What’s 10-Minutes of Your Time Worth?
During a recent presentation, I shared our unique DNA Behavior Discovery assessment process (think probing questionnaire) on screen and a skeptic gasped, No one will spend the 10-minutes to do this. I found this surprising and it has still not escaped me.
With all the time we spend on inane things (satirical YouTube videos, social media, reality TV and more), investing the same amount of time it takes to fold a load of laundry or order a few office supplies online to learn something about yourself that will pay dividends for the rest of your life hardly seems like a waste.
How much time do you spend sitting around talking about money (or lack of it) and your desires? Cutting to the chase by getting clarity on who you are and how you make big decisions will come back to you in spades.
I’ve been reflecting on, What is the value of spending 10-minutes to measure your “DNA”- innate behaviors you may not even know you have but which drive all types of critical decision making throughout your life? Below I take a stab at the value. I’ve low-balled this a bit based on research we have today and the ways our clients are using behavioral insights to bring value to their teams and clients.
Before we jump into that data it’s important to know that DNA Behavior has three main segments (Financial DNA, Business DNA, and Communication DNA). When a participant spends 10 to 12 minutes, he or she receives insights from all three segments where we predict virtually every human habit: such as habits for investing, spending, working, communicating and decision-making.
Investing: Financial DNA brought an average portfolio: $3,750++ annually
One of the main benefits of Financial DNA is powering advisors with tools to behaviorally coach their clients. Most advisors leveraging Financial DNA set the minimum threshold for clients at $250,000. Let’s assume this skeptic had the minimum threshold – as I do know they have an advisor. Based on Vanguard research with over 56,000 clients, advisors bring 150 bps of additional value to a clients portfolio. That is 1.5%, which means that an advisor has the potential to bring an additional $3,750 annually just by investing 10-minutes.
Another personal benefit of Financial DNA is revealing clients spending (and saving) habits and the action steps to manage these behaviors. Imagine the value of a tool that could save you 5, 10, even 15% of your annual expenses just by being aware of your spending.
Working: Business DNA could bring $22,540 in value to your time at work
One area where behavioral assessments have been more embraced is the hiring process. It is relatively routine to be required to complete an assessment before landing a job (and often these assessments can range from 10-minutes to 1-hour to complete, with 30-40 minutes being typical). It is not uncommon for applicants to be required to complete five assessments before they land a job, but if a DNA Behavior Discovery was in the mix, they don’t need to complete any of them.
Instead, all participants can receive their Business DNA results alongside their Financial DNA – there is no need to ever complete another pre-employment assessment again as even more robust information is already in hand via the investment in a single DNA discovery. The median household salary in the U.S. is $56,000 (approx. $28/hour). If each process was an hour long – this would save $140.
Gallup did research on Individual Productivity and found that processes like Business DNA reduce stress and unproductive time in the workplace. In fact, Gallup quantified this at an increase of 40% in employee productivity and 70% in team productivity. Again, assuming with the national average of $56,000 a 40% increase in productivity lends itself to a rough savings of $22,400 per year.
Decision-making: Awareness to Check yourself before you wreck yourself: Priceless
The same one-page report that informs financial decisions and workplace scenarios can be brought to bear in any facet of your life. The power of having this validated information at your fingertips is incredible. For instance, pausing to consider maybe five of your strengths and perhaps three of your challenges may change the lens through which you see things, influencing untold decisions.
And think of that multiplied by two. That is, pausing to consider not only your own strengths and challenges, but the same information on the other side of the equation – perhaps a team member, client or even family member who also invested the 10 minutes to discover their own DNA.
I was recently at a business dinner at which a guest produced business card-sized DNA Discovery “cheat sheets” from his wallet. He confessed that he occasionally stops to re-review his own and his wife’s Communication DNA reports. Now THAT’s valuable.
Still not convinced? Consider: It has taken you less than 10 minutes to read this article.
Convinced? Complete a no-cost, no-obligation 10-minute discovery (Choose: Financial DNA or Business DNA).
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