{"id":3433,"date":"2018-02-12T12:30:37","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T17:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=3433"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:28:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:28:48","slug":"becoming-a-people-company-5-ways-to-build-a-business-that-puts-people-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/becoming-a-people-company-5-ways-to-build-a-business-that-puts-people-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a People Company: 5 ways to build a business that puts people first"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBecoming a People Company: 5 ways to build a business that puts people first\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Paul\t\t\t\tPaul Burrin<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you put people first in your organization, over everything else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some businesses might like to think so. In fact, 55% of senior executives thought that they\u2019re a \u2018People Company\u2019 when we asked them. In other words, a company that puts their people first<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, staggeringly, only 29% of employees agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018People Companies\u2019 explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Companies that put people first get ahead. They attract the best, and as a result, their business flourishes because they invest in their biggest opportunity for growth \u2013 their people. We call companies which do this \u2018People Companies\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re organizations that know that their people are the most valuable asset<\/a>, and that company success is dependent on their workforce being successful. They get that nurturing their people<\/a> is critical to growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They let their employees know how valued and important they are to success \u2013 in actions as well as in words \u2013 and this is reflected in how their employees feel about the company and their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HR\u2019s role in People Companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HR teams are leading this change. It\u2019s why we\u2019re seeing the emergence of Chief People Officers in place of HR Directors in progressive companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also not the first time HR has transformed. Personnel evolved to become HR in the 1980s. Today, HR is changing to become a people function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you \u2013 or your employees \u2013 don\u2019t see yourself as a People Company, though, it can be hard to know where to begin. So, here\u2019s our five tips to get started to become a company that truly puts people first, based on our research from 500+ HR and People leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Transform your workforce with Sage<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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No matter the size of your team, Sage offers HR solutions to help you lead, manage, and engage your people.<\/p>\n

 <\/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\tFind out more<\/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\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Get regular feedback from your employees \u2013 and act on it <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Want to know how your employees can feel that their company puts them first? Ask them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Find out what\u2019s important to them at work, and the types of things they\u2019d like to see you do as an employer. You might be surprised at what they say. Furthermore, the simple fact of asking your workforce what drives them will show you value their input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s a few ways you can do this \u2013 from employee forums, to encouraging line managers to regularly ask their employees. Pulse surveys are also a great option, as they allow you to get quicker feedback and take remedial action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Historically, companies have conducted annual engagement surveys to monitor their employees\u2019 engagement and commitment to the company. However, results from these surveys rarely lead to insights or actions, and employees can view these as a \u2018check the box\u2019 business commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Today, leaders need to take a much more holistic view to engaging people as part of their business strategy. Getting regular and continuous feedback is a great way to start, and demonstrate to your employees that you value their options and how they feel about their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The most important thing, though, is not collecting feedback \u2013 but listening and acting on it. For example, can you get feedback from new joiners and act on it in time for when the next new joiner starts? Make sure that you demonstrate you\u2019re listening by communicating what and how you\u2019re changing \u2013 and the rationale if some things are not able to be changed right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Use data to make HR and people decisions <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Understanding what the data is telling you about your workforce is another vital way to know how you can design experiences at work that make your people feel valued, truly putting them first in your business. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In a People Company, or a company that puts people first, leaders get insight on what drives their workforce through what we call People Science. This means applying data-driven approaches to understanding your workforce \u2014and how you both manage and engage them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      People Science is more than just people analytics. In practice, it means not just mining data and reporting it\u2014but analyzing it, and gaining actionable insights<\/a> to test hypotheses and identify solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      People Companies use insights in this way to design workforce experiences that engage employees, market themselves to candidates, and understand employees\u2019 behavior and motivations. This also adds further credibility and commercial justification to people decisions in their company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you\u2019re not sure where to begin with People Science, though, our eBook on the five vital steps to improve workforce visibility is a great place to start to understand where you are on your People Science journey, and what\u2019s next for your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Unleash the power of your brand: apply external marketing techniques internally <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        In a competitive job market, offering a steady position for a good salary is no longer sufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Companies need to work so much harder not only to attract talent, but retain them too. Making sure your people feel they are valued and put first is essential for this. That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial that HR leaders adopt the same principles that their marketing colleagues do. This is something we call \u2018People Marketing\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In the same way that marketing teams will stay on top of product reviews in places like app stores, have a look at online review sites: what are people saying about your brand, and how can you engage with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Notify your employees of any new policies, benefits, work practices and let them feedback to you too. Listen to them, consider good ideas, implement and promote them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Think also about your tone of voice, and how this reflects your values. You must be genuine, credible, distinctive and attractive for existing and potential workers to listen and \u2018buy into\u2019 your employer brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        It\u2019s also not good enough to simply pay lip service to how you value your employees and your workplace culture \u2013 staff and potential candidates need to see the proof of this, too. Can they see clear career progression within your organization, and evidence of employees being promoted internally? Are your staff advocates of your company on social media?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In addition, just as customer case studies and reviews speak volumes in marketing, the power of employee advocates can\u2019t be underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Ultimately, think about how you market yourself to potential customers, and adopt some of the same practices in your talent acquisition and engagement programs to develop an authentic employer brand that your people can buy into and benefit from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        Take an interactive tour of Sage People<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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        Discover how Sage People can transform the way you hire, manage, engage, and retain your workforce in this self-guided interactive product tour.<\/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\tBegin Tour<\/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\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        1. Ditch the annual review \u2013 and think about how you recognize the work employees do <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          It\u2019s been a hot topic in the HR sector over the last year or so: are the days of the annual performance reviews numbered<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Companies that put their people first know the importance of continuous conversations. They provide regular feedback<\/a> throughout the year, are able to make performance improvements in a more agile and incremental way, and use approaches like peer-led \u2018shout outs\u2019 to reward performance. This enables a faster, more nimble way to feedback to employees, that workers, colleagues and the business benefit from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It\u2019s not just feedback that\u2019s important, though \u2013 recognition is vital to making sure your people feel valued for the work that they do. Make recognition programs<\/a> inclusive, don\u2019t skimp on spending, and make sure you have a range of ways to reward and recognize employees<\/a>; some may like a company-wide shout-out, whereas others may be slightly mortified at the prospect and prefer a more discrete way of being recognized, such as a personal email from a senior member of the leadership team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Try fostering a culture of recognition and appreciation; it could be the most cost-effective way to maintain a happy and engaged workforce where your people feel valued. Simply by recognizing and acknowledging employees for their work, you can generate a strong emotional commitment to your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          1. Say hello to flexible working <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Today, thanks to mobile technology, employees are \u2018always on\u2019 and can often work longer hours, and \u2013 at times \u2013 weekends too. The traditional model of being in the office 9-5 has changed; companies which demonstrate that they value their employees\u2019 work-life balance<\/a> and recognize that everyone has different ways of working will held in high regard by workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Parents shouldn\u2019t have to miss the school run just to be seen to be in the office, when they may be working long evenings too. Commuters don\u2019t need to spend three hours travelling to and from work each day, when they could spend that time working from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Give employees the autonomy to work when and where is best for them. They\u2019ll feel empowered and will be more productive in the output of their work as a result. Put in place an approach that works best for your people, and you\u2019ll be putting them before unnecessary processes and traditional ways of working which are now out of date. You\u2019ll reap the rewards in terms of engagement and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ultimately, it\u2019s about putting your people at the heart of everything you do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            Companies which put people first and truly value their workforce deliver great experiences throughout the entire employment journey. They go beyond free lunches, great workspaces and unlimited holiday. They know their people and what drives them \u2013 and they use this information to create an employer journey that constantly continues to energize their workforce and get the best from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In total, only one-third of US employees are engaged at work, according to Gallup<\/a>; they love their jobs and make their organization better every day. 16% of the US workforce are actively disengaged \u2013 they\u2019re miserable in the workplace and extinguish what the most engaged employees build. The remaining 50 million employees aren\u2019t engaged at all. In Gallup\u2019s words: \u2018they\u2019re just there\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Which category do your people fall into?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Reimagine your HR process<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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            When your people perform at their best, so does your business. Download our free guide to discover how you can transform your small business workforce.<\/p>\n

             <\/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\tDownload guide<\/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\"2\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Do you put people first in your organization, over everything else? Some businesses might like to think so. In fact, 55% of senior executives thought that they\u2019re a \u2018People Company\u2019 when we asked them. In other words, a company that puts their people first. Yet, staggeringly, only 29% of employees agreed. \u2018People Companies\u2019 explained Companies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":530,"featured_media":8467,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348,47],"tags":[17],"business_type":[41],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[411,55],"persona":[99],"imagine_tag":[215],"coauthors":[706],"class_list":["post-3433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-guides-templates","category-people-leadership","tag-hr-payroll","business_type-growing-business","industry-human-resources","industry-professional-services"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Paul Burrin","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/kpis-every-hr-leader-should-monitor.jpg","imagine_tags":{"215":"HR and Payroll"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/530"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35330,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3433\/revisions\/35330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=3433"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}