While becoming profitable is always a key goal in the early days of running a company, the path to success is built by the most important asset a company has: its’ people. Hiring talent with the knowledge that supporting, recognising and investing in people’s growth, is vital to running a successful business. Not only does supporting employees give them better tools to help construct the building blocks to company-wide success, but organisations should want those individuals to join them on the journey and celebrate success.
The way to tell whether or not a company is succeeding in terms of its’ employee support is to assess how similarly it treats employees to its’ clients. Clients expect a hospitable experience rather than a transactional one, it is important to do the same for those working for the business. Clients need to feel that they are being heard, valued and taken seriously. The same goes for the workplace — while the team is working toward the company’s goals, it is also necessary to make them and their professional goals feel seen and supported throughout the process.
When done right and employees feel heard and seen, top-notch product and profit will follow. Recognising and rewarding people’s hard work and improvements, celebrating shared and individual successes and making every individual feel like a key component of the team’s success are all central to ensuring employees feel valued in the workplace. It often comes down to interpersonal connections and making the time to get to know your employees, especially in an era dominated by new hires starting their jobs remotely.
Employees know their worth and are seeking out companies that are worthy of their time rather than just the other way around. While companies can’t really affect someone’s decision to retire, follow a passion in a different field or become an entrepreneur themselves, they can focus on retention in different ways.
Ways to implement a people focused strategy
- Reflect on programs and practices to see how employees can be best supported within the company. This can be done by evaluating and creating growth opportunities, ensuring equitable pay and creating and maintaining an inclusive workplace culture.
- Diversity and inclusivity should be kept in the forefront of the leader’s minds when recruiting, with the focus on skills versus formal education for roles that don’t require a four-year degree. Making sure everyone feels included and necessary to the organisation's success is the ingredient to making a company cohesive and effective across whole organisation.
- Empathy is a key skill for leaders. Sharing in company successes, making everyone feel recognized and understanding the value of benefits like time off, are things that employees notice and that can go a long way in their daily work life.
Having a people-first mentality is the key, to having a team that is dedicated to the company’s greater success, because they know this will translate to personal success as well. More refined products are a natural result of a committed team, and profits are the trickle-down effect from there. Prioritizing people, products, and profit — in that order — will always be your greatest return on investment.
