Building a better business: People-first companies and Certified B Corporations

By Marybeth Alexander on Company culture from March 29, 2024

I’ve always been inspired by businesses that aim to use business as a force for good by prioritizing people and the planet over profit at all costs.

In the early days of building KnowledgeOwl, I didn’t have words for this type of business. However, after I learned about Certified B Corporations, I immediately added achieving B Corp Certification to our company goals list because the B Corp Certification process would provide a roadmap for building a business that is a force for good.

We started our B Corp journey in May 2020 and became an owlficial Certified B Corporation in December 2023 (hoot!).

Sometime during the rigorous B Corp Certification process, I became aware of another term for the type of business I was striving to build: people-first.

When I first stumbled upon People-First Jobs, I immediately recognized our company as part of the people-first community.

I was recently a guest on the Growth Support podcast. My conversation with Neal Travis helped me realize that I wanted to get better at clearly explaining what it means to be a people-first business.

This blog post is my attempt to explain what it means to be a people-first business and how becoming a Certified B Corporation can help with implementing and enhancing people-first policies and procedures.

What does “people-first” actually mean?

The term “people-first” refers to a business philosophy that prioritizes the needs, well-being, and development of team members over other business concerns. The philosophy is rooted in the idea that when a company takes care of its people, the people will take care of the company.

There are 5 key elements of a people-first approach:

Employee well-being: supporting the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs of the staff. This can range from things like providing good health insurance to flexible working arrangements that can help people live a better life.
Professional development: providing opportunities for growth and advancement. This includes training, mentorships, and clear career paths.
Inclusive culture: fostering a workplace that values diversity and inclusion so that everyone feels respected and valued.
Employee engagement and satisfaction: regularly seeking and acting on feedback from employees to continually improve the workplace.
Transparency and communication: building trust and alignment by maintaining open lines of communication between the management and employees.

A people-first business strategy aims to create a supportive and positive environment that not only attracts great people but also retains them. This approach can be contrasted with the more traditional profit-first strategies that prioritize financial performance and shareholder value over the employee well-being.

Are Certified B Corporations people-first?

While being a Certified B Corporation does not guarantee that a company prioritizes people over other concerns, many Certified B Corporations naturally embody the same principles of a people-first organization because the B Corp certification process promotes values that are aligned with the people-first philosophy such as social responsibility and sustainability.

Any business that has achieved B Corp Certification has demonstrated a significant commitment to the welfare of its workers (people!) along with the broader community and the environment (planet!).

While not all Certified B Corporations would explicitly describe themselves as “people-first”, all Certified B Corporations share some of the values of people-first companies.

Below is a breakdown of people-first companies versus Certified B Corporations when it comes to the 5 key elements of a people-first company.

Employee well-being

People-first companies

Certified B Corporations

Ensure that the physical, mental, and emotional health of employees is supported.

This might involve providing comprehensive healthcare benefits, mental health resources, flexible working arrangements, and initiatives that promote work-life balance.

Receive points for offering the following:

Healthcare plans
Supplementary health benefits (dental, short/long term, HSA/HRA/HSA, domestic partner/civil union benefits, life insurance)
Paid secondary caregiver leave
Other supplementary benefits (childcare, meals, support for breast-feeding mothers)
# of paid days off
Compensation policies and practices (cost of living adjustments, bonuses or profit-sharing, employee ownership opportunities)
Financial services for employees (financial management tools or coaching, low-interest or interest-free loans, tax prep services, employer savings match, etc.)

Professional development

People-first companies

Certified B Corporations

Offer opportunities for growth and advancement, such as:

Training programs
Mentorship
Clear career paths

These offerings come from the company’s commitment to employees' future success and encourages employees to invest their talents and efforts into the company's success.

Receive points for:

Training opportunities (formal onboarding, policy for internal promotions and hiring, cross-skills [management for nonmanagers], non-specific life skills [financial literacy, language], budget for external professional development, reimbursements for continuing education)
Employee review process (regularly scheduled reviews at least annually, peer/subordinate input, written career guidance, social/environmental goals, clearly identified and achievable goals)

Inclusive culture

People-first companies

Certified B Corporations

Build a workplace environment that values diversity, encourages inclusion, and ensures everyone feels respected and valued.

This can lead to a more creative, innovative, and collaborative workforce.

Receive points for:

Diverse ownership and leadership (led by or majority owned by women, underrepresented racial or ethnic minority, or other underrepresented groups like veterans, LGBTQ, etc.)
Creating and managing inclusive work environments (commitment to DEI in hiring, anonymous reviews of applicants, trainings on DEI, pay analysis and equal compensation reviews, etc.)
Measurement of diversity (tracking diversity across socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, gender, age, and other factors)

Employee engagement and satisfaction

People-first companies

Certified B Corporations

Regularly seek feedback from employees about their experiences and satisfaction at work.

Acting on this feedback demonstrates that the company values its employees' opinions and is committed to making improvements based on their input.

Receive points for:

Written and accessible employee handbook information (non-discrimination statement, anti-harassment policy, policies on pay and performance issues, etc.)
Employee satisfaction and engagement surveys
Work empowerment (open book management or self-management principles, formal feedback and complaint mechanisms, employee input for operational or strategic changes, etc.)
Conducting engagement and satisfaction surveys and tracking attrition rate

Transparency and communication

People-first companies

Certified B Corporations

Maintain open lines of communication between management and employees to share company goals, challenges, and achievements.

This helps build trust and aligns everyone towards common objectives.

Receive points for:

Disclosing all financial information (except salary info) on at least a yearly basis
Disclosing all financial information (except salary info) on at least a quarterly basis
Having an education program on shared financials
Publicly reporting its financial statements

My personal take on “people-first”

When I first heard the term “people-first”, I didn’t think that “people” only referred to employees/workers. To me, “people” refers to every single human one interacts with, which includes customers, staff, vendors, and other members of the greater community.

Providing “great service” is one of KnowledgeOwl’s four bottom lines and this means providing great service to all humans, not just employees or customers.

My personal take on “people-first” means prioritizing and focusing on people over profit. The people-first philosophy acknowledges that businesses exist to serve people, and if you take care of people (yourself, your employees, your customers, and everyone else you interact with), the people will take care of the business.

I think our mission statement captures this sentiment well:

We share the KnowledgeOwl experience
Making valuable knowledge base software
Giving great service to everyone we meet
With the belief that business can be a force for good
Being helpful and kind in all our actions
To make life better for ourselves,
Our teammates, our customers,
And our communities too.

KnowledgeOwl is a people-first company because its primary purpose is to serve people (i.e. “To make life better for ourselves, our teammates, our customers, and our communities too.”)