How to Create a People-First Company Culture

The path to creating a people-first company culture involves developing a more connected, internally motivated workforce.

What are people-first cultures?

People-first cultures are known to be rooted in belief systems and uphold organizational espoused beliefs where individuals are valued above profits. In these organizations, the role of individuals and interactions among teams, whether localized or working remotely, are prioritized. Organizations with people-first cultures are known to have a more resilient and profitable bottom line. By valuing people such as, employees and groups, or teams, the results benefit the bottom line.

An example of a people-centric approach benefiting bottom line outcomes is Marriott Corporation. The company’s mission: “If we take care of our people, they will take care of our customers, and the customers will come back,” has succeeded by putting people first. With over six thousand locations and nearly $23 billion in annual revenue, the company has navigated industry and global set backs, resisting the “shareholders first” thinking and keeping employees as the top priority.

Marriott has persisted to align to its mission of people over profits. Among Marriott’s leadership team, an understanding of the power of a people-centric culture, and that when people feel valued and cared for, they experience strong intrinsic motivation, a deep sense of meaning, and an overall greater sense of engagement, ultimately benefits the bottom line.

What are some of the primary reasons people-first cultures are linked to higher profits?

A few primary reasons people-first cultures experience higher profits result from less turnover, higher profit margins due to higher production, and stronger connection among teams. Marriott experiences employees that go the extra mile because they want to contribute to the mission. Employees working within organizations where individuals are highly valued tend to have a strong connection to organizational outcomes and values.

This kind of connection is often linked to outcomes of employee engagement and teamwork. Individuals working within these cultures frequently experience a sense of appreciation and investment to helping accomplish organizational goals and outcomes. Teams work together and with less turnover, learning is attained, which contributes to stronger organizational outcomes overall.

In addition, most employees align to the organizational mission and experience a sense of connection to the organization as a whole. These organizations often experience readiness throughout the organization as individuals become prepared to change and grow alongside the organization rather than “resist” organizational and environmental change.

Higher outcomes of readiness result in stronger productivity. Studies show that culture-driven organizations tend to have higher levels of engagement. Employee engagement is linked to less turnover, higher productivity and innovation, stronger productivity and overall employee satisfaction.

As people-first culture’s clearly benefit the bottom line, how can you begin taking steps to improve your organizational culture?

Begin by taking action in these five areas:

1. Empower Decision Making - Employees working within people-first cultures are empowered to make decisions. As change is consistent and often requires immediate action, preparing individuals to take action by empowering individual decision-making ultimately improves organizational resilience. A growing number of employees and teams connect remotely in 2022, establishing a culture that supports individual and group decision making is vital. Dispersed teams need to know how to make decisions both independently and in work teams. An employees' ability to respond nimbly to customers' needs, or enlist a new service to meet a new market demand, may be the vital decision to keep the company profitable. That shift in thinking requires a culture which embraces people-first values over blind obedience and gives workers the latitude to serve those who really hold the key to the success of the business.
2. Listen Well - Leaders of people-first cultures listen to their organization. According to Amy Jen Su, co-owner of Paravis Partners, an executive training and coaching firm, “As a leader, you need to have a strong voice and you need to know when it’s time to listen” (Harvard Business Review, 2015). Why is listening so important? When it comes to listening to the organization, hearing at all levels is vital. What employees are experiencing, managers are recognizing, and other leaders consider to be key priorities all tell the story of how the organization is doing. Too often, leaders spend more time talking, inspiring, and sharing vision than listening to the nitty gritty of what is actually being experienced. Leaders of people-first cultures recognize their own intellect and investment in establishing healthy priorities and processes, yet, understand the real value of co-creation. “They recognize their own intellect, but they also recognize that their colleagues are equally smart and have something of value to say” (Harvard Business Review, 2015). People-first cultures create an environment conducive to listening. Holding consistent meetings to listen and share ideas is often a priority. Empowering individuals to get involved in dialogue regarding priorities or challenges experienced provides opportunity to create healthy discussion, brainstorming and problem solving. Additionally, they create opportunities to follow up on problems discussed in order to create effective solutions. Direct involvement in communication and problem solving continues to foster individual value, builds trust and ongoing collaboration experienced throughout the culture.
   
3. Foster Leadership - People-first cultures foster leadership that is essential to thriving vs. surviving. Shared leadership fosters shared mission experienced among leadership teams and employees, regardless of the size of an organization. Leaders who are people-first focus on employee’s as people, recognizing their value and investment, not just their output or productivity toward the bottom line. These leaders address employee’s needs first, adopting a more servant leadership mindset. Organizations working toward establishing a people-first culture must define their leadership philosophies, training current and future leaders of key priorities and initiatives, beginning with serving the needs of their employees. Specific processes include developing consistent one-on-one meetings, coaching and providing feedback, setting up regular occurring meetings to listen to employees throughout the organization, and prioritizing problem solving around key values, is an expectation of the leadership team. Leadership development to foster a people-first culture is considered high priority, and leaders who serve in a management role undergo constant development.
   
4. Walk Your Talk - In people-first cultures, the actions of leaders and managers match their words. In these cultures, leaders support and foster change and promote continuous improvement, both personally and organizationally. Leaders within people-centric cultures have a deep understanding of “why” the organization values its people, how changes or improvements are approached, and makes decisions based upon clearly understood organizational values. Leaders, managers and employees model behaviors that are held to be valued throughout the organization. Processes that are created are followed. All individuals, despite role, follow established processes, and collaborate toward achieving goals. In addition, the sense of teamwork is felt despite role, with senior leaders and managers aligned to maintaining a consistent and dependable approach to decision-making and problem-solving aligned clearly to its mission.
   
5. Inform Your Hiring Process - People-centric organizations hire talented people, empower them to do their role, and then get out of their way. Enabling employees, empowers decision-making to at all levels of the organization and allows employees to work autonomously. This level of leadership empowerment also encourages collaboration and teamwork. Additionally, individuals celebrate risk-taking and creativity as opportunities to innovate and learn continuously.
   

SOURCE:


Stibitz, S. (2015). How to Really Listen to Your Employees, Harvard Business Review, Retrieved on April 14, 2022 from https://hbr.org/2015/01/how-to-really-listen-to-your-employees

Hougaard, R. (2019). Leadership Strategy, The Power of Putting People First, Forbes, Retrieved on April 14, 2022 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/rasmushougaard/2019/03/05/the-power-of-putting-people-first/?sh=101cf436aff8