Citius – Altius – Fortius. These words mean Faster – Higher – Stronger. That’s what most CEOs caught in the current VUCA world want from their employees. To be sure, what it means in this context is: Reduce time to market, Higher profit and revenues, Stronger Quarter close.
What can CEOs do with their employees to get them to train, practice and condition them to reduce time to market, Higher profit and revenues, Stronger Quarter close!? They can learn from what happens at the companies that Jerome Dodson picks for his Parnassus Workplace Fund. Read: http://www.fastcompany.com/3006150/proof-profits-americas-happiest-companies-also-fare-best-financially. Getting employees to be training, practicing and getting conditioned to operate in a VUCA world needs a conscious awareness of what they should train on and how. The author proposes that the answer lies in the continuous pursuit of Holistic wellness by every individual employee from you, the CEO to everyone else. This means embedding it within the corporate culture.
What’s the Evidence and why should I bother?
Since the Parnassus Workplace Fund’s inception (April 2005-January 2013) it’s proved immediately, enormously, and enduringly successful with a 9.63% annualized return. This compares to the S&P Index which has earned just 5.58% during the same period. “Our fund has had returns over 4% better than the S&P Index every year,” Dodson noted. “Eight years later, the performance of the fund confirms what I’ve always believed. Treating people well and authentically respecting them does lead to far better business performance. We proved it works.”
So how do these special companies help its employees emulate the Olympic athlete? If the CEO makes time for exercise, for instance, employees will feel less self-conscious about taking a fitness break. When MD Anderson(a healthcare provider) initiated its wellness program, the then president John Mendelsohn took walks throughout the building with wellness coach Bill Baun. For many, it was the first time the president had been in their work space or had shaken their hand, and he tended to start conversations with “How’s your wellness?” Check out: http://hbr.org/2010/12/whats-the-hard-return-on-employee-wellness-programs/ar/1. “How’s your Wellness” became part of MD Anderson’s corporate culture.
Dodson says, “I think what happens when you have a contented workplace, people are willing to put out more effort to improve operations during really difficult times. While I think every organization has their ups and downs, the downs are not as pronounced because everybody pulls together to try to get through the crisis. And, of course, this consistently more engaged performance inevitably reveals itself in the firm’s bottom line.” That’s why “over the past five years–the height of the Great Recession–the average annual return on the Workplace Fund was an incredible 10.81%. The S&P Index for the same period was just 3.97%, a 6.84% difference”.
This is perhaps the most compelling empirical proof ‘that the leaders at organizations who ensure employees feel valued, supported, developed, and rewarded are the most enlightened. They inspire a greatly expanded bottom line and set an example for all to follow in this 21st century’.
Where do i go from here?
The good news is, implementing a robust holistic wellness based employee management structure does not require a multi-million dollar budget nor 5 years to realize its ROI. The results could seen within 2-3 quarters. During the course
of research into writing his new upcoming book ‘The 6 Dimensions: Overcome Presenteeism, Excel in work and Life’ the author has put together a simple yet powerful blueprint for companies to pilot with minimal risks to implement exactly such a program. There are four steps in executing this methodology end to end in a repeatable and scalable manner. The steps have the acronym EASY™ and can help set today’s companies up from good to Citius – Altius – Fortius.
Learn more at www.6dimensionsbook.com
