Return on Time Invested (ROTI) is commonly understood to be the money value (or return in monetary terms) of time invested in a particular endeavor. It is related to yet another concept or tool that is used to arrive at the value of one’s time – Hourly Worth (HW), which is calculated by dividing the money earned during a year by the number of hours spent earning the said money (Money earned in a year/ Number of hours spent earning that money.) This simple formula helps us arrive at our earnings in a professionally productive hour or what is referred to as Hourly Worth (HW).
Both concepts are useful and both have their limitations.
There are, for instance, areas we give our time to like the seconds spent on friends, family, or in the rejuvenating lap of nature brings us intangible returns that cannot be quantified but are definitely of value to us. Such values may be inexpressible in monetary terms but they are vital in any discussion on human capital or the people part of any enterprise. ROTI experienced as psychological well-being by an individual or by teams or organizations can be the natural the outcome of an ecosystem created by the culture of the company, its values, vision, and mission.
It is therefore imperative that the intangible, the unmeasured and the unmeasurable elements of ROTI are also part of every discussion that pertains to the utilization or investment of time as it relates to human capital.
So, ROTI may also be experienced as a psychological high or as a knowing of having received the value that one cannot calculate in monetary terms. In instances like the free one-on-one Time Mastery session worth Rs 50,000 that I give as a reward to CEOs for business their companies bring to me, the beneficiary finds it easy to ascribe a monetary value to my gift. However, the pleasure I derive in the one hour of playing with my grandson is something I consider a handsome reward, which cannot be evaluated in monetary terms. Both situations give high ROTI scenarios. Quantifiable or not, it is a leader’s job to ensure that the members of his or her team get the highest ROTI possible. While meta-changes take time, effort, energy and money, it is possible for you as an individual to understand and influence factors that impact ROTI for the people under your charge in several small ways. Here are the pillars that influence ROTI in any workplace ecosystem:
Talent: When I say talent, I mean abilities one is born with, that give one a natural advantage or inclination. Children often display talents early in their lives. The earliest the manifestation of such talents is in the form of inclinations or predispositions like a fondness of singing or music, or above-average social intelligence manifested as an ability to get along with a variety of people, or emotional intelligence witnessed as an ability to postpone gratification (forego a toffee now if there are chances that the postponement will bring two toffees later) if higher returns are expected in the future. The talent could also be problem-solving ability, language skills or logical reasoning.
To identify talent and invest time in activities that build on existing talent results in higher ROTI. A musically gifted child would obviously pick more from a music class than one who is average.
Invest time in activities that you possess talent in to gain a higher ROTI.
Skills: It has been said that it is not enough to have talent. You should have a talent for your talent. Acquiring new skills helps us manifest our talents more fully and also help create new skills. In either case, skilled individuals get higher ROTI than those with lower skills.
Therefore undertake constant upskilling and cross-skilling to gain higher ROTI.
Efficiency: You have the talent and you have also acquired the skills that allow you to manifest the said talent but this is not enough. Undertaking micro-improvements in your approaches, techniques, and processes and through constant repetition, we gain higher ROTI from our time investment opportunities.
Progressive micro-improvement to develop our talents by acquiring skills that help us manifest those talents help us gain higher ROTI.
Positioning: After identifying your talent, acquiring talent do manifest it and introducing efficiencies in your skills, you need to position yourself in a space that allows you easy access to institutions, experts and learning resources that help you get more out of your time investments. By positioning, I mean how you differentiate yourself in a crowded market place where others sell similar products. By positioning, I also mean your geographical location and your presence in your target psychographic space online. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, is a good place for locating a financial business. It is also among the top choices for operating an entertainment business. Obviously, positioning, which decides how close you are to the ecosystem, which provides the solutions that are important to you are close.
Proximity to your natural ecosystem provides higher ROTI. Distance from it reduces the ROTI.
Human network matrices: No man’s an island, said R.L. Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island. All life is a relationship, said J. Krishnamurti, the philosopher. Synergy is everything. Other things remaining the same, a person who is connected to others operating in the ecosystem, has a better opportunity for using/ investing/ utilizing time in a manner that brings maximum returns or higher ROTI. Our connections with human network matrices (the maze of relationships in an ecosystem) help us grow our talents, upgrade skills, improve efficiencies, and develop closeness with our natural ecosystem.
Deeper people-to-people connections facilitate in higher ROTI.
In conclusion, high ROTI is the result of a healthy ecosystem in the workplace, which facilitates delight, productivity and personal growth for all its stakeholders. Is the workplace led by you such a space?
Are you a ROTI Positive (R+) company?
Read the article on Human Capital Online: https://humancapitalonline.com/hrbusiness/details/591/five-pillars-of-roti
