Enlightened practices make for points of difference

A detailed analysis of 800 Sears stores in the late 1990s published in the Harvard Business Review was one of the earliest studies highlighting the impressive financial gains organisations could expect from enlightened workplace practices.

The Sears research found a five-unit increase in employee attitude yielded a 1.2 unit increase in customer satisfaction and a 5 per cent increase in revenue growth.

Similar research by JRA using data provided by the 216 organisations who participated in the 2009 JRA Best Workplaces Survey revealed similar figures, with "Top 25 per cent" organisations reporting 15.5 per cent higher sales per employee and return on assets twice that of their "Bottom 25 per cent" counterparts.

Little surprise therefore the growing interest in how to leverage the so-called "Employee-Customer-Profit Chain", or in exploring the "points of difference" of organisations blessed with high levels of staff engagement.

"Looking at the largest differences in item scores between the top and bottom 25 per cent of our 2009 database is revealing," says JRA managing director John Robertson.

"If we focus just on items where the performance score difference is 20 per cent or more - and there were 11 of our 60 survey items that recorded these large differences - a clear picture emerges.

"These 'points of difference' can be illustrated best if you consider how someone working for a 'Top 25 per cent' organisation would describe their workplace.

"This company is really clear about what we're trying to achieve - and it communicates our plans. What's more, management are really interested in knowing what we think too and this has created a great sense of common purpose. It also means that different departments work well together and share their knowledge and ideas because we can all see that common goal. We're successful too and what's nice is that the company makes a point of celebrating this success with everyone - and making sure we are rewarded for our efforts."

Not surprisingly, one of the 11 points of difference was "confidence in the leadership of the organisation". "Confidence in leadership is certainly the outcome of these things happening - but, of course, strong leadership is what's required to make it all happen in the first place," says Robertson.

The 11th Annual JRA Best Workplaces Survey is run in association with the New Zealand Herald and is available June through August. A record number of registrations have already been received.

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