In a true employee-focused organization, one of the most important outcomes for the organization and its leaders is continually finding the right spot for each team member. People are not one-size-fits-all; they are individuals with unique strengths, experiences, preferences, and aspirations. The key to creating a productive and engaged workforce lies in understanding that each person’s success can manifest in different roles, projects, or teams over time. The path to finding that “right spot,” where an employee feels engaged, productive, and cared for, can involve exploration, role changes, project or focus area shifts, and even hybrid positions that allow them to contribute in multiple areas of the organization. This is not something you do once and say, "Great! This person is set forever." By consistently striving to help your employees find fulfillment in their work, you create an environment where humans and the organization can succeed. When this happens, great things are possible.
In companies that don’t truly prioritize their employees—despite what their LinkedIn profiles or employee handbooks may suggest—this concept is often completely overlooked. When employees are seen as mere "numbers" on a P&L spreadsheet, resources to be moved around whenever it benefits the organization, or shifted by senior leaders who have no understanding or regard for the employee, the organization's long-term success is in severe jeopardy. Many organizations move employees around without doing the necessary homework to ensure each person is properly cared for and considered. And heck, if employees are unhappy and leave, just backfill the position or ask others to take on more work! This mindset, however, comes with a tremendously high cost. Talented individuals and valuable domain knowledge walk out the door, resulting in fewer outcomes for the company. The remaining employees are left to carry the burden and navigate the churn. Operating this way is also incredibly expensive. It's far more effective—across the board—to simply care for the people in your organization.
And as we’ll explore in a future article, beware of the silent exodus—when companies quietly lose their best talent over time, unable to see the slow erosion of their workforce until it’s too late.
Genuinely caring for each human is not the easy button approach. There are many moving pieces in an organization, and all things need to be orchestrated carefully. Especially caring for the humans involved! As a leader, I've had moments where I felt I did this well, successfully helping team members discover that "right spot," but there have also been times when I missed the opportunity to help someone get to the "right spot" in the organization. Those moments were a reminder of how critical it is to stay tuned into the needs and growth potential of each individual, as well as the larger organizational goals. I guess that's the hard part about being a leader. Living with the decisions you make, both the good ones and the bad ones.
Obviously, the process is not always straightforward. In some cases, individuals are versatile and excel at a variety of roles. This can present a challenge for leaders who may hesitate to move them from a role they are already excelling at—particularly when that role is critical to the organization’s operations.
But this situation doesn’t have to be a roadblock. There are multiple ways to help an employee grow in their career. One option is to help them take on a hybrid role, where they handle some (not all) of their current responsibilities combined with new work that aligns with their interests or long-term goals. This allows them to contribute meaningfully while also exploring a path toward the role that fulfills them. This transition doesn’t have to happen all at once, and it allows the individual to evolve at a comfortable pace while still delivering results in their existing role.
Another approach is to create a detailed, well-thought-out plan for their future progression. This plan can outline a roadmap that enables them to transition into roles more aligned with their long-term goals, while still recognizing the important role they already play in your organization. It’s about making room for their growth without losing the value they bring in the present.
But this is what takes to be an employee-focused organization: a willingness to do the constant, hard work of genuinely caring for a team of humans and continually striving to help them find fulfillment in their work. Many companies claim to be employee-focused, but when you look deeper, the same old issues emerge: profits at all costs, leaders that don't genuinely care, and outcomes over humans.