3 Essentials to Creating Sustainable Growth and Profit in Your Company

Customer relations and client acquisition are of paramount importance to companies because it is happy customers who become loyal to the brand, refer other customers, and continue to patronize company services. CEOs and COOs both agree that customer satisfaction is the driving force behind company growth and increases overall profits. 

The fact that companies value customer satisfaction—perhaps above all else—is common knowledge, but often overlooked is employee satisfaction. Customer and employee satisfaction go hand in hand; as oftentimes the only direct link to customers are the company’s employees. One without the other creates stagnation and flatlines a company’s growth and development.  

Shocking polls from Gallup revealed that only 33% of the workforce is engaged at work while the other 67% are completely disengaged, merely picking up a paycheck. Applying dollars to this percentage, Gallup finds US companies are spending $450-550 billion dollars on disengaged employees per year—an astronomical inefficiency. 

Because customers and employees alike are key to a company's strategic goals, companies should be conscious of the challenges employees face in and outside the workplace; this is a hot topic of debate among C-suite executives. In an interview I recently conducted with a top executive, he said, “I don’t want to know about the personal lives of my employees. I simply want them to come to work and do what they have to do. We’re trying to grow a business.” 

While ostensibly pragmatic, the challenge with this statement is the absent recognition that employees are people, not robots. People handle challenges in and outside the workplace differently. A one-size-fits-all or “leave your baggage at the door” mentality doesn’t suffice anymore. Employees struggle with personal well being, financial issues, divorce, parental struggles, and health challenges—all issues that directly affect their productivity, focus, and commitment to their jobs and professional careers. 

With all that said, it is irresponsible to suggest that companies need now become counselors and therapists that must deal with every individual employee’s challenges. However, conscious companies do have a responsibility to their customers and brand. Their employees are the direct connection to the creation of growth and sustainable profitability. What I’m suggesting here is transformative and experiential learning that provides employees with professional technical skills required to stay on top of the growing trends and also the soft skills that contribute to social awareness and self and relationship management. These developed skills contribute to an overall improved employee mindset and well being, which directly ameliorates their focus and productivity in the workforce. 

To be fair, this isn’t limited to just employees; management and C-suite executives can benefit as well. Leadership is one of the most significant factors in cultivating employee well being and engagement. In a recent article from Inc., “Why Do Employees Quit on Their Bosses?” poor management performance was the leading cause for employees leaving their company— followed by being overworked and a company culture lacking in priority. 

The reality is that companies need to become more conscious, starting from the top down, and recognize that individuals collectively make up the environment and culture of a company. Companies that invest in their team on all levels of the workforce, from entry positions to C-suite executives, create more inner connectedness, which allows for more outer connectedness, empathy, and understanding within the workspace. The Conscious Company Circle is a model highly recommended to allow for greater company growth on all levels. 

Here are three actionable items that can be instantly implemented within a company to begin practicing the Conscious Circle model. 

Let the Voices Be Heard: Start by doing a simple anonymous survey that assesses workplace well being, company culture, and addresses any challenges the individual may have within the workplace. Anonymous surveys allow employees to fully disclose their thoughts in a constructive manner, which gives companies the insight they need to move forward. Some questions you can ask:

• What are the benefits of your current workspace/role? 
• What are some of the challenges you face in the workplace?
• Do you have any suggestions for improvements that you believe would add to workplace productivity and culture?
• Do you feel you are developing and growing professionally?
• What initiatives would you like to see take place to help foster your own growth?

Create Transformation: Employees want to feel they have a purpose and are being pushed to the next level. Once an employee feels like a company has stopped investing in their development, they assume their trajectory for growth is non-existent. Most employees want to progress up the ladder on to bigger, greater roles and challenges. It is up to the company to create and provide these opportunities where all employees get an equal opportunity to elevate themselves to the next level professionally.  Here are some methods you can explore:

• Assign a different chief to run the weekly meeting. The chief doesn’t have to know all the answers but exercises their leadership to facilitate and maintain meeting agendas and times. This gives opportunities to other individuals to be in front and practice their leadership abilities. 
• Build entrepreneurial opportunities within your company. Today, employees are leaving companies to build something more purposeful and personal of their own. The workforce is being hit by millennials and baby boomers who are taking the leap. This is creating a gap in the pool of highly skilled individuals who want to work for the corporate world. So, what would happen if you were able to keep your top talent through fostering innovative and creative programs that your employees helped build and create, essentially a division or program within an already existing company?  These initiatives create purpose, drive, and most important, transformation. 

Invest in Experiential Development: The eLearning industry is projected to bring in over a billion dollars a day by 2022. Companies today are investing more and more in digital technology and learning. However, counteractive studies show that although eLearning can be beneficial, the long-term effects are non-existent; change is not sustainable—merely a superficial fix for mandatory company training.  Studies show that if you want the transformation to truly occur in the workspace, experiential learning must take place at least in a partial capacity. Experiential learning implies hands-on, collaborative training, in-person experiences, and on-site workshops that emotionally connect employees. This is most important when addressing topics that fall under the soft skills category such as stress management, diversity and inclusion, emotional intelligence, and leadership. 

If companies can become more conscious in their approach to working with and developing their employees, all facets of the company—the employees, customers, and profits—will see substantial and sustainable growth. It’s time to function in a conscious circle rather than the traditional top-down pyramid.