Features of a People-Oriented Organisation

Organisations that value their employees shine differently. These differences show up in many forms. The average tenure of employees is longer. They invest heavily in the learning, training, and development of their employees. They emphasise the overall well-being of employees. They not only pay well but also think of the future of their employees. Work-life balance finds prominence not just in papers and talks but also in practice. Employees can share their opinions more freely and without hesitation. There is greater autonomy in work with due emphasis on supervision. This blog highlights six prominent features of people-oriented organisations – something that is highly valued in the Middle East including countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The idea behind this blog is to help organisations solidify their vision of becoming a people-oriented or people-focused organisation.

Characteristics of a People-Oriented Organisation

Instead of defining what a people-oriented organisation is, understanding its characteristics is more helpful and the masthead of people-oriented organisations is that they reckon people as partners for its existence, journey, and growth. Their ideology is not confined to hiring people for work. The management philosophy in people-oriented organisations, people-focused organisations, or employee-first organisations is to foster the overall well-being and development of its employees i.e. both personally and professionally. Some of the key features of people-oriented organisations are presented in a classified format here.

Emphasis on Overall well-being

People-oriented organisations promote work-life balance.  Work arrangements are flexible in such organisations. Hybrid working (even when there may be no absolute necessity for it) is an example of this. The leave policies are liberal and employees are expected to plan and avail leaves responsibly.

Health and wellness programs are also common in such organisations because of the emphasis on physical and emotional health. This may involve counselling sessions with professionals. Healthcare benefits like annual check-ups and health insurance coverage may be also provided. Cleanliness and hygiene find prominence. People-focused organisations maintain zero tolerance for any kind of bullying, discrimination, or harassment towards making the workplace safe and even-handed for all.

Focus on Individual Development

Because people-centric organisations focus on the development of their employees, it leads them to provide various learning and training opportunities to their employees. Through such opportunities, employees get the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields. Many organisations even provide study leave to pursue advanced education like executive MBA and PhD. After completing such education and training and resuming work, employees do better at their jobs. This also creates employee loyalty and commitment. It boosts the career progression of employees. It aids in succession planning and creates an internal pool of future leaders and managers.

Open-Door Communication

In a rigid organisational design, communication tends to be restrictive and discouraging. The traits of such a work culture are evident from the offices of the top brass spiralling down to the lowest rungs. One of the reasons for this is the desire for extreme centralisation emanating from the desire to control. It is very difficult for business owners to see the consequences of such a philosophy no matter how justified it may seem. It affects the generation and flow of new ideas which is important to do things better. On the other hand, people-centric organisations maintain an open-door policy featuring two-way communication, a mechanism for sharing feedback and suggestions, constructive criticism, and scope of whistleblowing. There is openness in sharing thoughts and experiences that help build trust and engagement. There is a culture of acting upon eligible feedback and suggestions. Change management is easier in people-centric cultures and sustainable organisations.

Recognition and Respect for All

Whether through PMS or routine leadership and management, people-oriented organisations ensure that the efforts and contributions of employees are recognised and rewarded in an appropriate manner. Recognition is also important in routine work because it helps sustain the motivation and morale of employees instead of resting it on PMS appraisals which are usually done over longer durations. This also highlights how easily an organisation can fall into the category of not being people-oriented.

Although all organisations may claim that they are a fair and equal-opportunity workplace the reality can be different than these claims. Disrespect need not always be loud. It is also reflected in the everyday conduct of individuals, teams, and organisations as a whole. While there can be policies in place ensuring that everyone is treated fairly by everyone in an organisation must find priority in all HR activities with executive sponsorship.

Environment of Engagement, Team Work, and Collaboration

Every organisation should have an environment where employees involve themselves in their roles and responsibilities, play as teams, and are willing to collaborate to solve problems or achieve tough goals. That is when an individual gets to benefit and have a meaningful and exciting experience. People learn better in such work environments. Such work cultures are common in people-centric organisations. Focusing on people leads to finding ways to make work and workplace something to be looked forward to and it cannot be achieved without bringing people together as a team on a mission. It must also accompany granting people greater autonomy and ownership over work. This helps people come out of their shells and constraints and contribute more productively with the element of innovation. There is also a downside to a collaborative workspace. Individual efforts get shadowed. If a few members had a greater contribution to the success and they did not get the deserving recognition for it, their morale may get hurt. Team leaders play a vital role in mitigating this challenge by being fair and not driven by other motives.

Non-Financial Benefits

One of the glaring signs of a people-oriented organisation is its emphasis on long-term, non-financial benefits. Non-financial benefits include health and wellness programs, work-life balance, learning and career development opportunities, flexible work arrangements, high-quality work culture, liberal leave policies, education breaks, etc. Offering these and other similar kinds of non-financial benefits shows that a company is looking into the future of its employees. There are many globally-renowned companies where people seek to work because of their people-friendly policies and systems. It helps companies attract talent who seeks long-term engagement over job-hopping for short-term gains. However, speaking from a commercial perspective, non-financial benefits may come at the cost of keeping the financial benefits less competitive than some of the direct competitors.

Recap

The essence of people-first organisations, people-focused organisations, or employee-first organisations is the same. They reckon people as partners for their existence, journey, and growth. The underlying ideology or management philosophy of such organisations is to foster the overall well-being and development of their employees and is not confined to hiring people for work. They think of promoting a work-life balance with features like flexible working modes, offering access to quality health and wellness programs, healthcare benefits, health insurance coverage, cleanliness and hygiene at the workplace, etc.

Employee-first organisations provide various learning and training programs so that, along with the scope of delivering improved performance, employees also get the opportunity from time to time to enhance their knowledge, understanding, and expertise in their respective domains.

People-focused organisations maintain an open-door policy featuring two-way communication, a mechanism for sharing feedback and suggestions, productive criticism, and the scope of whistleblowing.

People-oriented organisations seek to ensure that the efforts and contributions of employees are appropriately recognised and rewarded.

Such work cultures are common in people-centric organisations where employees deeply engage themselves in their roles and responsibilities, play as teams, and are willing to collaborate to solve problems or achieve tough goals.

One of the glaring signs of a people-oriented organisation is that it also emphasises the future well-being and financial security of employees by offering both financial and non-financial benefits.