We are in an information and technology economy. It is hard to understand sometimes that ideas are the currency of now. Widgets are produced elsewhere, based on the notions that are developed here. That is what crafts the superior, progressive industry that is actually produced here…thought, ideas, coding, software. These are the things that make the physical world hum along and all the machines in it work efficiently.

So, keeping a good staff that produces those brainstorms is key. By extension, the satisfaction of your staff is a key indicator of how you do as a company for a lot of reasons. First, it’s important that your staff feels respected and valued because how they feel about their work is worth considering on its own. From a more self-interested perspective, the friendliness and supportiveness of a coworking community is often what determines whether members feel good about their workspace. Your staff sets the community tone, the outside world they connect with and the work perform for clients. That, by extension ensures that they will provide high-quality customer service, support and developing prospects into new clients.

All of the things in our digital economy (the advance of big data and metrics everything, millennial expectations, and perhaps even brand magnanimity) absolutely support the worker-first trend and help explain its rise.

Again, please note that society has shifted away from an economic model that is based on production and/or repetition of tasks (manufacturing jobs, production work, etc.) and moved into an economic model that is fueled by ideas. In the idea economy, entire industries are turned upside down (sometimes almost overnight) by small upstart companies with a vision for how the future should look and the courage to turn that vision into a reality. (If you’re reading this, I imagine you can name at least three such companies without batting an eyelid, but I’ll mention a few here just to cement my point: Warby Parker, Airbnb, and Uber.)  In the idea economy, companies are no longer competing over pools of labor—they’re competing for ideas.

In this economic climate, business survival depends on attracting the best and the brightest minds to envision the future and rethink outdated ways of doing things and them put those solutions into action. Competition for visionaries with transformative ideas is fierce and workers have lots of options at their disposal. (Thanks to technology, launching your own business has never been easier.)
Businesses know this well, and now offer a host of perks (mentoring, work-life balance, free breakfast) to attract and retain the best and brightest. Additionally, with transparency as a new paradigm with businesses, it becomes clear who is a good employer and who is not, what perks are offered and where and with whom you want to work with as an employee. In this light, it’s no surprise companies are now willing to put people first.

At Blue Sand Group, we’ve learned a surprising practical benefit of being a people-first workplace. When you have a small team and not the budget to grow headcount quickly, the best way to increase results is increasing the capacity of your team. While our headcount is unlikely to triple in one year, the skills and productivity of our team can. Have you seen our MAMMP project? There is a key that matches the right work environment with personal development programs.

In an age of social media and oversharing, BSG knows full well how to promote inspiration and feelings of empowerment which our staff and our clients thrive off.

Do you feel you are lacking this drive? Contact BSG today.