Investing time, money and energy in people way to get ahead

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Invest money, time and energy into your people to increase productivity.

There is much debate about the perceived advantages and disadvantages of this year's Budget. One of the main intentions is to build a more productive and competitive economy.

To do this, the Government plans to invest in research and innovation, and one way this will be achieved is through investing in people.

KenexaJRA has recently completed research into the benefits of investing in people, and the positive benefits to organisations of an engaged workforce. Of the organisations that took part in the Best Workplaces Survey last year, the average reported annual net profit per full-time equivalent is over $16,000 higher for organisations in the top quartile of employee engagement, compared with those in the bottom quartile.

It seems the more passionate, committed and willing people are to expend discretionary effort, the greater the overall financial return to their organisation as a whole.

The research also showed organisations in the top quartile of employee engagement experienced only two-thirds of the absenteeism reported by organisations in the bottom quartile.

This is important when considering the negative consequences high absenteeism can have on an organisation through inability to meet deadlines, additional pressure on remaining staff and, potentially, further costs associated with temporarily replacing the absent employees.

In addition, the organisation needs to pay sick leave for work which is not actually completed.

As well as absenteeism, turnover is another area where organisations can find themselves losing out; on average, employees in the top quartile of employee engagement have lower turnover compared with the bottom quartile group.

Low turnover can have sizeable advantages as it means the organisation spends less time finding new staff with all the associated administration, as well as less time training and integrating them into the organisation.

As we begin planning how we will work within the Budget over the coming year, it is worth remembering that investing in our employees now will have positive ramifications for our future.

The Kenexa Best Workplaces Survey is run in association with the New Zealand Herald and supported by KiwiBank and the Department of Labour. The survey is available 1 May to 31 August. Register online today: www.bestworkplaces.co.nz