Time is Money

The currencies in which we can trade are many. Traditionally, it has been gold, frankincense, spices, coffee, and now, of course, it is money. However, employees are increasingly valuing other currencies before money. There are also the currencies of status, flexibility, and most importantly, time.

Time is important from a variety of perspectives, we know that when our employees are engaged, they are more productive which essentially means they are saving time. Productivity can be defined as “doing something that we value”, and when employees are productive, they are working effectively. This means that they are getting through more work in less time. Employees are more satisfied when this is the case because they:

1. Have a greater sense of achievement from their work;
2. Can get work done in a shorter timeframe, providing greater work/life balance.

By extension, if we can look at processes in the workplace and enable them to be more efficient, we will have more engaged employees with a multiplier effect:

1. They achieve more and thus have a greater sense of satisfaction and;
2. They get to spend more time with their out-of-work pursuits

Time is indeed money and being able to create processes which allow employees to work at their most efficient is beneficial to all. If you look at the cost in terms of money alone, you are doing a disservice to your team. If you can improve the system or process to reduce the amount of time spent, enabling your team can get home earlier, this will increase employee engagement for someone who values time spent at home.

Gallup estimates the cost of poor management and lost productivity from employees in the U.S. who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged to be between $960 billion and $1.2 trillion per year. 86% of corporate executives, employees and educators say that ineffective communication is a big reason for failures in the workplace. What would happen if we improved the communication process in an organization, how much time would it save across the business, and how much more engaged would people be? Consider the amount of time that is taken up in your organisation due to miscommunication - the potential is staggering.

If someone values time, the ability to work from home one day a week, eliminating commute time, or a compressed work week would be of value to them. When these different forms of value are incorporated into work it increases productivity, not only improving the company's bottom line but it will also increase employee engagement, which will increase profitability in an exponential fashion.