An important question for companies to ask themselves is:
are they maximizing their full human potential to create and sustain success?
To answer this, I am publishing a series of articles setting out how a company can amplify its potential. This article looks at enhancing human potential and employee wellbeing.
Human Potential & Employee Wellbeing
Companies understand that to grow, the comfort and security of employees (their human potential) are of utmost importance. Companies, therefore, need to have policies centered on employees’ wellbeing. These should include:
Balancing Control and Autonomy
Too much control hinders productivity. However, when a company allows some level of autonomy, employees are empowered to make decisions as professionals. This policy tends to result in increased job satisfaction. Not all important business decisions have to come from the top.
An example of a company that has effectively implemented autonomy in the workplace is Spotify. They have 2,000 employees, grouped into self-organizing agile teams called squads.
“Each squad is accountable for a discrete aspect of the product, which it owns cradle to grave,” Eric Garton and Michael Mankins wrote. “Squads have the authority to decide what to build, how to build it, and with whom to work to make the product interoperable.”
Financial Incentives (pay and benefits)
Payments and benefits motivate people, especially sales personnel. Financial incentives encourage employees to put in extra effort and, in the end, it is a win-win situation for the workers and business.
Analysis by the Harvard Business School showed that performance-related pay was positively associated with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and trust in management. Profit-related pay did not have similar positive effects; in fact, some levels of profit-related pay resulted in employees being less committed and trusting management less.
Health and Fitness
Businesses suffer when employees frequently call in sick. Healthy living should be promoted and encouraged across departments. For instance, companies can provide free gym subscriptions or offer free medical check-ups or consultations. Such policies encourage both healthy living and boosts employee morale.
HSBC for instance understands and prioritizes employee wellbeing. They know that success depends on the health and welfare of their workforce. Agnes Chan, Chief Customer Officer at HSBC Life Hong Kong, says that “We believe our employees are our most valuable assets. As such, their health, wellbeing, and safety have always been our top priorities when it comes to our people strategy.”
Job Security
Every employee needs to be assured that their job is secure. Even during economic downturns, companies should communicate to their workforce the strength of their security. When an employee’s employment is guaranteed, it leads to productivity increases, better confidence, and focus, and the rate of staff turnover significantly reduces. When employees are not certain if their job is safe, they will definitely not give their best. Their time and energy will be spent on job searching instead.
Family Life and Career
In the last decade, many companies faced lawsuits for discriminating against female employees who became pregnant. Many women lost their jobs with no compensation nor little or no attention given to their plight. The companies were losing their best and brightest.
Thankfully, things have somewhat changed. Women can successfully have a family and successful careers when given the necessary support. Some corporations like the BBC and CNN have had several pregnant news presenters on air.
The World Health Organization is another institution that leads by example. They have breastfeeding rooms for new mums and nursing mothers where they can breastfeed during working hours. The UNHCR gives mothers four months of maternity leave with full salary. And a lot of companies are starting to give paternity leave.
Studies show that adequate maternity leave can lead to lower infant mortality rates, health benefits for the mother, higher female labor force participation and increased breastfeeding rates. World Bank
Proper Communication
There should be a clear communication strategy that runs through all departments. These can allow employees to give feedback or ask questions. An effective flow of information between an organization’s departments and colleagues nurtures company culture and builds employee engagement.
Many companies have understood that by improving the wellbeing of their employee, it will better their performance, reduce absences, and enhance the image of the company.
UpSkilling
Instead of just hiring new workers with the required skills, some companies sponsor their staff to take MBA programs with specialization in different areas. The company in the long-run benefits, as employees turn to be more loyal and feel valued, and overall, the extra training helps maintain productivity. Most importantly, it keeps employees engaged and interested in their work.
In my next article for the continuation of Maximising a Company’s Potential, I am going to be looking at how companies need to manage marketing and sales.
Further reading:
Managers and Administrators: Who takes the lead? by Eugenia Okoro
MBA: A Life Changing Choice by Eugenia Okoro
Sources:
https://spotio.com/blog/improve-sales-productivity/
https://databox.com/social-media-copy-tips-and-examples by Jessica Malnik.
The 6 Greatest Benefits of CRM Platforms
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
21 Digital Marketing Tools You Need When Starting a Business
How Incentive Pay Affects Employees Engagement, Satisfaction, and Trust. Research Gate
Chidiebere Ogbonnaya, Kevin Daniels, and Karina Nielsen, March 15, 2017.
Four case studies: Shaping C&B policies towards better employee health and wellbeing. Samantha Chan, 07 July 2020.
Image:
Human Potential by Canva
