Why it pays to invest in your people. Now.

 

Gallup’s most recent State of the Global Workforce Report found that 85% of employees worldwide are not engaged or are actively disengaged in their job. 85%. Just think about that for a minute. And before you start thinking that this figure is more about other parts of the world than Western Europe, the actual figure for Western Europe is even lower – only 10% are engaged in their job.

Why does this matter?

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So many businesses are facing uncertain times at the moment. The temptation is to look for all sorts of ‘fixes’ and solutions, when the obvious (and often cheapest) one is right under your nose.

J K Marriott famously said “if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers and the business will take care of itself.” You have spent time and money getting the right people on board. But what are you doing to make sure you are getting the best out of them? That they are happy, engaged, and as productive as possible? Imagine if a football manager just focused on buying in the right players. But spent no time getting the best out of them? Money well spent…..?

So now more than ever, it’s important to make sure you get the best out of your people. That they are engaged. Motivated. Working with you to achieve your goals.

But what did J K Marriott mean by “take care of your people?”.

Our framework has had success across industries and organisations. It is simple. It is effective. And it breaks down as follows:

  • know your people;

  • involve your people;

  • develop your people; and

  • support your people.

Some key principles sit behind this:

  • embed a growth mindset throughout your organisation;

  • aim for a culture of ‘psychological safety’; and

  • shift your focus from building up weaknesses to leveraging strengths.

For many of our clients, training up team leaders and Senior Managers in these areas is key to their human capital strategy. Get this right. You will be much more likely not just to get the best out of your people, but to continue to be able to attract and retain the best.

To join the Sport and Beyond revolution and find out more about our programme, please get in touch – catherine@sportandbeyond.co.uk