Return on Investment - everybody knows what RoI means. This newsletter looks at the RoI in key areas around corporate culture.

The?Soul System ? is the basis for an effective performance culture that is not afraid of measurements. Quite the opposite: companies with strong cultures are proud to share the measurable successes in all areas of the business.

Employees Most Committed To Their Organizations Put In 57% More Effort

Commitment is the curreny that successful leaders leverage to their advantage because they know that it basically comes for free when they do the things right. They involve their teams, give them space to develop, share progress transparently and celebrate successes together. In other words, it′s all about the Employee Experience (EX).

In her recent book?“The Experience Mindset: Changing the Way You Think About Growth”,? Salesforce ’s global customer growth and innovation evangelist Tiffani Bova is concluding that companies do give EX the priority it deserves.

She says: “Employees most committed to their organizations put in 57% more effort on the job.” And continues: “The cost implications of losing talent are significant, including the monetary cost of replacing employees. Studies have shown the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary—a significant blow to many companies’ bottom line. How significant? U.S. businesses are losing $1 trillion dollars every year due to voluntary turnover.?

But the cost of talent retention goes beyond employee replacement; it is a top challenge to company growth across markets and industries. ‘Employees leaving too often, can’t keep top talent’ was tied for the number one challenge to company growth by employees and number four (out of eight) ranked by the C-suite.?

Retention of talent matters if you want to remain competitive, so use this data to determine why employees chose to leave to see if you can diagnose the hole in your bucket. For example, if new hires are quitting at a faster rate in their first three months on the job, your onboarding process may need work.”?Read more about that special RoI here.

Time For the Out Of Office Reply at Lego

Rituals are a great thing at strong companies – and the LEGO Group has got one of them. Since their company vision is to be “a global force for learning through play”, they established their corporate wide Play Day. And in the true sense of sharing their vision, they posted in the social media channels that people should not be surprised about the fact that their contacts at Lego might not be around that day.

As my book?Building Corporate Soul?focuses on the integrity between Shared Purpose, Shared Understanding (of Vision, Mission, Values and Spirit) and the Shared Behaviors of a firm, this is a great example of getting it right. The way it is written reinforces the corporate mission "to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow" in a very compelling way.

Getting The Foundations Rights – Vision and Mission Statements

Often, people have their challenges in defining vision and mission statements as well as being clear on values – or even purpose. Strategy and leadership consultant Jeroen Kraaijenbrink recently shared a great overview to help leaders who get lost along the way. His flowchart helps leaders who can′t see the wood for the trees – which can easily happen when they try to put the phrases together in a meaningful way.

He′s put together a set of questions that help evaluating the drafts:?

1. Is your organization truly mission or vision-driven?

2. Is there a clear distinction between your mission and vision?

3. Do they reflect the unique nature of your organization?

4. Do they reflect clear choices that people may disagree with?

5. Do they go beyond merely describing how things already are?

6. Are they mainly written for your employees as the target audience?

7. Were your employees involved in creating them?

8. Do you have an action plan to turn your statements into reality?

As you have been reading this series of newsletters for a while, you know that I am absolute fan of the way LEGO (as mentioned in the article above) and LinkedIn have put together not just their vision and mission statements, but their entire Soul System?. Here they are for inspiration:

Employee Experience and Employee Engagement – A True Balancing Act

There′s a lot of talk about both these subjects – for all the right reasons. The Balancing Act Between Employee Experience & Employee Engagement. They are not the same thing! Inward Strategic Consulting CEO Allan Steinmetz has shared the definitions that matter. Here they are:

Employee Experience (EX)

Employee experience refers to the sum total of all interactions an employee has with their organization throughout their journey, from the initial recruitment process to their daily work activities, and even beyond their departure. It encompasses the physical, emotional, and cultural aspects of the work environment and includes elements such as workplace design, company values, leadership style, communication channels, and overall organizational support.

Employee Engagement

On the other hand, employee engagement specifically focuses on the level of commitment, passion, and dedication an employee has toward their work and the organization. It measures the extent to which employees are willing to invest their discretionary effort and go above and beyond their prescribed duties. Engaged employees are more likely to be motivated, and innovative, and deliver high-quality results. Factors that contribute to employee engagement include meaningful work, opportunities for growth and development, clear expectations, recognition and rewards, and a supportive work environment.?

And here′s why it′s a real balancing act in dealing with both. As Allan says, “While employee engagement is an essential component of the employee experience, it is just one aspect of the broader picture. Employee experience takes a more holistic approach by considering the entire employee lifecycle and the various touchpoints an employee encounters throughout their journey. It recognizes that employees are not solely driven by their level of engagement, but also by the quality of their work environment, the relationships they form with colleagues and managers, the resources and support available to them, and the alignment between their personal values and those of the organization.

Organizations that prioritize employee experience understand that engagement alone is not enough to create a thriving workforce. They recognize that employees' satisfaction, well-being, and sense of belonging are equally important. By investing in creating a positive employee experience, organizations can cultivate a culture of trust, authenticity, and inclusivity, which in turn boosts employee engagement.” Read Allan's full script here.

The ROI on Purpose

?The Shared Purpose is the starting point in defining the Soul System?, the strategic blueprint for any company′s culture. I have called it “Shared Purpose” because simply looking at “Purpose” is not enough. The defined purpose needs to be shared by the leadership and with all stakeholders. If companies do that, they excel compared to their peers. Big time.?

Recently, I have come across a definition of the various types of ROI on purpose shared by Strategy and leadership consultant Jeroen Kraaijenbrink which I think is worth sharing here – in total there are seven types of ROI that can be expected:

ROI Type 1: Employee Engagement

Purpose motivates and inspires employees at all levels to use their skills and experience in the best possible way.

ROI Type 2: Brand Equity

Purpose attracts new customers and keeps existing customers interested in your company, products and services, and brand.

ROI Type 3: Investor Attractiveness

Long-term investors already see what short-term investors don’t: that a purpose-driven company is worth more than those without purpose.

ROI Type 4: Innovation Outcomes

Setting a strong purpose produces a creative tension between what is and what should be. This stimulates innovation.

ROI Type 5: Peace of Mind

People know what’s the right thing to do. Acting in sync with those intuitions is deeply rewarding and creates peace of mind.

ROI Type 6: Improved Ecosystem

Purpose-driven organizations improve the world around them. A healthy ecosystem fosters a healthy organization.

ROI Type 7: Financial Rewards

Due to all of the above, purpose-driven companies can also outperform others financially, especially in the long run.

So, don’t focus on purpose because you ought to or because it is in fashion. Do it because it is good for your organization, for you, for your people, for investors, and for every other stakeholder involved.

Supportive Employers Reap rewards - UK Study from Bright Horizons Shows

For over 30 years Bright Horizons has been imagining and creating new solutions for work, family, life and education through partnering with leading employers worldwide. They have recently published their “UK Work and Family Snapshot 2023”.

The results are striking: employers providing Back-Up Care orsponsored NurseryPlaces see strong returns on investment (ROI) in terms of productivity, wellbeing and loyalty.

The table below shows the powerful results for employers who understand that behind every employee there′s a family that is depending on that person. As Bright Horizons say, “the gap is closing but there′s still a lot to do”. Let′s do it. I am sure, the UK results mirror the situation in many countries.

Amazon Walkout As Company Finishes Working From Home Options

2,000 亚马逊 employees worldwide staged a walkout last Wednesday in protest of the company’s recent return-to-office mandate, layoffs and its environmental record. According to Amazon, there were only 300 employees involved.

The walkout was organized in part by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice which stated that “employees are walking out to highlight a ′lack of trust in company leadership’s decision making′ after Amazon recently put forward the largest layoffs in its 29-year history, cutting 27,000 jobs across its cloud computing, advertising and retail divisions.

Workers held signs with messages like “Amazon strive harder” and “Earth’s best employer? Stop the PR and listen to us.” Seems there′s a lot to get right here for Amazon′s management. I recommend them to look at how Airbnb managed staff reductions in 2020. These things are never easy, but AirBnB showed how it can be done staying true to their purpose and avoiding not only walkouts but also traumatizing their workforce. Here′s more to this special moment in Amazon's history.

Identifying the ROI on Training?

With new technologies and processes changing faster than one can watch, training new hires and existing employees is one of the largest human capital expenses an organization incurs. But very often, training strategies are random and the return of investment is not clear. So, what is the benefit generated from the investment in training initiatives?

Dr. Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor have created the “must-read” series of “Humanizing Human Capital”. Here′s what they see on the cost side:?

• Training Hours Per FTE (full-time-employee)

How many hours are spent training the employee during a specific period of time? Calculate the total number of hours provided for training and divide that by your FTE.

• Percent of Employees Participating in Training?

What percent of your employees are participating in training? Count the number of employees participating in training and divide that by your FTE.

• Training Costs Per FTE (full-time-employee)

What does it cost to train the employee during a specific period of time? Calculate the total cost of training delivery (including costs associated with hiring outside providers as well as the portion of salaries of internal training staff), the productivity opportunity costs (the number of hours employees spent in training X average hourly productivity* for the organization), the average number of hours employees participated in training X number of employees participating in training.

* Average hourly productivity = Total Revenues ? FTE ? 2080

But they also look at the financial benefits of training. Is it to

• reduce attrition,
• to impact retention,
• to build skills/competencies,
• to prepare employees for advancement?

As they say: “Each of these goals will have a financial benefit associated with it, for example, reducing attrition will avoid the costs of having to replace leaving employees. If you are preparing employees for advancement, you are avoiding the cost of recruiting a more experienced hire, which is naturally more expensive than promoting from within. For each of these goals, you can calculate either the enhanced performance (maybe it’s higher levels of productivity (because your revenues go up) or the avoidance of costs (like replacement costs). You’ll want to compare the costs to the benefits and determine if your investments in training are generating positive financial outcomes.”?You can learn more here.