Investing in Your Company’s Human Capital: Strategies to Avoid Spending Too Little—or Too Much

Chapter 2. Invest the Minimum

The previous chapter examined organizations that let others do the investing in human capital, this one looks at those that invest only the minimum in human capital. A few organizations adopt this strategy by choice; others do it out of economic necessity. Either way, this is a viable option for many organizations. This chapter explores the issues involved in selecting and using the strategy of minimum human capital investment and examines its challenges, consequences, and advantages. This strategy has several hidden land mines that can be detrimental to some organizations in the long term if not recognized.

The Basic Strategy

This strategy invests the very minimum in employees in every aspect of employee expenses: ...