What Makes a Job "Good" -- and the Case for Investing in People | Warren Valdmanis | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: Skye Zhang 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

In 1995, a fellow named Chris Klebba decided to open a gym

1995 年，一个名叫克里斯·克莱巴 （Chris Klebba）的人

决定要在他的家乡， 密歇根的诺斯维尔（Northville），

in his hometown of Northville, Michigan.

开个健身房。

Fitness had changed his life,

健身改变了他的生活，

and he wanted others in small-town Michigan

他希望密歇根小镇上的其他人

to have the same experience.

也能有这样的体验。

But the problem with gyms is they can be intimidating.

但健身房的问题在于 它可能会让人望而生畏。

It's the ultimate irony.

这简直是终极的讽刺。

You go to a gym to get in shape, but if you're out of shape,

你去健身房塑形， 但如果你的身材没那么好，

you feel like you need to get in shape just to show up.

你就会觉得你健身 只是为了展示给别人看。

That's why as many as 50 percent of gym members quit within the first year,

这就是为什么 50% 的健身房 会员第一年内就退出了，

which is fine if you open a gym in New York or LA

当然如果你开在纽约或者洛杉矶， 这是无伤大雅的，

with millions of people.

那儿有成千上万的人。

But in a small town, you might simply run out of customers.

但在一个小镇上， 你可能最后没有顾客了。

Now many gyms try to solve this problem by making it difficult to quit.

现在很多健身房通过难以退会的办法 来解决这个问题。

So now not only am I feeling guilty about not going to the gym,

所以现在我不仅会因为 没去健身房而感到愧疚，

but I’m stuck paying 100 dollars a month, and I’m still not getting any thinner.

每个月还得强制花上 100 美元， 而且根本没有变得苗条。

But Chris decided to do something different.

但克里斯决定尝试一些不同的方法。

Chris decided to invest in his workers.

克里斯决定把钱花在他的雇员上。

He hired overly helpful, overly friendly employees

他雇佣了非常愿意帮忙、 极其友好的员工，

who at any moment were eager to step in

一些无论何时都热情帮忙，

and help you learn how to use a piece of equipment

能够帮你学会如何使用器械，

without making you feel like you're being judged.

而不让你觉得自己被评判挑剔的人。

The idea was for the 55-year-old mom or dad,

这个想法是为了 55 岁 左右的父母辈着想，

who’d never been to a gym before in their lives,

他们这辈子从来没踏足过

让他们立即感到舒适 和受欢迎的健身房。

to feel welcome and comfortable immediately.

Now my question as a private equity investor is:

作为一个私募股权投资者， 我的问题是:

Could this really be profitable?

这样的模式能挣到钱吗？

There's an old joke about a man who's had too much to drink

有一个经典笑话是 关于一个喝多了的人

looking for his keys under a streetlight.

在街灯下找他的钥匙。

A cop comes by and offers to help

一个警察过来想帮助他，

and asks where he thinks he lost them.

所以问他觉得是丢在哪儿了。

"In the park," comes the response,

“在公园呢，”他回答说，

"but I'm looking here because the light's better."

“但我在这儿找 是因为这儿的灯更亮。”

That's a little how we investors look at companies today.

这就是现在我们投资者 看待公司的方式。

We know that value at companies is driven by people,

我们都知道，公司的价值 是由人来驱动的，

but we focus on short-term profit because it's so much easier to measure.

但我们会更关注短期收益， 因为更容易衡量。

I’ve worked in and around private equity for 25 years

我在私募股权行业 工作了 25 年，

on six continents,

遍布六个大洲，

and I've seen this error in thinking again and again and again.

而我一次又一次地看到 人们犯下这个思考谬误。

In private equity,

在私募股权市场上，

we buy companies and seek to improve them

我们收购公司，想办法改善它们，

so we can sell them at a profit.

然后卖掉它们挣钱。

But very often that improvement comes in the form of cutting costs,

但一般情况下，这种改善 是以削减成本的形式出现的，

especially labor costs.

特别是人力成本。

Private equity employs roughly nine million people

私募股权公司 雇佣了大约 900 万人，

and has cut over a million jobs in the past decade.

在过去的十年里 削减了 100 多万个工作岗位。

Too often we ask a company for their org chart

我们常常要求公司提供组织结构图，

just to figure out who is getting fired.

只是为了弄清楚有谁将被解雇。

Now I think investors should take pride for helping to make companies lean,

现在我认为投资者应该 为精简公司而感到自豪，

but I'm worried that we may have done our job too well

但我担心我们可能做得太过了，

and are now at risk of starving companies of the people

现在正面临着让企业缺乏

成功所需人才的风险。

that they need to be successful.

So the big opportunity for investors, for executives and for you

因此，对投资者、高管和你 来说，最大的机会

is to create rather than cut good jobs.

是创造而不是削减优秀的工作岗位。

Creating good jobs is now the focus of my work as a social impact investor.

作为一名社会影响投资者， 我现在的工作重点是创造好工作。

But to create good jobs, you first need a definition of a good job,

但在创造它之前， 你需要先定义一份好工作是什么，

which was surprisingly hard to find.

让人惊讶的是，这非常难以定义。

Spreadsheets and numbers are comforting, but people are complicated,

电子表格和数字令人欣慰， 但人是复杂的，

which is why impact investing can sometimes feel squishy.

这就是为什么影响力投资 有时会让人感觉不舒服。

Good for the soul, perhaps, but risky for the pocketbook.

也许对灵魂有好处， 但对钱袋有风险。

But my partners and I work at a company

但我和我的合伙人为一家

that prides itself on using data to solve problems.

以利用数据解决问题 而闻名的公司工作。

So we spent the last two years looking at all the academic research,

所以我们过去两年间 看了所有的学术研究，

reading all the case studies.

读了所有的案例。

We interviewed human capital experts

我们采访了人力专家

and surveyed workers across hundreds of companies.

并且对数百个公司的 员工进行了调查。

And from that work, we developed a common sense definition of a good job,

通过这些工作，我们对于一份好工作 有了一个常识性的、

one that correlates with worker productivity

一个与员工生产力相关的、

and helps us to build better companies.

可以帮助我们建立更好公司的定义。

So here it is.

它就是——

A good job is where a worker, one, is fairly treated.

一份好工作是： 其一，一名员工能够被公平地对待。

Two, has a promising future.

其二，有一个光明的发展前景。

Three, feels psychologically safe.

其三，心理上感到安全。

And four, has a sense of purpose.

其四，有使命感。

Now by this definition, only about a third of jobs today

所以依照这个定义， 如今只有三分之一的工作

qualify as good jobs.

可以被称为是好的工作。

But that's where data-driven impact investing can help.

但这正是数据驱动的影响力投资 可以发挥作用的地方。

By putting hard numbers to each of these conditions,

通过给每个条件都加上硬性数字，

we can score each job at the companies we invest in

我们可以给我们投资的公司的 每一个工作进行打分，

and then work to improve the number of good jobs at these companies.

然后把这些公司的 更多工作变成好工作。

So let's go through each of these four conditions in turn,

让我们依次来看这四个条件，

and as we do, think about the place where you work.

当我们这样做的时候， 想想你工作的地方。

How does it measure up?

它将会被如何评估呢？

If the answer is "not good," don't worry,

如果答案是“不怎么样“，没关系，

you can help point your company in the right direction.

你可以帮你的公司 指明正确的方向。

So here we go.

那么我们开始吧。

Number one, a worker is fairly treated.

第一，员工会被公平对待。

Now we spend roughly a third of our adult lives working.

我们的成年生活几乎 三分之一的时间都在工作。

So whether you work at Marshall's or Microsoft,

所以不管你是在马歇尔 （Marshall’s）还是微软工作，

you want your employer to pay you fairly for all that time.

你会希望你的雇主 一直付你公平的薪资。

But many investors see worker pay as a zero-sum game.

但很多投资者将员工薪资 视为一个零和博弈。

Whatever a company gives to workers must somehow come at our expense,

公司提供给员工的必然 会让员工付出代价，

which is why when Home Depot announced early in COVID

这就是为什么在疫情早期 家得宝（Home Depot）宣布

that they would be offering danger pay and making investments in worker safety,

他们会提供危险报酬 并为工人安全投保后，

they saw their market value crash by billions of dollars.

他们的市值跌了数百万美元。

But our research found over 100 studies that show that appropriate incentives,

但我们的研究发现，超过 100 项 研究表明，适当的激励措施、

attractive benefits

员工福利，

like retirement accounts and health care and things like flexible schedules

比如退休账户、 医疗保险和灵活的工作时间

more than pay for themselves

不仅仅是为公司自己买单，

through improved productivity, higher retention, lower hiring costs.

提高生产率，提高留任率， 降低雇佣成本。

Home Depot itself is a company that's built on the idea

家得宝本身也是一个建立了

of providing better service to customers by employing experts on its shop floors.

通过雇佣专家为顾客提供更好服务 想法的公司。

People who have seen your problem before

那些之前就遇到过类似问题的人，

because they've worked in home repair and construction,

因为他们做过家居维修和施工，

and they can help you to fix it better.

所以他们可以帮你更好地解决。

Now Home Depot is thriving today thanks to its investment in workers.

现在家得宝由于 对员工的投资而蒸蒸日上。

Now fair pay is a critical, critical thing,

所以公平薪资是一件极为重要的事，

but it's not the only thing that matters.

但这不是唯一重要的事情。

Which brings us to our second condition: a promising future.

那么这就把我们带到第二个条件： 一个光明的发展前景。

Fast food restaurants not only pay low wages,

快餐店不仅只支付低工资，

they also offer very little in terms of learning and growth,

它们在学习和成长方面 提供的也很少，

which is why their employees quit after six to 12 months on average.

这就是为什么它们的员工在平均 6 到 12 个月后就离职了。

Think about that the next time you get rude service at the drive-thru window.

下次你在免下车餐厅 受到粗鲁的服务时，想想这一点。

But training and career path can help to solve this riddle.

但培训和职业路线 可以帮助解决这个问题。

Restaurants like Tender Greens in California

像加利福尼亚州的 Tender Greens（美国连锁快餐店）

and Boloko in Boston

和波士顿的Boloko这样的餐厅，

offer training to their low-wage workers

给他们的低工资员工提供了培训，

that qualifies them for management roles.

让他们能够具备 担任管理岗位的能力。

So you might start out as a dishwasher earning 12 bucks an hour

所以你可能从一个时薪 只赚 12 刀的洗碗工做起，

and then with the right training,

然后通过正确的培训，

you can become a restaurant manager in a matter of months,

经过短短几个月， 你就可以成为一个餐厅经理，

making nearly three times that much.

赚几乎是原来三倍的钱。

Now the prospect of tripling your wage is a powerful motivator.

现在，加薪三倍的前景 是一个强大的动力。

And the data shows that workers are much more loyal and dedicated

数据显示，当员工觉得公司 在帮助他们建设职业生涯时，

when they feel that their company is helping them to build a career.

员工会更加忠诚和专注，

Our third condition, psychological safety,

我们的第三个条件，心理安全，

should be a fairly obvious one.

这个应该相当显而易见了。

Think of the best boss you've ever had,

想想你曾有过最棒的上司，

the one that motivated you to go above and beyond at work.

那位激励你在工作中超越自我的人。

I bet that person was a listener.

我敢说那个人是个倾听者。

Because the modern workplace is increasingly a place

因为现代的工作环境 越来越成为一个

of communication and collaboration.

沟通和合作的场所。

But many workers find it difficult or risky to speak up.

但很多员工发现畅所欲言 是困难或者有风险的。

Professor Amy Edmondson of Harvard has studied this issue

哈佛大学的艾米·埃德蒙森 （Amy Edmondson）教授

曾经研究过这个问题，

in government, nonprofits and companies

发现在政府、非营利机构和公司中，

and found that most people's first instinct is to self-protect.

大部分人的第一反应是自我保护。

Let's face it, life's too short to correct your boss's mistake

面对现实吧，人生苦短， 没时间去纠正老板的错误，

if you think you might get fired as a result.

而且你可能会被炒鱿鱼。

Not speaking up is invisible,

不发言是无形的，

but it can cost the company valuable ideas.

但它会让公司失去有价值的想法。

It can squander employee talent or worse,

它可能会浪费员工的才能， 或者更糟的是，

it can put customers or employees at physical risk.

它可能会让客户或员工 处于人身危险之中。

Google found from its quest to create the perfect team

谷歌从创建完美团队的追求中发现

that the most important ingredient was not the people involved

最重要的因素不是参与其中的人

but rather the team's overall willingness to share and listen.

而是这个团队对于 分享和倾听的总体意愿。

It also found that great teams don't hide from their mistakes,

研究同时发现， 优秀的团队不会逃避自己的错误，

but rather embrace them as opportunities for learning

而是将它们视为学习的机会，

and to add to the overall IQ of their companies.

并提高公司的整体智商。

Which brings us to purpose.

这让我们有了目标。

It's a lot easier to share and listen to others

如果你和你的同事 对你的工作充满激情，

if you and your colleagues feel passionately about your work.

分享和倾听别人会变得容易得多，

But do you feel passionately about the idea of going to work each day

但当每天上班的唯一目的是

为你素未谋面的投资者们工作，

for the sole purpose of maximizing shareholder value

实现股东价值最大化， 你是否还会充满激情？

for investors you've never met?

It's just not a very energizing idea.

这实在不是什么激励人的想法。

Humans, unlike machines, want to feel connected to a higher purpose.

与机器不同，人类希望感受到 与更高目标的联系。

They want to feel proud and useful.

他们想感到自豪和有用，

And fortunately, most companies out there do exist for a reason.

幸运的是， 大多数公司的存在都是有原因的。

But it can be hard to tell when so many of their mission statements

但是他们的宗旨声明中有很多

read like they were generated by a robot.

读起来像是机器人生成的， 这就让人很难分辨。

I actually used an online mission statement generator for this talk

我其实给这场演讲也用了一下 在线宗旨生成器，

to see what would come back.

想看看会有什么结果。

"The mission of my TED talk is to offer smart insights with empathy,

“我的TED talk的使命是，用同理心、

care and thoughtfulness."

关心和体贴，提供睿智的见解。”

Not bad for a computer.

作为电脑来说真是不错了。

But a good mission statement is more than just nice words on a PowerPoint.

但是，一个好的宗旨宣言 不仅仅是幻灯片上的漂亮话。

A good mission statement can be the most distilled form of strategy,

一个好的宗旨宣言可以是 战略的精华、

the guiding light for a company and its employees.

公司和员工的指路明灯。

That fitness chain I mentioned earlier,

我之前提到的连锁健身房，

Impact Fitness,

冲击健身（Impact Fitness），

has a very clear mission to offer health through fitness

有一个非常明确的使命， 就是在那些服务不足的社区，

in underserved communities,

通过健身改善人们的健康，

and they're deadly serious about it.

他们对此非常认真。

The founder, Chris, likes to repeat that mission at company meetings.

创始人克里斯喜欢在 公司会议上重复强调这一使命。

Most gym owners would be thrilled if their customers never showed up,

如果顾客没有出现， 大多数健身房老板会很开心，

so long as they keep paying the monthly bill.

只要他们继续每月支付账单。

But Chris wants people to show up at workout in his gyms and get healthier.

但克里斯希望人们来他的健身房锻炼， 变得更健康。

That's why he not only tracked gym usage,

这就是为什么他不仅 追踪了健身房的使用情况，

but tied it to executive pay.

还将其与高管薪酬挂钩。

The company has gone from strength to strength,

这家公司越来越壮大，

growing from that single gym in Northville, Michigan,

从密歇根诺斯维尔的 单个健身房发展起来，

to now over three dozen gyms across small-town Michigan,

现在已经有三十多家健身房， 遍布密歇根的小镇，

Indiana and now Canada.

到印第安纳州，现在到加拿大。

And it's done so in a way

他们选择的方式，

that their employees have every reason to be proud of.

让他们的员工完全 有理由为此感到骄傲。

It's an old corporate chestnut

这是一个老生常谈的公司格言了，

that our employees are our most valuable asset.

员工是我们最有价值的资产。

Today those words ring as hollow as the automated voice,

如今，这些话听起来就像 自动语音一样空洞，

telling us how important our call is when we've been on hold for 10 minutes.

在我们等待了 10 分钟后， 说我们的来电有多重要。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But fortunately, creating good jobs isn't rocket science.

但幸运的是，创造好的工作 不像造火箭那样复杂。

These four conditions: fair treatment,

这四个条件：公平的待遇、

a promising future, psychological safety and purpose

光明的发展前景、 心理安全感和使命感

are relatively easy to track and improve.

是比较容易跟踪和改进的。

And to do that, though, requires investors and executives

但要做到这一点， 就需要投资者和高管

to work together.

共同努力。

Because too often well-meaning CEOs

因为好心的首席执行官们经常

are cut short by short-term oriented investors

被短视的投资者和

and the boards that represent them.

代表他们的董事会打断。

But I believe with a better measure of good jobs and the associated benefits,

但我相信，如果能更好地衡量 好工作和相关福利，

investors will support more investments in workers.

投资者将支持加大对员工的投资。

Because who wouldn’t want to create good jobs

如果你在创造好工作的同时，

if you're creating more valuable companies at the same time?

又能创建更多有价值的公司， 谁不想这么做呢？

And our research shows that companies with a higher proportion of good jobs

我们的研究表明， 好工作比例更高的公司

grow faster and are more profitable.

增长更快，利润也更高。

They attract better talent and are more innovative.

它们能吸引更好的人才， 也更具创新性。

Investors ignore this issue at their peril

投资者忽视这一问题 会让他们陷入危险，

because in today's economy,

因为在现在的经济情况下，

good jobs aren't just good for society,

好的工作不仅对社会有好处，

they're good business.

对生意也有好处。

Thank you.

谢谢。