4 Reasons for Developing a People-First HR Strategy

The most successful companies today are creating a people-first HR strategy. When a company focuses on employee engagement and feedback, they see an exponential return on their investment. These are the four reasons every company should be making a people-first HR strategy.

1. A people-first HR strategy builds excellent company culture.

When a company focuses on the development of policies and use of resources on strategy informed by feedback from employees, it always results in the best company culture. Company culture thrives when it’s constantly being developed based on feedback from employees, rather than just management’s ideas and strategy. Using a people-first lens will make employees strive to be more responsive and achieve more for their managers and their fellow employees. When employees are thinking about serving each other first, this creates the ideal employee experience and company culture.

2. Companies that focus on their employee experience and feedback nurture better productivity.

Creating a people-first culture that’s focused on employee engagement will always pay off with better employee productivity. Research has repeatedly shown that improving employee engagement leads to more motivated, energetic employees who achieve at a higher level for their company. When employees feel supported and that their feedback is heard and valued when they share it, they will perform at a higher level for their company for many reasons. Firstly, employees in a company with high employee engagement feel gratitude for their employer and want to show it via higher work productivity for the company. Secondly, employees who work in a company that values employee feedback feel a sense of ownership in the company itself. They want to stay and to share in the benefits of the company success. These employees will work harder to ensure this success for the company.

3. A people-first HR strategy improves retention of employees dramatically.

When a company focusses its HR strategy on its people first, it will see a significant rise in its employee retention rates. Employees who feel their feedback is valued and their engagement is important to the company will want to stay, even if another company tries to poach them, or if they see somebody share an interesting job posting. With a people-first strategy, a company will reap the benefits of employees who grow into their roles and take on new responsibilities. A company with a people-first HR strategy will also benefit from the tips and guidance of the people who stay and share their institutional knowledge, assist in training and mentoring new employees, and grow into leadership positions with more work responsibilities and more responsibility in building employee culture. These benefits are all critical for not only a strong people culture, but also true business success.

4. A people-first HR strategy helps attract top employees.

Employees are a company’s most valuable resource. Without talented people, a business will always fall short, no matter what kind of technology it buys or its locations, marketing, etc. Developing a people-first HR strategy means a company will create the kind of culture that attracts top employees. People will apply at a higher volume for a company’s open positions if they know its culture puts employees first. A company will also see significant savings in its hiring costs when it uses people-first HR strategy. Hiring the right employees can be costly—including job posting fees, employee labor, time spent away from business while recruiting, and training new people. Building a people-first culture is one method to ensure that the right employee is already seeking out the company (and thus cutting hiring costs dramatically).

Want more information? Check out our 9 tactics to grow your business with strategic human resource management here.