The Buddha and workforce risk

I updated this article to include current ROI data.

I know, I know, many of you might be reading this title and asking yourself, what does the Buddha and workforce risk have in common? A lot! You will see.  

By now you probably already know that I will be writing about one of the four types of risk all organization have.  Let’s do a quick refresher. There is workforce, business (processes) strategic (effecting the value of the company) and hazard risk (typically associated with traditional insurance).

Today I’m focusing on workforce risk. I was inspired by something my wife recently said to me. We regularly talk about work and goals. I shared with her that I was impressed that she always attains her goals. She replied to me, “It’s easy when you believe in what you do.” Are there any truer words? She believes in her organization’s mission and team. Organizations with a well developed mission, good management and a unified workforce outperform those that do not. 

According to Gallup, only 39% of workers in the United States are engaged. Since high engagement can lead to success, low engagement can harm productivity. This statistic should be alarming to employers. It is estimated, low engagement is costing organizations between $400-$500 billion dollars annual. That's right, billion! Engaged employees are more than just satisfied with their jobs, they are committed to the company and its goals. They have passion, pride and energy for their work and their organization, and are willing to go the extra mile on a regular basis. Employees who are truly engaged stay because they enjoy their work and support the company.

Researchers conducted a global survey of over 640,000 employees. They found that companies with high employee engagement increased operating income by 19.2%, while companies with low engagement saw revenue drop by nearly 33%.

Engagement ROI

There is real incentive to raise employee engagement levels. Beyond the obvious benefits of having motivated, loyal workers, employee engagement can help increase your return on investment (ROI). In fact, studies show that improving engagement correlates with improving performance.

In “Engaging for Success: enhancing performance through employee engagement,” a report prepared for the U.K. government, researchers conducted a global survey with over 664,000 employees, ranging in size and industry.

The same study also cited a Gallup report, which correlates its findings with engagement ROI. Gallup examined 23,910 business units and compared their turnover rates and financial performance against their employee engagement scores. Gallup found that those with low engagement scores (in the bottom quartile) averaged between 30 to 50 percent higher turnover, compared against those in the top quartile of employee engagement. Gallup also discovered those in the top quartile averaged 18 percent higher productivity and 12 percent higher profitability than their poorly engaged counterparts.

There are many factors to employee success in the workplace. For example, ambition, tact and creativity can increase an employee’s value in an organization. But engagement—on the whole—may be the most important factor of all because it is owned and internalized by each individual. This means engaged employees want to succeed, which, in turn, furthers the organization’s success.

Google examined more than 250 attributes of its employees. Based on its research, Google published what it believes are the five keys to a successful team at its company: 

1.     Psychological safety

2.     Dependability

3.     Structure and clarity

4.     Meaning of work

5.     Impact of work

Not surprising that psychological safety is number one on the list. Now, what about psychological safety? This is where the Buddha comes in.

The Buddha taught the way of the Eightfold Path. Some of these practices are germane to engagement and good corporate culture. Those being, right view, right resolve & right speech. Right view allows organization to take an honest look at their culture. The truth if you will; the honest appraisal of a situation. This can be done though engagement surveys. Right resolve means to refrain from ill will to any being. Cultures that are filled with employees that are truly happy for others help foster a supportive environment. Right speech is speech that refrains from lying, divisive or abusive. It goes further to promote thoughtful and helpful speech. I think of kindness. I think we have all been guilty of not choosing our words properly when agitated of frustrated.

Psychologist and author Tara Cousineau in her book “The Kindness Cure” shares cutting edge research in psychology and neuroscience and shows how simple practices of kindness for ourselves, for others, and for our world-can dissolve our feelings of fear and indifference, and open us up to a life of profound happiness. Suppose we practiced this in the workplace? I suspect it would have a significant impact culture and help make employees more engaged.

Carefully consider how you plan to engage employees, and craft a method for receiving initial feedback about the company atmosphere. Use an engagement survey for your workforce. Equally important to the feedback is analyzing the data. Make sure you have a plan for implementing the ideas you get from the survey, otherwise there is no point, and employees may feel like their feedback does not matter. 

As you consider culture and engagement, remember, principles taught by the Buddha can help you create a positive and healthy culture, limit workforce risk and create higher productivity. 

To learn more about how to manage workforce risk, Contact me at (781) 239-7625 or dschofield@delandgibson.com.

“Manage your risk, or your risk will manage you.” sm