In today’s competitive environment, the struggle for brands to stand out in the crowd is real. Different branding and marketing strategies are tried and tested by companies all the time. However, most of these efforts do not have a long-lasting impact. Vision and philosophy are crisp-fried to meet only the immediate hunger. Branding is a long-term goal with the elements of maturity and responsibility at its core. And a key philosophy to emerge as a mature and responsible brand is becoming a people-oriented organisation.

‘Employees First’ is the idea of becoming a people-oriented enterprise before becoming a customer-oriented enterprise. It may sound counter-intuitive but it is much more than what it appears on the surface in a literal sense. It’s about recognizing a fundamental truth that employees are not just people hired to do work but they are also the partners of the business journey and drivers of growth. It is not about cajoling employees or showering them with benefits. Becoming a people-oriented organisation means taking care of every aspect of employee management starting from manpower planning and recruitment to career enhancement and retirement. Stepping into what is being called ‘The African Century’, aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners or business heads of organisations from within and outside Africa intending to start a business or achieve business growth in one or more of the many thriving countries of the region like South Africa, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, DRC and others cannot afford to ignore the relevance of being employee-first organisations and the associated organisational values.

This blog is an attempt to correlate the philosophy of ‘Employees First’, with the resultant business and organisational benefits.

Higher Engagement and Productivity

When people feel noticed, heard, respected, and valued for what they are and what they do, they tend to become more attached and engaged with that workplace as well as their work. They begin to treat their jobs as their mission. Such morale and motivation translate into increased levels of focus, effort, and innovation. There are various means by which the presence and efforts of employees are recognised and lauded. These means include PMS, managerial/leadership training, taking feedback, daily/routine rewards and recognitions, awards, etc.

In organisations where work-life balance finds prominence, employees of such organisations can give quality time. The quality of time holds more value than the quantity of time in almost all categories of jobs. Even if the task is sleeping, it is the quality of sleep that matters more than the hours spent sleeping.

Another area that can be considered is manpower planning. Quite often organisations settle down with very small team sizes. The impact of this is the overburdening of duties and responsibilities on the available team members. Uncertainty in job markets may prevent people from quitting but this neither secures dedication nor translates into loyalty. Respectable organisations are not borne without the loyalty of their employees.

Reduced Employee Turnover

Employee turnover is a hardly talked about subject these days. With the availability of a large, mobile workforce almost everywhere, replacements are easy to find. This is one area where some organisations stand out. They take employee turnovers seriously and choose to deal with it instead of adopting shortcuts.

One of the prime culprits for increased turnover is work culture and environment. Poor work cultures are not ideal places for honest and hardworking people. Big organisations are the biggest victims here. The top leadership remains in little clue of what is happening in their branch offices in distant places. The organisation structures are so extensive in such organisations that even within one office building, the seniors and juniors working on different floors would share the same lift every morning and would not know each other. These everyday things add to the element of indifference in workplaces and work cultures. A people-oriented organisation would have a robust onboarding process where they are introduced to people beyond their teams and departments. Cross-functional events and activities help employees realise the idea of ‘we are one big family’ as often proclaimed by the top brass of organisations.

Of course, there are other reasons for employee turnover. All these reasons have a people-side to it and can be addressed.

Reduced Absenteeism

Organisations that take employees as a priority tend to emphasise work-life balance. They offer flexible work arrangements like hybrid or WFH as per work requirements. Efforts for the overall well-being of employees find prominence in such organisations. A positive outcome of these efforts is that the risks of stress and burnout come down leading to a lesser need to take work-induced leaves. Other initiatives include providing quality meals in canteens, access to quality healthcare, discouraging excess working hours, annual travel benefits, etc.

When job satisfaction is present, people do not have to force themselves to come to their offices or do their work. The desire to not miss work is increased in a work environment that features teamwork, healthy discussions, and a scope of socialising with like-minded people and professionals. People and professionals are used differently here because bonding can also take place out of personality-related factors like sense of humour, common hobbies and interests, etc.

Attendance also improves in workplaces where employees have greater autonomy and flexibility over different aspects of their jobs like working hours, decision-making, and platforms to provide feedback or suggest recommendations. Rigid systems are less likely to be received well. Such systems are often perceived as too mechanical.

Better CRM

Employees are the people who represent businesses to customers. This specifically applies to teams in marketing, sales and business development. Happy, engaged, and motivated employees exhibit better skills and expertise in dealing with customers. They tend to go the extra mile as well. On the other hand, when employees perceive that their efforts are not going to be recognised or appreciated, their morale remains down affecting the quality of their engagement and communications in dealing with customers.

Training provided to employees plays a big role in improving customer experience. Trained and knowledgeable employees can interact with customers more confidently and with a sense of ownership and assurance. These qualities help gain the trust and confidence of customers leading to enhanced effectiveness of CRM initiatives. It is not difficult to imagine how poor behaviour or lack of interest in resolving customer grievances hurt brands and businesses.

We can also use the example of a good PMS in helping businesses retain productive employees and employee placement which in turn positively impacts customer experience and CRM. A healthy, fair, and accurate PMS helps organisations identify performers and their skills and expertise. This identification helps in making important decisions in the areas of promotions, transfers, training, job redesign, job enrichment, etc. For example, the best performer in a sales team might be the best candidate to fill the position of team leader.

Organisational Sustainability

Before we go to people, it is important to first comprehend the idea of a sustainable enterprise. The most important quality of a sustainable enterprise is that it can withstand the test of time. Various external factors like economic slowdown, political instability, global events like pandemics, drastic technological changes and competition can make organisations go through difficult phases. Not many survive the onslaught of such events. In such times, the commitment and loyalty of employees play a big role in helping organisations mitigate the impact and sail through. For example, there are instances when senior executives of many companies decided to take cuts in their salaries so that operations are not halted during the Covid pandemic.

Another quality of sustainable organisations is the ability to consistently meet promises and deliver results. That is why employees or business associates with a long history of working together and fulfilling each other’s commitments prefer not to disturb the relationship. There is a lot of flexibility in such work relationships that go beyond the papers. Such bonding is hard to break or even comprehend for competitors. The end result in the big picture is that sustainable organisations function via a workforce and a network of associates with whom they share high levels of mutual trust and respect along with the fulfilment of promises and delivery of results that eventually benefit customers, clients, and shareholders. Change management is easier in employees-first organisations.

Goodwill and Branding

Let us start this point with something contemporary. Today, if any company is found mistreating its employees and images or videos of such acts enter the internet, the company faces harsh backlash on social media from netizens. This criticism does not remain confined to any geographical limit. This is not good for business in general and specifically in job markets. Companies with unethical and opaque HR policies and practices are not the favourite destinations of high-performing talents. In this age of the internet, employers’ ratings and reviews on online platforms affect their ability to attract good talents. Also, organisations that value employees are received with high respect in societies, markets and industries. India’s Tata Group is a perfect example here. It is not something employees-first organisations do for business benefits; it is inherent to their beliefs and philosophy. Companies with strong reputations with a proven track record find it easier to attract not just good talents but also competent value chain partners. In the long run, markets and customers stand to gain by the presence of people-oriented organisations.

Recap

Sustainable brands are not created overnight. Branding is a long-term mission with maturity and responsibility as its core elements. Becoming a people-oriented organisation is an instrumental philosophy that helps in emerging as a mature and responsible brand. The idea behind ‘Employees First’ is becoming a people-oriented enterprise which then contributes in big, long-lasting ways to become a customer-oriented enterprise. It’s about acknowledging that employees are the partners of the business journey and drivers of growth and not merely people hired to do work. The philosophy of ‘Employees First’ has resultant but important business and organisational benefits.

The morale and motivation of employees tend to remain at higher levels in organisations where employees are recognised, work-life balance is maintained, and workloads are reasonable. This translates into improved focus and performance enhancing the quality of the work they do and the results they achieve. This improvement eventually shows up in operations leading to better quality of services to customers.

Being a people-oriented organisation also helps in reducing employee turnover. Toxic work culture is one of the biggest causes for employee turnover remaining on the higher side. Considering and addressing the human side to this and other causes of employee turnover helps contain the latter. When people stay longer, they gain a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities. On the other hand, frequent changes in the team compositions hamper the speed and quality of output. In one way or the other, these adverse outcomes hit customer experience.

Efforts for the overall well-being and welfare of employees find priority in people-oriented organisations. There is a stronger desire to be present at work and be engaged in a work environment that features work-life balance, less scope of stress and burnout, autonomy, scope of socialising with like-minded people and professionals, and job satisfaction. All these attributes make workplaces healthier and happier which then shows up in how customers are prioritised not merely as a rule but also out of natural choice.

A happy, motivated, and engaged workforce displays better skills and expertise in dealing with customers. When communicating with employees, trained and knowledgeable employees interact more confidently and with a sense of ownership and assurance. This helps gain the trust and confidence of customers. A fair and comprehensive PMS provides critical inputs for decision-making in matters related to promotions, transfers, training, job redesign and enrichment, etc.

Sustainable organisations can withstand the test of time. The loyalty and commitment of employees are critical for organisations in mitigating and sailing through rough times like economic slowdowns and global supply chain disruptions. Sustainable organisations maintain healthy relationships with long-standing employees and associates with whom they share high levels of mutual trust and respect. Organisations that value employees are meted with respect in societies, markets and industries. Employees and value chain partners seek to work with such organisations.

Developing and maintaining HR SOPs for various HR operations is a critical requirement for building and sustaining a people-oriented organisation.

For enquiries on retail and eCommerce business solutions or to speak to one of our expert omnichannel consultants, please drop us a message and we will reach out to you.