Member Article

‘Plus ones’ and personal satisfaction: how a fresh approach is keeping staff content

By Ed Dixon, CEO at Bayezian.

As an employee in the workplace, the level of autonomy you’re afforded can widely vary. Companies have deliverables to meet for expectant clients and time constraints can often dictate what takes priority. The individual interests of an employee may fall down the list.

But the pandemic has forced a rethink. A 2021 study by McKinsey found that, despite nearly half reconsidering the kind of work they did, 70% of employees felt their sense of purpose defined by their job. Clearly, what staff members do within the workplace and whether they feel it’s representative of them individually is of critical importance. Affording employees greater ownership of the direction the company takes is one way of ensuring a feeling of personal accomplishment.

But how can this be achieved in a structured way? And with an approach that still benefits the company overall? This is where the ‘plus ones’ concept comes in.

What is the ‘plus one’ concept?

We’ve all asked or been asked to bring a plus one to a social event. But what does this mean in a business and workplace context? Well, rather than trying to impress your friends with your new invitee, the plus one concept is an individual’s addition to the company. In our case, it involves team members working on client projects while also pursuing their personal AI research interests.

So, in simple terms, a plus one is the employee’s project. It allows them to take their passion and work on it. From a personal POV, working with data experts, scientists and early careers employees has helped us to build and shape the concept. We have seen how providing this freedom to explore and experiment has led to groundbreaking discoveries and innovations that contribute to the company’s success and impact.

The benefits of a plus one

Just as a plus one can bring a new energy and dynamic to a social gathering, employees are given license to bring their passions into the company which can then influence strategy and ideas. This creates a much more well-rounded and interesting company, allowing ideas to be born from any area.

As more ideas flow, there is also more opportunity for employees to learn new skills in the area in which they want to develop them. And rather than say a plus one isn’t feasible, companies should find ways to accommodate the idea. If there isn’t enough expertise or resources inhouse, training can come from sources like an outsourcing company, external experts or consultants.

Creating such a culture and training mentality is crucial at a time when two thirds of businesses are struggling to recruit employees with the skills they need. The same research found that nearly “three in five workers (58%) say their employer has never provided them with training to improve their digital skills”. Digital skills are essential for the future of work. The plus one concept allows you to find methods of developing such skills and keep employees highly engaged in doing so. If you can keep employees stimulated, then you can hopefully retain happier staff members at a time when data experts are in demand.

Where a plus one has shone

It’s all well and good having a concept – but does it work at Bayezian? Judging the success of a plus one can be more subjective, such as an individual’s engagement, enjoyment and performance, or it can be more objective, such as a business project’s success and growth.

We had a plus one individual who attempted to predict the outcome of Formula One. Here, the underlying ambition was to facilitate development in their area of interest. Because of the freedom to choose how they wanted to learn AI and machine learning skills, their development in this area of expertise came on leaps and bounds.

And then there was a plus one that triggered a breakthrough scientific discovery. The fertility project, which developed an algorithm that can determine male fertility at a faster and more accurate rate than previously possible, was born out of a plus one experimentation. Not only did this give an incredible sense of achievement to the individual, but also provided a tangible real-world benefit to society.

More plus one ideas are currently in motion, such as using AI to uncover new methods for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Why a plus one is always welcome

If employees don’t feel a sense of purpose, they are much more likely to look elsewhere. But if they can develop skills through their passions, bringing ideas into the business, they can also gain more ownership of the company’s mission. This has given rise to the plus one concept – a process that benefits both the individual and the company.

It’s similar to giving employees equity in a company. But instead of an ownership stake, they have a personal investment in and fulfillment from their own work and the company’s direction. As the skills crisis continues to impact the data science sector, taking on plus ones can help you develop employee skills and retain staff. Fundamentally, it gives a feeling of personal satisfaction while also contributing to business success and potentially the wider world.

It’s why a plus one should always be welcome to the table.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lucy Jefferson .