The ROI of Happiness 

Company Sees 50% Higher Retention, 40% Less Absenteeism, and Revenue Nearly Doubles

By Karissa Barcelo

Challenge

Beyond improving employee engagement, DMG leaders wanted to take things a step further and prioritize employee happiness. They understood that if they could make their employees happier at work and outside of work, they would see an increase in productivity and engagement, and create a positive ripple effect to their customer base, and the community. They were challenged with aligning and embedding their values into their culture so they could truly be lived, and supported by the rest of the organization.

DMG founders have always believed in employee happiness as a core pursuit for their company. Amr Soliman, their CEO, is a leader who manages the spirit of his people. They needed to implement a program that would enhance their happiness principles, and lead through example. 

“It's important to have a past with a strong foundation. In present times you need strong values and crisis management skills. And to build the future, you need to focus on a strategy to grow. The companies who put their people first and are culture-driven will be the ones to thrive long after Coronavirus.” Rasha El Gamal, Vice President of HR & Culture

Solution

Rasha El Gamal, Vice President of HR & Culture, co-created a world-class culture development program called iDMG, along with Delivering Happiness coach|sultants Shereen Eltobgy and Javier Munoz Mendoza. The program was rooted in the science of happiness, and designed according to the company’s strategic priorities. MennatAllah Saeed, Culture Development Manager also helped to facilitate this program, and led the team in living their values and purpose through behaviors. 

Over the course of 9 months, Shereen and Javiar delivered tailored workshops, culture team development, and coach support. They trained a group of Champions to model key behaviors, and certified an internal team of 10 facilitators to roll out the program. Everyone had a shared commitment to see the culture change  through with co-ownership on all levels. 

As the coach|sulting project progressed, the DMG team took things to another level. They embedded their values and purpose into the very design of their building! Their innovative design would help employees actually live their company values through behaviors. They constructed different rooms such as the “Gratitude Room” for praise and acknowledgements, “The Happy Hub” for group and family events, and they had a separate space for yoga and meditation. Their office space encourages a positive mood, inspires creativity, and boosts efficiency for their people. 

Jenn Lim and Sheeren Eltobgy with DMG on partner signing day, becoming DH Egypt.

“We wanted to reflect these principles into the building by naming the meeting rooms with the names of our company values. We made the interior design reflect the meaning of the value it's named after. Now our building talks. When you enter the office you can feel our culture.” - MennatAllah Saeed, Culture Development Manager

Employees were able to hone in on their values and purpose in a way that speaks to the vulnerable, human side of them. This company is the epitome of a WOW culture.

You can catch a glimpse of their office space in this video!

Results

DMG is innovative within their industry, and also in the way they take ownership of their culture. They are the first company in Egypt to implement happiness as a central aspect to their business strategy, and they are one of the fastest growing companies in the country. By putting “happiness by design” at the core of their business, they have reaped the rewards again and again. 

DMG’s revenue nearly doubled, while their employee engagement and happiness vastly improved. They experienced a 300% increase in innovation, 50% higher retention, 40% less absenteeism, and a 30 point increase in a top employer evaluation. 

DMG was the 1st company in the Middle East to be certified Top Employer in 2019 for their people practices, HR systems, and work environment.  

Greater Impact

DMG continued to take things to the next level! They wanted to share their happiness mission with organizations in the Middle East, so they became certified partners with Delivering Happiness, and DH Egypt was born. After experiencing such success within their own teams through happiness they knew the Egyptian market needed these initiatives to change work for the better. They believed happiness as a product would flourish in the Egyptian market because it’s based on science, and not superficial initiatives.

As COVID-19 affected businesses worldwide, DMG’s culture interventions helped them to sustain. Over the last 4 months they avoided layoffs, succeeded in launching projects, and met all of their goals while working remotely. They attribute their success to the strong cultural foundation they had in place with their people at the center.