Employee centricity: how to place employees front and centre
Customer centricity, whereby companies put the customer at the centre of everything they do, is becoming increasingly important. A growing number of employers have come to realise that they can only achieve this if their own employees are given sufficient appreciation. In this article we discuss employee centricity and how you can apply this in your organisation!
Leadership that is fully focused on employees
Employee-centric organisations recruit people based on shared values. Can a potential candidate identify with the organisation’s transparent DNA? Does he/she share the same vision? Such questions are a good place to start, but employee centricity involves so much more than this.
The leadership style determines the extent to which the employees are effectively at the heart of the organisation’s strategy. We are referring to an active listening style and two-way traffic. Unlike traditional organisations, employee-centric companies believe that the manager does not necessarily have a monopoly on the truth. On the contrary even, the input of every employee is valued in an employee-centric corporate culture. Every employee offers added value. And everyone is given the opportunity to further develop the skills in which he/she excels.
Measuring and discussing individual and joint performance
It’s not enough to simply encourage employees to contribute to the company. A team member is only at the heart of a strategy when this team member understands exactly how individual and joint performances shape the company. In other words: your employees like to know how their contribution helps the company achieve its objectives. How to go about this? You can work with individual and collective Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for example. Visualise them, and make sure that your employees take each other to a higher level as a result.
In addition to this, you can also use performance and evaluation interviews to measure this. Instead of organising them once a year, you should sit down with your employees every six months. It’s a great way of keeping tabs on things and avoiding lingering issues. Employee-centric managers are also aware that this relies on mutual feedback. Both parties discuss what is going well and where there is margin for improvement.
Don’t forget your employees’ wellbeing
It goes without saying that employee-centric managers also take into account their employees’ well-being. Create a positive vibe and offer them an interesting place to work. This can include ergonomic furniture, sufficient light, a fruit basket…
Also give them sufficient leeway so they can work and achieve results in the way they prefer to. You’ll see that your employees will stay motivated, giving your company more flexibility on every level.
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