The JUST Report: New Indexes Show Human Capital Investments Keep On Delivering
As Henry Ford said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”
The release this week of our Human Capital Index Concepts puts some real-time market numbers behind this time-tested “employees first” credo. Using our JUST Jobs Scorecard analysis, we created three groups of companies comprising the top 20% of performers in each of the Benefits, Employee Wellness, and Hiring & Stability categories. In each case, we tracked these firm’s market performance against the Russell 1000 Equal Weighted Benchmark.
The results are compelling.
All three indexes have beaten the benchmark year to date. Specifically, as of September 30, 2024, the leaders in Hiring & Stability and Employee Wellness were up 16.94% and 16.26%, respectively, outshining the benchmark by 5.09% and 4.41%, respectively. Those in the Benefits category delivered returns of 12.02%, up 0.16% on the benchmark.
We’re working hard to build these into investable products, but if you’re interested, you can view sample scorecards for HPE, Union Pacific, Starbucks, JPMorgan Chase and other companies leading on these issues here.
At a time when the future of work is so uncertain, and with new reports indicating growing resentment among American workers and creeping feelings of stagnation in the job market overall, these results should provide reassurance that at least one core tenet of business leadership – look after your people as best you can – still produces results.
Be well,
Martin
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
(Yum! Brands)
“When I transitioned from being the Chief Brand Officer to the CEO, some great advice I got was, don’t try to be a black belt in everything. Be a black belt in marketing and be a brown belt in everything else. That’s what I think helped me to be successful early on, because I’m not trying to be everything. I understand I’m not a CFO, but I have a great CFO who can lead the business.”
- Sean Tresvant, CEO of Taco Bell, speaking to Fortune on the best advice he got about running a business as he stepped into the role.
JUST in the News
Forbes lists JUST Capital’s JUST Jobs Scorecard and corporate partnerships as key resources to craft competitive work-family employee benefits in 2025.
Our friends at The Brookings Institution take a deeper look at the counties Trump won – representing a minority share of GDP, but with notable gains since 2020.
MUST Reads
Newsweek lists the 22 states that will be enacting minimum wage increases on January 1, 2025.
The New York Times reports that Spirit Airlines has officially declared bankruptcy after a failed merger and $2.2 billion in losses over the past 5 years.
Reuters reports that a Texas judge has blocked Biden’s federal overtime pay rule.
CEO Today looks at how job pay transparency laws are actually changing hiring for the better.
Fortune breaks down how men and women diverge when it comes to the best benefits for retaining them, with women ranking “work-life flexibility” significantly higher than men. Explore the data here.
Chart of the Week
This chart comes from PwC’s recent analysis of how companies are planning to shift their investments, or stay the course, as Trump takes office in 2025. Look at all the insights here.
