How to become a people-first company

A people-first culture offers numerous advantages, including decreased turnover, heightened engagement, and enhanced productivity. Recognizing employees contributes to a positive workplace culture.

In a landscape filled with various HR initiatives, it can be challenging to know how to best support your teams. Establishing an employee-first culture has the potential to unlock your business's true capabilities. Let's discover how to become a people-first company with Aniday's article. 

What does it mean to be a “people-first" company?

People-First represents a leadership philosophy that prioritizes the holistic well-being of individuals, encompassing their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs to enhance their overall performance. 

People-first company is a corporate culture centered around employees or people prioritizes acknowledging and valuing the workforce to foster a stronger sense of connection and motivation. The significance of prioritizing people transcends the boundaries of your business and has a broader impact.

Advantages of a People-first company

There are a wide range of advantages that this culture offers as follow 

Improve recruitment

In today's industries, talent is in high demand. A people-centric culture streamlines the process of finding the right candidates. Employees value recognition, respect, personal growth, and a genuine commitment to work-life balance.

Such a culture also boosts your talent pipeline as employees are likely to refer potential candidates, increasing diversity and reaping various benefits.

Improve employee retention

In the era of the Great Resignation and a workforce prioritizing purpose over profit, a people-centric culture aids in retaining employees. Such an environment values job satisfaction and overall well-being above mere goal achievement, leading to increased engagement.

Moreover, demonstrating appreciation for your employees' contributions fosters higher engagement among your workforce.

Stress Reduce

This is not only a contributing element to enhanced retention but also significant enough to warrant a dedicated section. A people-centric workplace culture alleviates stress among employees.

A people-first culture revolves around promoting well-being and self-care, allowing individuals the flexibility to explore new concepts, and fostering collaboration and teamwork over competition. Within this setting, employees are less prone to the anxiety and depression that can negatively impact productivity and lead to human errors.

Boost customer satisfaction

When your employees experience greater workplace contentment, they are inclined to deliver exceptional customer experiences. When employees are not grappling with job-related challenges and have their fundamental needs met, they can concentrate on delivering the superior customer service demanded in today's highly competitive market.

Enhance adaptability 

Stress or unhappiness can hinder individuals' ability to be flexible. Rather than embracing change, they may resist it or become paralyzed when called upon to adapt.

In the current business landscape, agility is paramount. Prioritizing people and making them feel valued can contribute to making your organization more malleable and responsive to change.

Drive innovation

A people-first culture encourages creativity and risk-taking, fostering an environment where innovative thinking thrives. This human-centered approach, as advocated by Shane Metcalf of 15Five, promotes psychological safety and a sense of belonging, resulting in more creative thinking and sustained high performance.

Enhanced profitability

Prioritizing people over profit doesn't preclude financial success. Empowering your employees through a people-centered culture often yields positive results.

Tips to Nurture a People-Centric Culture

In this section, we will provide you practical strategies that are essential to nurture a people-first work culture

Establish company alignment with the people-first approach

To prioritize employees, ensure your company's mission aligns with this goal. Cultural change requires commitment throughout the organization, involving leaders and senior executives. Highlight the benefits, such as retaining top talent, increasing productivity, and achieving alignment, to drive a successful transition.

Prioritize fair hiring and advancement.

Prioritize skills-based hiring to put people first. This approach values capability over experience and connections, signaling fairness and a people-centric focus to current and prospective employees.

Implement skills testing, where applicants undergo assessments to gauge their technical and soft skills suitability for the role. For instance, an accountant's assessment may include tests like Intermediate Math, Critical Thinking, Advanced Accounting. These tests assess candidates based on their skills, not just their CV or resume, broadening your candidate pool, reducing bias, and supporting both external hiring and internal mobility.

Offer a competitive compensation package 

Relevant and valuable benefits demonstrate your understanding of employees' needs, making fair pay an essential part of a people-focused company.

A comprehensive perks package sets your job offer apart by including unique and desirable benefits, even if the base salary is similar. Our recommended benefits include family planning and childcare support, financial planning assistance, mental health resources, flexible work options, learning and development support, and work-life balance policies.

Create diverse employee feedback channels

Understand the employee experience by offering various feedback options. While company-wide surveys provide an overall sentiment, complement them with more personalized methods, such as utilizing social media to connect with younger generations. Actively engage with employees to better address their concerns and solutions.

Emphasize recognition of contributions

Recognition is at the core of an employee-first strategy. Acknowledge employees' diverse skills and achievements, both from peers and leaders. Recognition fosters a sense of value, connection, and motivation, encouraging employees to invest their energy meaningfully. Use incentives to promote engagement, especially when introducing a new platform.

Equip leaders with trust and empathy strategies

Empower leaders to support their teams and gather feedback through constructive one-on-one interactions. Demonstrating that employee ideas are valued encourages ongoing contributions. Coach leaders on empathy and teamwork, emphasizing the importance of the team's strength.

Promote real-time employee engagement through feedback

Set achievable expectations, facilitate employee growth, and provide honest, real-time feedback. Recognize and reward desired behavior changes, fostering dynamic and open dialogues between leaders and employees.

Foster a genuine employee-first workplace culture

Cultivate an authentic and vibrant culture by aligning company values and commitments with employee well-being and development. Make employees' priorities your own, listen to feedback, and empower them to lead. When your strategy is authentic, employees will reciprocate loyalty, creating a thriving, two-way relationship. Actions speak louder than mere slogans on posters.

Conclusion

An employee-first culture isn't a one-size-fits-all concept or a once-a-year event. It thrives on living values, embracing feedback, and empowering employee growth and leadership.

Align your company with a vision focused on employee well-being, making their priorities your own. Authentic strategies create mutual care, as loyalty is a two-way street where actions speak louder than core value posters.

Recruitey hopes this article has given you an overview and practical tips on how to become a people-first company.