Ever year, millions of people participate in fantasy sports leagues and spend time during their workdays participating in those leagues or watching sports online. What if companies created simulations or activities in which their employees could participate that would actually create value for the employees and companies themselves? Examined through a jobs to be done perspective, might fantasy company simulations satisfy some of the same functional, emotional, and social jobs currently satisfied by fantasy sports?
On March 10, executive outplacement service provider Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) released its March Madness Report. Each year, CG&C prepares an estimate of the amount of money that employers will lose due to employees participating in fantasy sports and due to employees paying attention to sporting events. The key facts from the report:
- As many as 37.3 million workers will participate in March Madness office pools this year and up to 1.5 million workers will watch games online from their desks
- For every 10 minutes of work time the 37.3 million pool participants spend focused on the NCAA Tournament, rather than their jobs, CG&C calculated that employers will lose $108.9 million
- If these participants waste just 10 minutes per workday on March Madness, from the day after selection Sunday through the end of the Tournament, CG&G calculated that employers will lose $1.7 billion cumulatively.
Regardless of the season, fantasy sports leagues are extremely popular pastimes. In 2007, the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) released data showing that nearly 20 million people are actively playing fantasy sports in the U.S. and Canada while nearly 35 million people have played fantasy sports at one point in time.
Viewed through a jobs to be done lens, it is clear that fantasy sports participation during work hours satisfies functional jobs (such as "Give me a mental break from work), emotional jobs (such as "Make me feel good about my sports outcome prediction expertise), and social jobs (such as "Garner respect from friends and co-workers).
Now, consider the notion of company-sponsored simulations or activities. Rite Solutions, a technology services firm in Middletown, Rhode Island, created a process by which an employee or group of employees can conceive a new initiative for the company and volunteer to complete the tasks
(i.e. write some code, perform some calculations, create marketing materials, etc) required to develop the initiative further. Eventually, if the initiative matures and garners enough employee support, it may be implemented officially by the company.
As the project generates additional revenue for the company or reduces company costs, a portion of that revenue or cost reduction is returned to the employee(s) who generated the original idea as well as those individuals who volunteered their time or effort for the idea. The more effort employees contribute to projects that become official initiatives, the greater the percentage of the payback they stand to receive.
As constituted, Rite-Solutions process is just one possible scenario in which employees can participate in fun, outside-of-work activities to benefit both themselves and the company. It satisfies functional jobs (such as "Give me something to do in my free time or "Create an additional source of income), emotional jobs ("Feel good about my contribution to the company), and social jobs (such as "Demonstrate my commitment to my peers). The process has been extremely successful, with the vast majority of employees participating in initiative generation, development, and execution all on their own time.
The possibilities are extensive - consider employees reviewing new product ideas or participating in internal focus groups or surveys to earn extra money in their spare time. By understanding their employees Jobs to be done, Rite-Solutions was able to develop a free time activity that nailed those jobs, creating a strong culture of employee engagement as well.
If employees are willing to spend a significant amount of time and effort participating in outside activities offering only emotional or social payback, might the promise of emotional, social, and financial payback be enough to harness some of that time and effort to benefit their company?
Read more about Rite-Solution's innovation strategy here.