What is the most valuable investment you can make for your business? The best reporting system available? The newest gadgets to be more efficient in you work? Think again, the most valuable investment you can make in your business is in your people. True, the goal of any business is to make money. However, what if I told you that you could earn more money simply by valuing your employees? Here’s how enacting the Circle of Service can change your business.

It is commonly known that happier people do better work. In 2014 The University of Warwick did a study on just that! Andrew Oswald, one of the researchers on the study said, “Companies like Google have invested more in employee support and employee satisfaction has risen as a result. For Google, it rose by 37 percent; they know what they are talking about. Under scientifically controlled conditions, making workers happier really pays off.” The study found that happier individuals were 12% percent more productive. On the flip side, Gallup found that in 2013-2014, unengaged employees cost and estimated 450-550 Billion dollars in lost productivity in the United States. This is an expense that we suffer every single year. By not actively engaging and caring for your employees and their well being, you are LOSING money!

You may be wondering, “How can I engage my employees?” Well, it’s easier than you think! The old “Golden Rule” certainly applies here! Treat others the way you would want to be treated. Keep your promises, foster a healthy work environment, and hold employees accountable for their actions. That also includes when they do well. Feedback shouldn’t be reserved solely for criticisms. If someone is doing a good job, let them know! Employees want to feel like they’re part of the “bigger picture” within your business.

You don’t need to implement vast swaths of costly policy changes to make your employees feel more valued and connected to their work. Small gestures of gratitude go a long way. If your employees have finished a particularly difficult project, reward them with an office party or catered dinner. Monetary compensation is not always the most effective way to show gratitude. Often money gets into an associate’s hand and into their bank account and forgotten, where a gift or kind gesture may go further. The plain truth is that in order  to see continued growth and prosperity, we have to shift our focus to not only include profitability, but people.

Gone are the days when people would spend thirty years punching their timecards from 9am to 5pm at a job they hated. The truth is: the mindset of employees around the world is evolving due to increased diversity and the younger generations becoming an active contributor to the workforce. What this means for businesses is that the “traditional” model of business has to evolve. Employees now want more balance between their personal and work life. They want to feel like they’re being fairly compensated for their work, and above all, they want to feel valued. By treating your employees well, they work harder. Harder work means happier clients; happier clients means more business; more business means more profits! Bottom line? Happy employees = Productive employees! In the words of John Maxwell, “Tend to the people and they will tend to the business.”