To improve human capital management systems, begin by incorporating the role of employees into the business strategy. For example, the finance team can help look at historical numbers to create written goals for the leaders of each department. A company should define the role of support staff for the sales team to illustrate precisely how their day-to-day work effectively supports its goal of increasing sales.

The personalities of clients are essential. Good relationships often occur when companies align with organizations that share similar visions, cultures, and values. Locating partners based on these traits can be as important as economic factors. If leaders come across people they like as part of the sales process, that same appreciation and respect will likely carry over in serving the client. If a company’s employees are considered a critical asset, locating clients with a similar mindset should be crucial.

Developing a more people-focused business strategy makes it that much easier to recruit the right individuals who align with the strategy. And the importance of having the right people in place can’t be overstated. While people are a company’s greatest asset, job turnover is its most significant expense. Studies have shown that replacing an employee can cost as much as 200% of the base salary of the previous employee in that same position.

Before beginning the search for the right employees, a company should have a formal training program. Policies and procedures must be created, and coaching leaders should be identified and trained. The goal should be to create a safe environment for people to work and thrive. Seek to hire leaders who understand life’s challenges and will work with employees, and be flexible when needed, as long as the work is done.

Once a training program is established and the right culture is in place, it’s time to search for candidates. At least four generations of workers currently are in the workforce, including Millennials and Baby Boomers, so a company must find out what its future employees value. With such a wide range of workers, this can vary considerably. Are they pursuing a career or simply looking for a job? Do they want to have fun at work? Are they interested in having a company invest in their technology skills?

In addition to understanding the motivations of prospective employees, it’s often a good idea to proactively consider skills and personality traits when listing the criteria for ideal hires. This helps ensure that the right people are hired for the right job, but envisioning the ideal candidates also helps determine where to find the perfect match.

One popular format for tracking success is a company scorecard or dashboard report. While traditional dashboards focus solely on financial matters, an increased alignment between HR and accounting allows for the inclusion of financial and people-based metrics in tracking overall company health. Whenever possible, look for ways to measure and report the connection between employee productivity and progress toward company goals.

It is often said that the best salespeople are motivated by both money and recognition. Tracking and identifying exemplary sales efforts is easy. Workers in other departments crave the same recognition, but their contributions often can be harder to measure and rarely communicated. When it comes to employee retention and preventing the negative human and financial impacts of turnover, employee recognition is one of a company’s most crucial tools.

Everyone in the company must be able to identify precisely how their job is tied to its strategic goals, such as revenues, profit, and customer satisfaction goals. Each person should also have individual goals that help achieve the larger company goals. Managing incentive pay should be closely tied to department and company goals. Individual incentive goals should be closely tied to personal goals. Finally, incentive pay should be given out quarterly instead of annually to realize the positive impacts year-round. This also helps normalize company cash flow and expenses.