New Research Proves Employee-Centered Policies Boost Corporate Profitability and Valuation

Fortune 500 Companies with Equitable Practices Report 50% Higher Profit Margins and Growth

BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, October 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Future Forward Institute released today a research report, in collaboration with JUST Capital and the Burning Glass Institute with support from Walmart.org, showcasing a strong correlation between corporations that have employee-centered workplace policies with profitability, growth, and valuation. Led by Dr. Angela Jackson, founder of Future Forward Institute, researchers used her Win-Win Workplace Framework pillars when examining the workplace policies of 355 Fortune 500 companies. The research shows that companies with policies aligned with her framework rank higher in economic progress and growth than companies without such policies.

“This research validates what we've long believed: when businesses invest in employee-centered policies, they unlock tremendous potential for profitability and growth," said Dr. Angela Jackson. “The Win-Win Workplace framework focuses on strategies like centering employee voices, fostering mutualistic relationships, and reimagining benefits, all of which are integral to driving business success. These results provide clear evidence that when companies create environments where workers thrive, they simultaneously enhance their financial performance.”

The Win-Win Workplace framework’s 9 pillars include centering employee voices, mutualistic working relationships, intersectional inclusion strategies, reimagining employee benefits, frontline leader decision making strategies, hiring S.T.A.R.S versus prioritizing credentials, developing deep talent benches, human capital reporting as a competitive strategy, and distributed leadership-entrepreneurial structures.

Select key findings from the report include:
55% of companies that excel in fostering mutualistic working relationships also show strong valuation outcomes.
51% of firms with robust mutualistic working relationships achieve higher profits as a percentage of sales.
54% of companies that innovate in employee benefits report higher profit margins.
56% of companies that reimagine employee benefits demonstrate improved valuation performance.
Strong performance is defined as the top 25% of the 355 companies analyzed.

These results demonstrate that enacting policies to uplift employee voices and ensure worker thriving not only contributes to a positive work environment but also positively impacts a firm’s financial performance. Particularly promising is the fact that these practices led to a variety of positive outcomes: some showed up directly on a company’s balance sheet, while others – like reduced employee attrition – are the types of leading indicators that are likely to show up in improved financial outcomes down the line.

“In the 21st century knowledge economy, a firm’s success depends increasingly on the capabilities of its workforce,” said Matt Sigelman, President of the Burning Glass Institute. “That means that when workers rise, the firm’s workforce becomes more valuable. Companies that put talent first and invest in people position themselves for leadership in the future of work.”

“This research adds to the mounting evidence that business leaders who embrace fair workforce policies and expand opportunities for workers gain a competitive advantage,” said JUST Capital President Alison Omens. “Deepening support for your workforce, along with operational excellence, is a clear investment in company success.”

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About Future Forward Institute:
Future Forward Institute serves as a visionary hub dedicated to pioneering data-driven research and innovative practices that shape a more equitable future of work. Our collaborative approach engages educators, employers, and workforce service providers, fostering solutions that seamlessly align social impact with broader business objectives. We firmly believe that businesses play a pivotal role in driving meaningful change.

About Burning Glass Institute:
The Burning Glass Institute believes that everyone deserves meaningful work and the chance to move up. Our team of over 30 researchers, data scientists, and program specialists across four continents mine new datasets to advance research and practice on the future of work and the future of learning. Building on a legacy of breakthrough innovation in labor market analytics, the Institute serves as a trusted source bridging industry, educators, policy makers, and workers.

The Burning Glass Institute’s discourse-shaping research draws attention to pressing problems and frames the potential for new approaches. Through project-based engagement and collectives, we put ideas into practice, bringing forward solutions that are high-impact and replicable. In the past year alone, Burning Glass Institute research has shaped national discourse among employers, institutions of higher education, credential-providers, and workers on key workforce issues. The Institute’s American Opportunity Index – a ranking of the Fortune 250 based on the mobility experienced by workers – was the subject of a three-page Wall Street Journal feature piece.

About JUST Capital:
The mission of JUST Capital, an independent nonprofit, is to demonstrate how just business – defined by the priorities of the public – is better business. Our goal is to help companies create value for all their stakeholders – their workers, customers, communities, the environment, and shareholders – by focusing on the issues that matter most to Americans. To date, we’ve polled more than 170,000 Americans on the issues they believe companies should prioritize when it comes to just business behavior, and those insights guide our work. We believe that business and markets can and must be a force for the greater good and that by shifting the resources of the $21.6 trillion private sector, we can drive competition to build a better future for all. Our research, rankings, indexes, initiatives, and new offerings like the JUST Jobs Scorecard help track, analyze, incentivize, and scale corporate stakeholder performance. JUST Capital publishes the annual list of America’s Most JUST Companies, the JUST 100, in partnership with CNBC. To learn more, visit: www.JUSTCapital.com.

Sarah Mason
Publify Relations
sarah@publifyrelations.com