{"id":120,"date":"2018-04-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sageamptesting.wpengine.com\/en-au\/blog\/?p=120"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T09:15:18","slug":"what-is-a-people-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/what-is-a-people-company\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a People Company?"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/category\/people-leadership\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">People &amp; Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat is a People Company?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2018-04-19T00:00:00+10:00\">April 19, 2018<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"What is a People Company?\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/what-is-a-people-company\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/author\/paulburrin\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/07\/Paul-Burrin-Sage.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Paul Burrin<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Are your people your most valuable asset? While many business leaders would say yes, do they truly place the success of their people at the top of the list for company success, over everything else? If so, that\u2019s a People Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People Companies realise HR is changing. With the global skills crisis, there\u2019s now a war for talent. Employee engagement continues to plummet. As a result, productivity is at an all-time low. People Companies know that to secure the best talent, they need to not just be prepared, but get ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-people-company-explained\">A People Company explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A People Company considers people its most valuable asset. For leaders of People Companies, success is dependent on their workforce being successful. They know nurturing their people is critical to growth and regularly let them know how important they are to success. This is reflected in how their employees feel about the company and the output of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it\u2019s often more complicated than this to recognise a People Company. Ask most leaders \u2018Are you a People Company,\u2019 and they would likely say yes. However their employees may not agree. <mark class=\"highlight-and-share\">Sage research surveying over 500 HR leaders found 55% of senior executives think their company is people orientated \u2013 but only 29% of employees agreed.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-people-companies-are-forward-thinking\">People Companies are forward-thinking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as Personnel evolved to become HR in the 1980s, now HR is evolving to become a people function. Forward-thinking HR leaders are increasingly automating processes to free up their teams to focus on people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employees now expect the systems they use at work to deliver the same ease of use and utility as their favourite apps and websites. People Companies make it easy for them to do things like book holidays and manage their teams. They use scalable, responsive, flexible people systems which give great employee experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our recent research on becoming a People Company reveals fast-growing companies are embracing these kinds of systems \u2013 80% have embraced HR automation versus 53% in lower growth businesses. The emergence of Chief People Officers is also typically found in forward-thinking fast-growth companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However automating HR processes and introducing new job titles is not enough. To be a People Company, HR leaders need to design engaging experiences to help their employees excel throughout their employment journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Free research report: The changing face of HR<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Seismic shifts in the way organisations operate, work, and manage their people are occurring. We surveyed 500+ HR leaders to discover how they are responding.<\/p>\n<p>Uncover insights on how to stay ahead and transform HR from a process focused function to a people driven business.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-4ee0a038-cce7-4675-8f22-276fd668b27d\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download Report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563841-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563841-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-people-companies-design-great-workforce-experiences-from-before-day-one\">People Companies design great workforce experiences from before day one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Companies can no longer simply post a vacancy to a job board and wait for the applicants to come rolling in. To attract the best people, businesses must highlight the benefits of their brand and reputation as an employer. When People Companies apply consumer marketing techniques to attract candidates, we call this People Marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that\u2019s just the start. People Companies grow candidate relationships and deliver great experiences throughout the entire recruitment process. They go beyond free lunches, great workspaces and unlimited holidays. They know their people and what drives them \u2013 and use this information to create an employer journey that continually energizes their workforce and gets the best out of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-people-companies-don-t-make-decisions-based-on-gut-feel-and-spreadsheets\">People Companies don\u2019t make decisions based on gut feel and spreadsheets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In a People Company, leaders gain insight on what drives their workforce through People Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With People Science, organisations can use people data to develop stronger and predictive insights about its people and motivations. These insights can facilitate more informed evidence-based people decisions. Furthermore, the data can be used for predictive purposes, so that managers can begin to understand and make decisions based on people behaviour and motivations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-being-a-people-company-isn-t-a-nice-to-have-it-s-vital-to-success\">Being a People Company isn\u2019t a \u2018nice to have\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s vital to success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Companies which make evidence-based people decisions, design great workforce experiences and are forward-thinking in their approach to their workforce don\u2019t do this because it\u2019s a good thing to do. They know it\u2019s because being a People Company is vital to the success of their business and growth. And they know it\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Free research report: The changing face of HR<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Seismic shifts in the way organisations operate, work, and manage their people are occurring. We surveyed 500+ HR leaders to discover how they are responding.<\/p>\n<p>Uncover insights on how to stay ahead and transform HR from a process focused function to a people driven business.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-4ee0a038-cce7-4675-8f22-276fd668b27d\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download Report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563841-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563841-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-20ec4af6-53dd-41ab-81ed-95d438e3bb90\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-626184462-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-626184462-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are your people your most valuable asset? While many business leaders would say yes, do they truly place the success of their people at the top of the list for company success, over everything else? If so, that\u2019s a People Company. People Companies realise HR is changing. With the global skills crisis, there\u2019s now a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":382,"featured_media":1888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,90,74],"tags":[154,222],"business_type":[9],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[107,103],"imagine_tag":[42,54,65,25,40],"coauthors":[280],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leading-people","category-managing-people","category-people-leadership","tag-employee-benefits","tag-hr","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-au","author_name":"Paul Burrin","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/what-is-a-people-company_resize.jpg","imagine_tags":{"42":"Enterprise business","54":"Grow your business","65":"HR and Payroll","25":"HR software","40":"Mid-sized business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Australia","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=120"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}