Leadership and the Bottom Line

Does coaching, managing and leading contribute to the bottom line? Yes! I'm in the midst of writing a leadership book on this subject with the commitment to prove that when coaching, managing and leading is done well, this leads to increased productivity and profitability.

Of course as coincidence would have it, in the midst of writing, a wonderful resource came knocking at my door. Tim Lohrentz of the National Network of Sector Partners summarized decades of academic research, which confirms that employee development can improve employer bottom-line profitability by increasing revenues and lowering expenses in the following six ways:

1. Increased cooperation and ability to take advantage of innovation, which can be measured by:
a. Better team performance
b. Improved capacity to cope with change in the workplace
2. Increased rate of employee retention

3. Lower rate of employee absenteeism

4. Increased quality of work or service, which can be measured by:
a. Decline in waste
b. Decline in product rejection or mistakes on the job
c. Increase in customer satisfaction or retention
d. Better health and safety

5. Increased productivity, which can be measured by:
a. Less time spent accomplishing projects
b. Increased output of products or services
c. Time savings for managers and supervisors
d. Improved capacity to use new technology

6. Increased sales

I was not completely surprised to read sales at the bottom of the list. As one trusted colleague explained...Disney does not reprimand a Castmember when the person missteps and is about to go out and be with customers. Why? Because employee satisfaction means customer satisfaction. When an employee is happy, they will treat your customers better. When the relationship is harmonious between an employee and their supervisor, this too impacts how a customer is treated.

Perhaps today instead of looking so hard to improve customer satisfaction, maybe we have to look in our own backyards first. Happy employees will change revenue, innovation and productivity. So let's keep the eye on the ball - it's the employees first. When done right the money will follow.