How do you put the employee at the centre of your strategy?

Placing employees at the centre of the organization, “employee-centricity” has become a fundamental aspect for organizations.

What is there in common between Eroski, Trops, Red Eléctrica, Danone, Vegalsa and Artiem, for example? There is one trait – among others, of course – that these companies, clients of Madavi, all share: a differential focus on people.

A lot has been said about the “internal customer” experience, especially since the pandemic, and the hybrid work models that make it difficult to retain talent and the workforce’s sense of belonging.

And with that purpose of uniting workers around an employer brand, companies are humanizing themselves. With health and wellness programmes; with innovative performance policies; with more transparent and participatory communication; with practices of inclusive diversity management…

That is, with new corporate cultures that place people at the heart of the organization, and allow the employee to empower their own career, set their own goals and organize their work. Autonomy and flexibility increase their commitment to the organization.

Involving people in the future of the organization

The companies with whom we started this article have gone a step further; not only do they “take care” of their people and promote their professional careers, but they also give them autonomy, and have decided that they will be the owners of the change process, involving them in the creation of an attractive future image for the company.

This joint visualization of their future image is based on the positive core, that is, seeing the best of the organization and the people that make it up.

If we have a future image that is attractive, ambitious and possible, it generates sufficient energy to change our behaviour and mobilize action; an energy that pushes us towards that “dream” that we have imagined creating strategies, products, services, attracting resources, talent and initiatives.

Discovering what we do have and dreaming of a common future

This image of the future comes from the internal dialogues that take place in organizations. It is generated by discovering and dreaming.

Discovering “the best of what there is”, that is, the strengths and resources of the organization as a whole, a vision from abundance, “what we do have”. Because if we start from scarcity, from what is lacking, it will be difficult to have a particularly positive vision or image of the future.

The next step is to hold a dialogue among many about what our organization would be like if we used its full potential. An image of the future created in this way provides everything that is necessary to be highly mobilizing.

This new approach puts the employee at the centre of the company strategy. It generates a WE.

Involving its people in the joint creation of that vision of the future helps the organization transform itself, build the culture it wants, and achieve the commitment of its people. In short, to achieve its goals.