Servant leadership is defined by the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership as "a non-traditional leadership philosophy, embedded in a set of behaviors and practices that place the primary emphasis on the wellbeing of those being served." In other words, servant leadership is people-first leadership. A servant leader makes it their first priority to serve the needs of those around them.

When you adopt a people-first leadership philosophy, everything else falls into place. Understanding your team members and their concerns becomes clear because you are practicing empathy. People under empathetic leadership are far more innovative, engaged, healthy and loyal. How you should support your team becomes clear when you are practicing active listening.

By following the core tenets of servant leadership (listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, building community), you pave the way to building a people-first organizational culture.

Create a world-class experience

In the aftermath of the Great Resignation and a "quiet quitting" trend, creating a world-class employee experience has never been more important. Job seekers are searching out employers that offer the best employee experience possible, meaning those that take a people-first approach in everything they do. Here are ways to create a world-class employee experience and maximize retention:

• Compensate fairly
• Offer comprehensive benefits
• Support a healthy work-life balance
• Purge toxicity from your culture
• Provide plentiful opportunities for career development and advancement
• Have a well-defined mission – show your impact
• Make your core values clear and live them every day

For many job seekers, some, if not all, of these aspects have become non-negotiable. By implementing direct measures that have a tangible impact on the quality of your employees’ lives, you are showing them, through action, that they are your priority.

Track, monitor, and report

The most important part about building a people-first culture are the people themselves. You will only know if your efforts are working by asking them directly and frequently. Data is your key to sustaining this culture. To get the data you need, ensure that your employees have a safe platform to provide their candid feedback on what they think is going well and where they want to see improvements.

Anonymous surveys are easy to set up and work wonders for this purpose. Leaders can then use the data to gain real-time insights, address overarching issues, sustain their efforts, and make necessary changes to make sure their efforts are being felt.

With time and consistency, leaders will see trends and realize the true impact of their efforts. They can then use all the data at their disposal to make informed decisions on what to continue doing and what to change going forward. In addition to surveys, leaders can conduct regular one-on-one meetings with each of their team members to get more direct, nuanced and individualized feedback.

Commitment, certainty and communication are the three keys to sustaining a people-first culture. Leaders need to be committed to put in the effort needed to create one; they need to be certain about what’s going well and what needs improvement through data analysis; and they need to communicate regularly with their team to assess their efforts at a more granular and individual level.

Creating an employee-first culture comes down to adopting a people-first approach to leadership. Read up on servant leadership and apply its principles in your leadership style. Take the time to understand what job seekers and employees are looking for in an employer through both research and direct insights. Once you have a plan of action, start moving on it and be sure to sustain it by keeping track of your progress with information and insights from your team.

Joe Kiedinger is founder and chief executive officer at Dignify. Contact Joe at joek@dignify.com.