Blog #3: Following the Golden Rule to place your employees at the heart of your organization

Hello again, and welcome to our third Golden Rule post! Whether you're a newcomer or need a quick refresher, here’s what we outlined in our first two posts…

Embracing the Golden Rule, which is to "treat others as you'd like to be treated," is at the core of our philosophy. We believe that living and breathing this principle across all aspects of your business can deliver superior results. Why? Because we propose that achieving the goal of business growth can only be done by cultivating loyal employees, loyal customers, and loyal shareholders. And to earn this loyalty, you have to follow the Golden Rule. It is the fuel that powers the vehicle that is driving towards growth.

We hold a fundamental belief that a company's employees are its most valuable asset. Everything starts and ends with them, and so they must be placed at the heart of the organization.

Following this approach to the loyalty mission also offers one clear, practical advantage: you can start with the piece of the puzzle you have the most control over. And as you'll see below, the impact of your work in this space is relatively easy to measure.

For example, at Eagle Eye, we have used the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) system for several years. Each quarter (we run our entire business on a quarterly cadence), every member of the team is asked to answer two simple questions alongside a free text box where they can provide additional feedback should they wish:

1. How likely are you to recommend Eagle Eye as a place to work?
2. How likely are you to recommend Eagle Eye's products and services?

Employees rate the company on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most likely. We then calculate our eNPS scores using Fred Reichheld's method. In our most recent quarter, we achieved scores of +68 and +69, which are exceptionally high compared to industry benchmarks.

We also participate in the UK's Best Companies survey, which provides additional data points to illustrate how we’re doing. In the most recent rankings published in Q4 2023, Eagle Eye rose 13 places, ranking as the UK's 7^th best company to work for. We also placed in the Top 10 in four further categories. Both these rankings and our eNPS scores illustrate the success of our 'Purple' way of working, ensuring that our values of Integrity, Excellence, Passion, Teamwork, Innovation, and Kindness guide our evolution.

Control the controllables – start with the data

When looking to do any analysis for any reason, the starting point has to be the data that you need to be sure is both accurate and representative (at Eagle Eye, +95% of our team respond to our quarterly eNPS survey).

You then have to ensure that you're constantly turning the DIAL, by which we mean starting with the "Data" but ensuring you use it to derive "Insights" which enable you to take the right "Actions" to engender "Loyalty". Skipping the "Insight" step when moving from "Data" to "Action" can be perilous, or worse still, you can generate insights but fail to take any actions which results in Learning, not Loyalty.

This model, developed in collaboration with dunnhumby shortly after the launch of the Tesco Clubcard loyalty program in 1995, has consistently delivered measurable value from customer data. Much of what I've learned about customer-centricity in my marketing career can be applied to how you should treat your employees, and the DIAL model is no exception.

If you want to delve deeper into the DIAL model, you can do so by reading the recently published 2^nd edition of "Omnichannel Retail" or read this blog post.

How do you achieve exceptional staff engagement?

While researching the Golden Rule for the first blog, I came across the following from "The Udana" or "The solemn utterances of the Buddha":

"As a man traversing the whole earth

Finds not anywhere an object more lovable than himself;

Therefore since the self is so universally loved by all,

The man who loves himself so much,

Should do no injury to others."

The endpoint, "do no injury" is the Golden Rule, but what struck me was the starting point, the man for whom nothing was "more lovable than himself." I believe this holds the key to engagement; we are all our own favorite subject. If you can start every conversation from the perspective of the individuals involved, they will listen more carefully and engage more freely.

Consider the following rallying calls to a fictional company:

I believe that 95% of companies follow approach B, but in my experience, approach A is what truly works. Start with the individual, then the team they’re part of. Make them the hero of their own story.

You may have world-leading technology, products, or services, but it's the heroes who build and deliver them that truly matter because they will create the next world-beater.

How do you build an exceptional team?

The answer, in one sense, is simple. Follow the Golden Rule. Alternatively, it's a 24/7/365 effort, infinite in its possibilities, an entire career's work.

Going forward, this blog will address that work, but as a final thought for this post, I think you should aim for an adult-to-adult relationship between the company and its employees. Essentially, they must know that the more they give, the more they will get.

My starting point with the incredible team at Eagle Eye was to share a John Wooden quote; "Make each day your masterpiece." John "the wizard of Westwood" Wooden is a legendary UCLA Bruins basketball coach who is celebrated not only for his achievements on the basketball court but also for his philosophy of living by the Golden Rule.

My office is decorated with books, family photos, and this…

We'll leave you to ponder the wisdom of making each day your masterpiece until our next blog, but will leave you with some other inspirational quotes from Wooden:

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

"Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts."

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."

Join the revolution

Please continue to participate in the #GoldenRule revolution. Leave your comments and share examples of where you’ve experienced the Golden Rule in action. Let’s celebrate those who are embracing this principle and making the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time.