Paradigm shift: “People” as the key
factor for corporate performance

Amidst ever-dynamic market developments, changes in the business world and social trends, a strategic aspect of performance management is becoming more important than ever: people. Employees must cope with urgent transformations, from site changes and sustainability to the integration of AI technologies – alongside changing working conditions and a generational shift.

People have a direct impact on the financial performance of organizations, both in terms of revenue and costs. Motivated teams perform better, ensure higher customer loyalty, enrich and strengthen a positive corporate culture, and promote innovation. When it comes to costs, lower staff turnover reduces restaffing and onboarding expenses. Strong employer branding lowers the cost of recruiting and retaining talent. 

These findings are moving into the focus of board members. As our current study shows, “people topics” are just as important as sustainability and digitalization for 75 percent of CxOs – and must be addressed with the right capacities and priorities to stay competitive. 

In board meetings, people-related issues already take up more than two-fifths of the time. However, no more than 40 percent of companies are implementing solutions in any of these fields of action. There is a lack of concrete approaches to this key issue: 

How can companies make the best use of their "human capital" to boost performance in the future?