A people first culture in the workplace is something that you must adopt in your business. The nature of business is always ever changing, but what remains constant is the need to create purposeful experiences in the office. This is not a task that comes easy, it must be an integral core value of your business that is seen at every single level. Where do you get started? Here are three tips ->
1.Start with management
If the values of a people's first culture are not modeled from the top-down, you will never see this through fruition. In order to maintain this core value, your managers need some soft skill training. Empathy is a strong foundation to having a people first culture because it allows you to understand the needs of others. When you truly understand what your people need, you should have no issue of trying to achieve that for them.
2. Practice what you preach
There are so many businesses that preach a work life balance and then they overburden employees with far too much work that can be handled within the regular 9-5 schedule. A work life balance has become more and more crucial over the years and can oftentimes be valued more than salary. Allow your employees to take time off from work as they will come back so much more relieved.
3. Get feedback from employees
While you may think you are doing everything you can to have a people focused culture, you need to hear that directly from your people. The best option is to create an anonymous survey to get feedback from your employees. If that is not feasible, this is a good time to implement 1-1 meetings with your direct reports to discuss their career growth with the company and how the company can best support them.
If you are not working to implement a people focused culture in your business, you are not going to retain your employees. In the current market, employees want far more than a good paying salary. They want autonomy, mastery, and purpose in their work. They want managers that care, they want a company to implement the culture they often speak about, and they want a voice.
