from IT services company Parity has found that 50 per cent of companies do not have a comprehensive strategy for the redeployment of employees, despite the fact that most firms claim to recognise the value of their workforce.

A cross-section of 149 HR and IT directors, executives, managers and recruiters were interviewed for the survey, which found that the majority of human resource efforts focus on the issue of recruitment.

However, due to a lack of information on the skills available within the organisation, companies are often unable to make the most of their existing human resources, and instead boost spending on unnecessary recruitment programmes.

Parity is now warning companies that this trend must be overcome if productivity and efficiency are to be maximised – especially in the light of figures which show the cost of replacing a single employee can be as high as £60,000.

Dave Pye, Managing Director at Parity Resourcing Solutions, said: "All staff have hidden skills, and the key to commercial success in the current market is being able to recognise and re-deploy them as and when the need arises. "Not only does this allow a business to grow organically and strike out against the economic environment, it also benefits the greatest asset to a company – its employees. Using the array of skills inherent to reach individuals prevents boredom and offers new challenged that keep motivation at maximum levels." (CL)