People come first.
First, there is the person, then the “value” they can bring as professionals. First, there is Giovanna, with her toddler struggling with first grade. Tommaso and his mad passion for gaming.
Lucia is undecided about whether to stay and live in Milan or return to her warm Sicily.
People bring themselves to the company not only degrees, skills, and experience but also dreams, hopes, desires, disappointments, judgments and prejudices, convictions, values, beliefs, and opinions. People are the company. And they make the bottom line.
It is as simple as that.
Yet it does not seem to be so widespread in practice. That is, when we talk to line managers, team managers, leaders of organizations, this concept comes up clearly. Yet organizations are not designed on this principle, they do not have the person at the center of organizational design.
Why do we talk about this in HRI?
Meanwhile, we must affirm a principle we believe in and want to advance. We want to create a voice to which others are perhaps more timid than we are willing to contribute, creating a chorus.
Secondly, in order to act consistently with this principle, we accompany companies in redesigning themselves, putting people at the centre.
Not “people” as if they were an indistinct whole, but just Giovanna, Tommaso, Lucia and each of the others. Personalizing experiences, building a context tailored to people’s needs, desires and expectations, surprising them, and even exceeding their expectations helps create the work environment that drives people to give their best.
It means having gear in the “talent” competition, which is already key today in some skills and will be increasingly so in the coming years.
But above all, it means having extra gear at the company’s disposal, made up of loyalty, dedication, and productivity. It also means having an army of ambassadors who speak well of the company, the product, and the reputation, building an increasingly positive and attractive image.
At HRI, we redesign organizations by putting people at the center
We use Personas and empathy maps to redesign Employee Journeys and design experiences (Employee Experience).
We use data to understand phenomena and measure our choices’ effectiveness.
We support the courage of Innovators and Early Adopters, the courage it takes to move forward in a direction that still belongs to few. Thank you to those HRs who have trusted and relied on us on this journey.
And thanks to the Giovanna’s, Thomas’ and Lucia’s who share their stories with us daily and offer us small windows to look at the world through their eyes.