Future Proof

FUTURE
PROOF
CREATING A CULTURE FOR COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
ABSTRACT
Organisations that provide stimulating,
supportive and flexible workplaces are places
high performers aspire to work. Supporting
talent to ensure against burn out whilst
providing opportunities for career
advancement and making physical and mental
wellbeing a priority is where future focused HR
departments are putting their attention; living
out and practicing their mission to look after
their most precious assets – their people.
Lisa Renn

Future Proof by Lisa Renn | Page 1
FUTURE PROOF
CREATING A CULTURE FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
by Lisa Renn
Copyright © 2016
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CONTENTS
The Challenges.............................................................................................................................................. 4
Employers of Choice - What People Want................................................................................................... 6
Where Does Your Organisation Place? ........................................................................................................ 6
The Problem.................................................................................................................................................. 7
Are your leaders and high performers thriving or just surviving?.............................................................. 7
What Are the Outcomes of Ignoring Your Alarm Bells?............................................................................ 11
1. Disengagement from the Organisation............................................................................................... 11
2. Poor Health Interfering with Performance and Costing the Business ................................................ 11
Selling Intervention to the Busy and Highly Stressed ............................................................................... 12
1. Problem: Identification of Those at Risk ............................................................................................. 12
2. Problem: In-House Support versus External Support.......................................................................... 13
Is Well-being, Happiness and Positivity Overrated? ................................................................................. 14
The Solution................................................................................................................................................ 15
1. Sense of Control .................................................................................................................................. 17
2. Stage of Life......................................................................................................................................... 18
3. Shared Vision....................................................................................................................................... 19
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................... 20
Sources........................................................................................................................................................ 21
About the Author........................................................................................................................................ 22

The mission of the HR leader is evolving from
that of "chief talent executive" to "chief
employee experience officer."
DELOITTE, 2016

CREATING A CULTURE FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
The constant juggle for HR is to assist with maintaining the business output and keeping staff needs for
wellbeing and career advancement met - one can often be counter-intuitive to the other.
THE CHALLENGES
1. Minimise staff turnover and keep good people in the organisation: The challenge becomes
balancing the hard work with benefits. It’s difficult to introduce great staff initiatives and focus on
engagement when everyone is too busy to stop and do things differently, including HR!
2. Minimise health and safety risks: when people are too busy, and stress levels increase, work
output and quality decreases and the risk of poor health and strained relationships means your
organisation is contributing to a decrease in the quality of life of its people – in direct contrast to
your mission statement.
3. Reduce staff burnout and stress claims: having great people working in your organisation is one
thing however when the long hours are never ending these hard workers become a source of
stress as they run the risk of crossing the line between coping and leaving.
This paper outlines the problems with ignoring your alarm bells around these high performers and the
impact of stress on performance. It outlines a strategy for selling wellbeing and helps position your
organisation as an employer of choice, in doing so this more consciously aligns your department’s actions
and programs with its mission.

To win in the marketplace, you must first win in
the workplace.
DOUG CONANT

EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE - WHAT PEOPLE WANT
Deloitte’s recent Millennial Survey 2016: Winning over the next generation of leaders (2) states that
millennials will make up 75% of our workforce by 2025. Millennials are the current and future talent, and
almost 50% of them anticipate leaving their current position due to a lack of work-life balance, being
overlooked for advancement and in search of career development opportunities.
The ongoing struggle to balance work output with the wellbeing of employees is the challenge of many
organisations. For those desiring to be successful in retaining their talent beyond two years, it must be a
vital focus for HR, People & Culture functions and organisational leadership.
In order to achieve this, employees’ needs must have a higher priority in organisations, not just from HR
but from all levels of the business.
Employers of Choice are recognised for their ability to look after their employees and it’s not doing their
business bottom line any harm either. Low turnover and high productivity mean these engaged workers
create a 22% improvement in profitability compared to those organisations with lower engagement. (3)
WHERE DOES YOUR ORGANISATION PLACE?

It's no longer "what do you want to be when you grow up?" It's "where do you want to work?"
Are there discrepancies with this your mission statement and the programs or lack of programs you have
in place to support the people at "high risk" of burn-out or disengagement?
THE PROBLEM
High performers give their all and may not actually realise they have an off button until something breaks.
What breaks could be their health, their personal relationships or their engagement with the organisation.
The conundrum is that while you love their contribution, the sheer amount of work they are doing is
concerning to you in HR as you wonder, ‘Is this all going to come crashing down? ‘The balance between
driving organisational goals and employee wellbeing often reaches critical mass in these high performers.
ARE YOUR LEADERS AND HIGH PERFORMERS THRIVING OR JUST
SURVIVING?

Men who skipped their
annual vacation were more
likely to die from coronary
heart disease than were
couch potatoes or smokers
who do get away for a little
annual rest and relaxation.
(4)
MULTIPLE RISK FACTOR
INTERVENTION TRIAL

The long hours are taking a toll…
Overtime is associated with:
poorer perceived general health, increased injury rates, more illnesses, and increased mortality.
higher levels of anxiety and depression in those who put in the most overtime.
52 percent of employees reported that their job demands interfered with their family or home
responsibilities.’ (5)
The Psychological Association of Australia’s report, ‘Stress and Wellbeing in Australia Survey 2015 (6)
found:
Wellbeing in the workplace
Although higher in 2015 than 2013-2014 the level of overall workplace wellbeing was still lower
than in 2011 when the survey started.
Working Australians reported significantly lower levels of job satisfaction and work-life balance
than they did in 2011-2012
In 2014, similar to previous years’ findings, over two in five working Australians rated issues in the
workplace as a source of stress. (7)
Impact of stress on physical and mental health
over seven in ten Australians reported that current stress was having at least some impact on
physical health, with almost one in five reporting that current stress was having a strong to very
strong impact on physical health. (7)
Any admission of not coping is seen as weakness so people will burn out or leave rather than speak up.

80% of organisations believe their employees
are overwhelmed with information and activity
at work, 21% cite the issue as urgent, yet fewer
than 8% have programs to deal with the issue.
JOSH BERSIN DELOITTE

WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES OF IGNORING YOUR ALARM BELLS?
1. DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE ORGANISATION
A report by Michael Kibler (8) in the Harvard Business review speaks of ‘executive brown out’ where the
person is not by outward standards burnt out however life is not as rosy as it appears. He reports these
high performers are worrying about:
Feeling drained from continuous, 24/7 obligations.
Physical deterioration due to years of sub-optimal sleep and self-care.
Tenuous relationships with immediate family members.
Distant relationships with old friends.
The atrophy of personal interests.
A diminishing ability to concentrate in non-business conversations.
Eventually, these concerns take over from the thrill of high performance in an organisation, and the bigger
problem is rather than talking to someone about the issues they leave the organisation.
What is the tipping point? Could it be a current project in your organisation?
2. POOR HEALTH INTERFERING WITH PERFORMANCE AND COSTING THE
BUSINESS
Looking at research on the impact of work on health and conversely health on work output (4) a
commentator stated ‘Once you add together medical spending, absenteeism, impaired performance and
disability, poor health is no longer a human resources issue. It is a business challenge with major financial
consequences, and the way some companies are managed is clearly increasing the damage.’
How well do stressed out workers perform in teams?

If a project or business outcomes rely on these worn out workers collaborating effectively with each other
how well do you think they would be doing? If the stressed-out individual is a manager responsible for the
wellbeing of others - is this the ideal situation?
How do you take your high performers from surviving to thriving?
SELLING INTERVENTION TO THE BUSY AND HIGHLY STRESSED
1. PROBLEM: IDENTIFICATION OF THOSE AT RISK
The problem comes in the identification of these individuals as it’s unlikely they are going to identify
themselves as ‘at risk’. The stigma attached to not being able to cope with stress is not one that many
would embrace- hence the burnout or leaving instead of admitting it’s too much; conversely, the idea of
being identified by HR as an ‘at risk’ person is also not that confidence-inspiring.
Solution 1: Make it about career management
The ideal situation is that these people will embrace the support as it represents a means not only to
readdress balance and reduce stress but also monitor their personal and professional development vision-
it’s a tangible reminder that the organisation cares about their well-being and their career advancement.
It ensures your high performers are engaged in the work they are doing, and they are reassured their
hopes for their working future are known.
Solution 2: Make it a badge of honour
What we know is one major reason that people leave an organisation is a lack of recognition- an article by
leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith (9) cited that when asking high performers why they didn’t stay with
an organisation they replied, that no one had asked them to stay. By identifying the high performers in
your organisation and making it a badge of honor to have their potential fostered by an external coach is
a way of putting a positive spin on a preventative measure.
Solution 3: Make it about a new organisational design
The organisational redesign is held as a high priority for many executives as culture and engagement
remain high priorities, but it’s difficult to achieve without a change to current practices. (1) Creating a

culture that cares for employee well-being, career and
leadership development will be attractive to high
performers and the C-suite in your organisation.
2. PROBLEM: IN-HOUSE SUPPORT VERSUS
EXTERNAL SUPPORT
The issue with in-house support is that when you have a
mentor, the idea is to talk about the things that impact on
your ability to do your work and how you are coping; this
means issues will be personal as well as professional. In
regard to managing your health and well-being, this
requires a level of professional knowledge that may not
exist within the organisation.
FROM THE DELOITTE
REPORT (2)
Where it exists, mentoring is
having a positive impact and six in
10 (61 percent) millennials are
currently benefitting from having
somebody to turn to for advice.
Those intending to stay with their
organisations for more than five
years are twice as likely to have a
mentor (68 percent) than not (32
percent).

IS WELL-BEING, HAPPINESS AND POSITIVITY OVERRATED?
Results from over 200 studies showed better business outcomes when employees were positive. The brain
in a positive state drives performance and also allows people to cope better with stress. (10)
Other research shows (11,12) the following character traits are present in those who are happy or have a
high sense of wellbeing:
Superior performance and
productivity
Handle managerial jobs
better
Less likely to show counter-
productive behaviour
Less job burn-out Sociability Creativity
Strong immune system Effective coping skills Better decision-making
A well-being is someone that has a sense of control over work and life activities and is comfortable the
amount of time spent at each is honouring their responsibility for both.

It's the sense of being out of control that leads to burn out and a decrease in overall productivity. However,
before feeling out of control is the discomfort of being out of alignment with your values and what you
feel you should be doing that’s the real thorn in your side. If you are working long and stressful hours,
that’s hard enough; however, if you feel that you are neglecting your children and your partner as well as
worrying about what you are not doing about your health, then you start to slide- feeling less in control
and being less ‘happy’ with your situation.
The problem of sliding out of control means you are focusing more on what you are not doing and doing
what you are doing poorly. Hence studies that focus on the results of employee wellbeing report increases
in presentism - when you are doing what you feel you should, in both work and life, you can concentrate
on what you are actually supposed to be doing - thus the increase in productivity.
THE SOLUTION
The solution to work-life imbalance is to align the interests of the individual and the organisation. This may
or may not mean allowing people more time off or flexible hours, but the question of having well beings

at work or being a wellbeing yourself is really a no brainer. When staff feel they are meeting their
obligations to family and their health then they can give more fully and productively to the organisation’s
goals due to the increase in positivity, happiness and reduced stress, but also because of the investment
the business has made in their wellbeing.
This is considering the whole person and not just work stress, but of course, stress from within the
workplace is important to manage as well. Having no connection within the organisation, feeling you don’t
have a chance to get everything done or the right equipment to get the job done all contributes to stress
and how well people cope. It’s vital that all things are considered not just one element.
Aligning interests does not lend itself to assumptions however it seems to be how we operate in many
environments- we think just because we think like this, that others will too. It’s like believing that because
you don’t like broccoli, no one else does either, or as a client of mine said recently, ‘I don’t know anyone
who doesn’t have a drink while they are cooking.’

1. SENSE OF CONTROL
Whether someone feels in control or stressed in a particular situation will be very individual as we all have
different values. Stress only creates a problem when our situation makes us feel we are neglecting
something that is important to us. It’s the feeling of being out of alignment with your own values that
causes stress and angst, not being out of alignment with someone else’s values.
Health
Interestingly societal pressure around weight and body image is an example of where the individual’s
values may be impacted by an external source - the extent will vary with the individual. The pressure to
conform to dieting and body shape can cause a disproportionate amount of stress for people and greatly
impact productivity and positivity. If there is a family history of chronic illness and the individual is getting
pressure from family and medical practitioners the cracks between what they are doing and what they
feel they should be doing will begin to show.
Family
If work doesn’t allow you to spend the quality time you feel you need to with your family or partner this
may cause stress; the impact will be different for each individual which is why an individualised approach
is more effective than a one-size fits all.
Career
Knowing that your career aspirations are known and fostered is highly important. Now more than ever
people are not going to sit in a job where they don’t feel they are valued or that they are not getting the
career development opportunities they had hoped for. Demonstrating that your organisation is on top of
their interests and aspirations should be a number one priority for managing your high performers.

2. STAGE OF LIFE
There is no doubt that stage of life will have an impact on people’s ability to attend to all the things in their
life and will have consequences for the workplace, however, making assumptions about what each person
sees as their priority at this time is a mistake that could cost you a great employee or their confidence to
make contributions. You have to know them to grow them and keep them.
Each person as an individual will face stress at some time in their life:
Career stress
Relationship stress
Family commitments
Health concerns
When you combine this with a frantic job, stress may be created as the person feels pulled in opposite
directions. Aligning this for the individual is the secret sauce of staff engagement and creating a culture
that people aspire to belong to.
The opportunity to develop a competitive edge for your organisation is how well you support people
through these times. If your organisation is known as a place that cares about the wellbeing of its greatest
assets, this is somewhere people will want to work.
The solution lies in creating a space to identify the stress and a plan to assist the individual in feeling more
in control.

3. SHARED VISION
When people believe in the mission of the organisation, they will be more likely to throw themselves into
the work knowing the outcome is ticking boxes for their own values. Generation Y has identified they want
to work for companies that are making a difference in the world; working toward this shared vision ensures
you get greater output and loyalty. When you can articulate the social purpose of your organisation, then
your employees can start to relate to this and feel a part of something bigger than themselves.

CONCLUSION
When organisations embrace the idea that its employees are looking for life as well as a career, then they
can fully tap into the potential of the individual. When people feel cared for, they give back in spades.
The competitive advantage comes in when your great employees don’t leave, and they start telling their
friends about your workplace. As a progressive organisation, you can use your programs as examples to
others in the media and in HR and management publications which start to position you as an industry
leader and employer of choice.
Although organisations are very aware of engagement being important to profits and staff retention, it
seems that making this happen is another thing entirely. Change is harder than it sounds and implementing
organisation-wide change just doesn’t seem to happen. There is often talk about visions and mission for
the department however if this doesn’t translate down to staff professional and physical wellbeing it’s all
just words and boxes being ticked. “Yes, we’ve done engagement”, unfortunately, things have not changed
significantly enough for staff to notice.
The recent Deloitte report (1) stated that although engagement is still considered to be an important focus,
it is a struggle to achieve. Organisational redesign may be some way off but engaged employees are still
vital, and it starts with looking after the individual.
If you are driven to make an impact, support your key talent and any at-risk employees and desire to look
at employee engagement at the level of the individual, I’m taking on new clients for my six-month High
Performance mentoring program right now so if you are interested in finding out more about this let me
know.

SOURCES
1. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/HumanCapital/gx-dup-
global-human-capital-trends-2016.pdf
2. https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennial-survey-2016.html
3. Dick Finnegan: C Suite Analytics 2014 quoting Gallup statistics
4. http://managedhealthcareexecutive.modernmedicine.com/managed-healthcare-
executive/news/clinical/clinical-pharmacology/health-affects-work-and-work-affect
5. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/02/16/Is-America-Overworked
6. Psychology Association of Australia Stress and Wellbeing in Australia survey 2015
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwiG8
M77va3NAhWF2KYKHTDKB5kQFggkMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychology.org.au%2FAss
ets%2FFiles%2FPW15-SR.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGNxO_rIozMby-1ptEGGDdCxcbIlA
7. Psychology Association of Australia Stress and wellbeing in Australian survey 2014
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0ahUKEwiG8
M77va3NAhWF2KYKHTDKB5kQFggxMAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychology.org.au%2FAss
ets%2FFiles%2F2014-APS-NPW-Survey-WEB-reduced.pdf&usg=AFQjCNE_FR3_svP-
EOGNgsA2dsfS_0U7iA
8. https://hbr.org/2015/01/prevent-your-star-performers-from-losing-passion-in-their-work
9. http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/cim/articles_print.php?aid=694
10. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-joseph-goewey-/xrewiring-the-brain-for-
s_b_8632564.html
11. http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-1316803.pdf
12. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2005/12/success.aspx

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
80% of organisations believe their
employees are overwhelmed with
information and activity at work,
21% cite the issue as urgent, yet
fewer than 8% have programs to
deal with the issue.
Obsessed with GROWTH and
maintaining high performance Lisa
helps Business Owners and
Managers, HR teams and Leaders to
mentor their staff in a way that creates a culture of contribution. Lisa is an expert in motivation, behaviour
change, communication and health. After working with Lisa her clients more confidently manage their
teams for high performance while ensuring against burn out and work life imbalance.
Lisa Renn is a thought leader who is  passionate about people achieving their potential. Everyone has
something great to contribute to this world and they can’t do it if they are hampered by their environment
and other stressors in life.
Lisa loves to help businesses create cultures for competitive advantage- if your organisation is known for
how well it treats its people you start to be a place people aspire to work and great things can happen.
Future focused organisations understand that the way employees will work in the future needs to look
different and the brave are taking action now.
Lisa started her working life with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physical Education, taught for some years
while studying her Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics. Although still passionate about health as a vehicle
to allow peak performance and potential realisation, it’s taken a back seat to a even more powerful
premise that when people are fulfilled in what they do every day and feeling they are meeting their
obligations to family, relationships, health and work they are much more likely to contribute greatness
everywhere.

Lisa is dedicated to helping businesses and organisations develop a competitive advantage via cultures
that foster the potential in their employees and provide a support structure ensuring against burn out.
Creating a mutually beneficial environment that allows the people in the organisation to do work they love
every day, providing managers with the skills and tools they need to nurture this culture and accelerating
business growth via increased productivity, innovation, customer service, a decreased turnover all as a
result of more engaged team.
Talk to Lisa about:
High Performance Mentoring
Management coaching and training
Team training or facilitated discovery
Keynote presentations
For more information, go to the website or please call or email.
Web: www.lisarenn.com | Email: lisa@lisarenn.com | Phone: 0413 956 107

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