Bulls and Bears. Sounds scary doesn’t it? You’ve likely heard of the stock market being bullish or bearish. So, what does that really mean?
A bull market is favorable, where prices are going up and shares traded are high value. A bear market is the opposite, where the market is showing a lack of confidence and values drop.
The trick to making a good investment is all in the timing. Buy low and sell high. This will give you a profit. Easy right? Unfortunately, investors are often emotional, and sell quickly in a bear market and buy in a bull market. In which case you lose capital gains to taxes instead of letting your investments compound.
What in the world does this have to do with employees? Well, I’m glad you asked!
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate as of November 2019 is at a record low at 3.5%, which means there are very few people who are unemployed and looking for jobs. Ask any HR professional or recruiter and they will tell you that this makes their jobs a heck of a lot harder. It also means other recruiters are likely looking to poach your talent. The market is bullish for employees.
When you look at the concept from a new perspective, it has everything to do with employees. Consider your human capital.
This requires a slight shift in thinking away from the notion that human resources are to be consumed. Instead, human capital should be cultivated to arrive at a mutual commitment where tangible investments by a company are favored and reciprocated by its employees. The emphasis goes far beyond attracting top talent to investing in their development, managing them wisely, and ultimately, investing in retaining them for the long term.
That’s no Bull.