By Joni Lindquist
Human Capital is becoming one of the new buzzwords replacing “talent management” in the corporate world. At KHC, however, we think of Human Capital (HC) differently. We define your HC as your time, talents, experience and education. Your human capital is an important asset, one you fully control. So when you think of your assets, don’t just think in financial terms. Your HC is unique – no one has the same combination of time, talents, experience and education that you do.
Why Does it Matter?
For many of us, we build successful careers and build our financial wealth/assets by using our HC. Others of us may choose to use our HC to develop the next generation by focusing on raising children. How you choose to enhance and leverage your HC is often the key driver to a “successful” financial plan and fulfilled life. Your HC is also an asset (in addition to or instead of financial assets) you can use to contribute to society, by volunteering your time and talents to organizations with missions to help others.
If you are employed, think of your human capital as similar to your financial capital – as an asset to grow and protect. In the financial world, KHC recommends a diversified portfolio strategy to help mitigate risks while still positioning for opportunities. We also believe this strategy applies to your human capital. How can you diversify your human capital – to mitigate risks to your income while positioning to grow your career?
What Can You Do?
Diversifying your human capital tends to be a bit harder to implement. Here are some tips we suggest to begin diversifying your HC portfolio if you are in the workplace:
• Develop and work to maintain a professional network outside your current company. Make this a consistent, regular part of your work week.
• Develop a “Plan B” – what is your best option if you lost your job in the next 6 months?
• Develop a specialized, transferable skill set. In this current economy, hiring companies are typically looking for functional expertise. Become an “operations” expert, a “marketing” whiz, a sales leader, a “financial” expert. Breadth of experience is not as marketable in this economy as depth of experience in a functional area.
• Explore alternative careers – become a CPA, attend law school at night, start a home business with your spouse, etc. This provides a potential fallback if your current path is derailed.
Having a personal advisor helping you identify and implement strategies to diversify your human capital in turn aids you in protecting and growing your overall wealth. Call us if we can help.
For more information, schedule a meeting by clicking below, contact Joni Lindquist –jlindquist@makinglifecount.com, or call (913) 345-1881.