Employees First, Customers Next?

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Employees First, Customers Next?
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In todays competitive environment, the struggle
for brands to stand out in the crowd is real.
Different branding and marketing strategies are
tried and tested by companies all the time.
However, most of these efforts do not have a
long-lasting impact. Vision and philosophy are
crisp-fried to meet only the immediate hunger.
Branding is a long-term goal with the elements of
maturity and responsibility at its core. And a
key philosophy to emerge as a mature and
responsible brand is becoming a people-oriented
organisation. Employees First is the idea of
becoming a people-oriented enterprise before
becoming a customer-oriented enterprise. It may
sound counter-intuitive but it is much more than
what it appears on the surface in a literal
sense. Its about recognizing a fundamental truth
that employees are not just people hired to do
work but they are also the partners of the
business journey and drivers of growth. It is not
about cajoling employees or showering them with
benefits. Becoming a people-oriented organisation
means taking care of every aspect of employee
management starting from manpower planning and
recruitment to career enhancement and retirement.
Stepping into what is being called The African
Century, aspiring entrepreneurs and existing
business owners or business heads of
organisations from within and outside Africa
intending to start a business or achieve business
growth in one or more of the many thriving
countries of the region like South Africa, Ivory
Coast, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya,
Nigeria, DRC and others cannot afford to ignore
the relevance of being employee-first
organisations and the associated organisational
values. This blog is an attempt to correlate the
philosophy of Employees First, with the
resultant business and organisational benefits.
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Higher Engagement and Productivity When people
feel noticed, heard, respected, and valued for
what they are and what they do, they tend to
become more attached and engaged with that
workplace as well as their work. They begin to
treat their jobs as their mission. Such morale
and motivation translate into increased levels of
focus, effort, and innovation. There are various
means by which the presence and efforts of
employees are recognised and lauded. These means
include PMS, managerial/leadership training,
taking feedback, daily/routine rewards and
recognitions, awards, etc. In organisations
where work-life balance finds prominence,
employees of such organisations can give quality
time. The quality of time holds more value than
the quantity of time in almost all categories of
jobs. Even if the task is sleeping, it is the
quality of sleep that matters more than the hours
spent sleeping. Another area that can be
considered is manpower planning. Quite often
organisations settle down with very small team
sizes. The impact of this is the overburdening of
duties and responsibilities on the available team
members. Uncertainty in job markets may prevent
people from quitting but this neither secures
dedication nor translates into loyalty.
Respectable organisations are not borne without
the loyalty of their employees.
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Reduced Employee Turnover Employee turnover is a
hardly talked about subject these days. With the
availability of a large, mobile workforce almost
everywhere, replacements are easy to find. This
is one area where some organisations stand out.
They take employee turnovers seriously and choose
to deal with it instead of adopting
shortcuts. One of the prime culprits for
increased turnover is work culture and
environment. Poor work cultures are not ideal
places for honest and hardworking people. Big
organisations are the biggest victims here. The
top leadership remains in little clue of what is
happening in their branch offices in distant
places. The organisation structures are so
extensive in such organisations that even within
one office building, the seniors and juniors
working on different floors would share the same
lift every morning and would not know each other.
These everyday things add to the element of
indifference in workplaces and work cultures. A
people-oriented organisation would have a robust
onboarding process where they are introduced to
people beyond their teams and departments.
Cross-functional events and activities help
employees realise the idea of we are one big
family as often proclaimed by the top brass of
organisations. Of course, there are other
reasons for employee turnover. All these reasons
have a people-side to it and can be addressed.
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Reduced Absenteeism Organisations that take
employees as a priority tend to emphasise
work-life balance. They offer flexible work
arrangements like hybrid or WFH as per work
requirements. Efforts for the overall well-being
of employees find prominence in such
organisations. A positive outcome of these
efforts is that the risks of stress and burnout
come down leading to a lesser need to take
work-induced leaves. Other initiatives include
providing quality meals in canteens, access to
quality healthcare, discouraging excess working
hours, annual travel benefits, etc. When job
satisfaction is present, people do not have to
force themselves to come to their offices or do
their work. The desire to not miss work is
increased in a work environment that features
teamwork, healthy discussions, and a scope of
socialising with like-minded people and
professionals. People and professionals are used
differently here because bonding can also take
place out of personality-related factors like
sense of humour, common hobbies and interests,
etc. Attendance also improves in workplaces
where employees have greater autonomy and
flexibility over different aspects of their jobs
like working hours, decision-making, and
platforms to provide feedback or suggest
recommendations. Rigid systems are less likely to
be received well. Such systems are often
perceived as too mechanical.
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Better CRM Employees are the people who
represent businesses to customers. This
specifically applies to teams in marketing, sales
and business development. Happy, engaged, and
motivated employees exhibit better skills and
expertise in dealing with customers. They tend to
go the extra mile as well. On the other hand,
when employees perceive that their efforts are
not going to be recognised or appreciated, their
morale remains down affecting the quality of
their engagement and communications in dealing
with customers. Training provided to employees
plays a big role in improving customer
experience. Trained and knowledgeable employees
can interact with customers more confidently and
with a sense of ownership and assurance. These
qualities help gain the trust and confidence of
customers leading to enhanced effectiveness of
CRM initiatives. It is not difficult to imagine
how poor behaviour or lack of interest in
resolving customer grievances hurt brands and
businesses. We can also use the example of a
good PMS in helping businesses retain productive
employees and employee placement which in turn
positively impacts customer experience and CRM. A
healthy, fair, and accurate PMS helps
organisations identify performers and their
skills and expertise. This identification helps
in making important decisions in the areas of
promotions, transfers, training, job redesign,
job enrichment, etc. For example, the best
performer in a sales team might be the best
candidate to fill the position of team leader.
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Organisational Sustainability Before we go to
people, it is important to first comprehend the
idea of a sustainable enterprise. The most
important quality of a sustainable enterprise is
that it can withstand the test of time. Various
external factors like economic slowdown,
political instability, global events like
pandemics, drastic technological changes and
competition can make organisations go through
difficult phases. Not many survive the onslaught
of such events. In such times, the commitment and
loyalty of employees play a big role in helping
organisations mitigate the impact and sail
through. For example, there are instances when
senior executives of many companies decided to
take cuts in their salaries so that operations
are not halted during the Covid
pandemic. Another quality of sustainable
organisations is the ability to consistently meet
promises and deliver results. That is why
employees or business associates with a long
history of working together and fulfilling each
others commitments prefer not to disturb the
relationship. There is a lot of flexibility in
such work relationships that go beyond the
papers. Such bonding is hard to break or even
comprehend for competitors. The end result in the
big picture is that sustainable organisations
function via a workforce and a network of
associates with whom they share high levels of
mutual trust and respect along with the
fulfilment of promises and delivery of results
that eventually benefit customers, clients, and
shareholders. Change management is easier in
employees-first organisations.
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Goodwill and Branding Let us start this point
with something contemporary. Today, if any
company is found mistreating its employees and
images or videos of such acts enter the internet,
the company faces harsh backlash on social media
from netizens. This criticism does not remain
confined to any geographical limit. This is not
good for business in general and specifically in
job markets. Companies with unethical and opaque
HR policies and practices are not the favourite
destinations of high-performing talents. In this
age of the internet, employers ratings and
reviews on online platforms affect their ability
to attract good talents. Also, organisations that
value employees are received with high respect in
societies, markets and industries. Indias Tata
Group is a perfect example here. It is not
something employees-first organisations do for
business benefits it is inherent to their
beliefs and philosophy. Companies with strong
reputations with a proven track record find it
easier to attract not just good talents but also
competent value chain partners. In the long run,
markets and customers stand to gain by the
presence of people-oriented organisations. Recap
Sustainable brands are not created overnight.
Branding is a long-term mission with maturity and
responsibility as its core elements. Becoming a
people-oriented organisation is an instrumental
philosophy that helps in emerging as a mature and
responsible brand. The idea behind Employees
First is becoming a people-oriented enterprise
which then contributes in big, long-lasting ways
to become a customer-oriented enterprise. 
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Its about acknowledging that employees are the
partners of the business journey and drivers of
growth and not merely people hired to do work.
The philosophy of Employees First has resultant
but important business and organisational
benefits. The morale and motivation of employees
tend to remain at higher levels in organisations
where employees are recognised, work-life balance
is maintained, and workloads are reasonable. This
translates into improved focus and performance
enhancing the quality of the work they do and the
results they achieve. This improvement eventually
shows up in operations leading to better quality
of services to customers. Being a
people-oriented organisation also helps in
reducing employee turnover. Toxic work culture is
one of the biggest causes for employee turnover
remaining on the higher side. Considering and
addressing the human side to this and other
causes of employee turnover helps contain the
latter. When people stay longer, they gain a
better understanding of their roles and
responsibilities. On the other hand, frequent
changes in the team compositions hamper the speed
and quality of output. In one way or the other,
these adverse outcomes hit customer
experience. Efforts for the overall well-being
and welfare of employees find priority in
people-oriented organisations. There is a
stronger desire to be present at work and be
engaged in a work environment that features
work-life balance, less scope of stress and
burnout, autonomy, scope of socialising with
like-minded people and professionals, and job
satisfaction. All these attributes make
workplaces healthier and happier which then shows
up in how customers are prioritised not merely as
a rule but also out of natural choice.
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A happy, motivated, and engaged workforce
displays better skills and expertise in dealing
with customers. When communicating with
employees, trained and knowledgeable
employees interact more confidently and with a
sense of ownership and assurance. This helps gain
the trust and confidence of customers. A fair and
comprehensive PMS provides critical inputs for
decision-making in matters related to promotions,
transfers, training, job redesign and enrichment,
etc. Sustainable organisations can withstand the
test of time. The loyalty and commitment of
employees are critical for organisations in
mitigating and sailing through rough times like
economic slowdowns and global supply chain
disruptions. Sustainable organisations maintain
healthy relationships with long-standing
employees and associates with whom they share
high levels of mutual trust and respect.
Organisations that value employees are meted with
respect in societies, markets and industries.
Employees and value chain partners seek to work
with such organisations. Developing and
maintaining HR SOPs for various HR operations is
a critical requirement for building and
sustaining a people-oriented organisation. For
enquiries on retail and eCommerce business
solutions or to speak to one of our expert
omnichannel consultants, please drop us a message
and we will reach out to you.