Who comes first: Customers or Employees?

According to Gallup, brands with engaged employees have:   

● 23% higher profit

● Significantly lower absenteeism

● Enhanced customer loyalty

So what is stopping every business from getting these results?

The Chicken and The Egg.

Putting customers first is key when developing the brand vision. However, many leaders forget to focus on the wellbeing of their employees, who need to buy into the vision and bring it to life daily. Decreased productivity negatively impacts the future viability of a brand, results in expensive sick leave, makes the corporate culture suffer, and limits innovation. But with active engagement and care, the rewards can be exponential.

The Challenges.
These are just some of the challenges that entrepreneurs face, making the cost factor of employees “inefficient” and expensive. Decreasing productivity and increased needs of employees mean extra pressure for entrepreneurs over and above global challenges like talent shortages, world economic extremes, environmental protection requirements and so on.

1. Emotional Stress.
Emotions from home come to work and emotions from work go home. Leaders often struggle to deal with personal topics that impact productivity. On the other hand, 51% of disengaged workers in a German Gallup study stated that job stress negatively impacts their personal life. Work/life balance is essential, but it implies a work/life separation, which is not a key message often shared by businesses. Stress must be managed in both directions to create positive outcomes for all.

2. Burnout.
Burnout is a state of prolonged physical and emotional exhaustion as a result of unmanaged chronic workplace stress. And it’s on the rise. Over 52% of survey respondents in a Forbes study quoted experiencing burnout in 2021, resulting in overwhelming exhaustion, negativity and detachment, and a feeling of ineffectiveness and doubt.

3. Crisis Impact.
In my experience, 6 out of 7 employees are depressed and are suffering from the on-going affects and after-effects of external factors, such as COVID, lockdowns, war in Ukraine, securing energy supplies, increased cost of living and so on. According to Forbes, 80% of employees believe that COVID-19 impacted workplace burnout.

4. Employee Disengagement.
According to Gallup's 2021 Global Engagement Study, 79% of employees quit due to feeling disconnected and miserable at work, as these feelings can bring more suffering to life than being unemployed. The cost for businesses is huge. No matter your industry, having engaged, thriving employees lead to better business, including 23% higher profit margins!

5. Future leaders skills.
The solution to workplace misery is simple: better management. Many businesses are trying to engage their employees by giving them more freedom, such as working from home or a 4-day work week. This might be a short-term fix, however, it’s not a long-term solution. Management has to change. Better management can be achieved by developing emotional and mental future leaders skills, which we’ll dive into in detail in my next newsletter.

Putting Employees First.
With my support, leaders find their vocation and define a meaningful future brand vision. This vision helps employees find their vocation and meaning in their work, creating a positive corporate culture and community of like-minded people with a high sense of belonging and responsibility, while giving leaders time to focus on the future and less on operations.

Holistic Success.
- All staff focus on the successful implementation of the vision.
- A meaningful brand culture is established, where people feel they belong.
- Employee productivity increases through intrinsic motivation, fun and focus.
- Illness, burnout and stress are significantly reduced.
- Brand awareness and visibility increases.
- Customer needs are met.
- More customers are won and existing ones are retained.
- Innovative thinking supports future success.
- Cost reduction through less sick leave and more focus.
- Turnover/profit increase through relevant offers and effective distribution.
- Talent is attracted and retained, loyalty is increased.

If you are ready to put your employees first, let us have a conversation.