People-centric HR: What it is + why it’s important

People-centric HR is a shift from viewing employees as resources to recognizing them as individuals. This approach prioritizes a meaningful employee experience (EX) to drive engagement, productivity, retention, and more satisfying, effective employee service overall.

AI is transforming employee service delivery by enabling HR teams to personalize experiences at scale. Combining empathy with efficiency creates exceptional employee experiences, fostering loyalty, driving performance, and delivering better business outcomes.

More in this guide:

• Examples of people-centric HR practices
• Key components of a people-centric approach to HR
• Benefits of people-centric HR
• How to implement a people-first approach to HR
• How to measure the success of a people-first strategy
• Frequently asked questions
• Set the gold standard for employee service with Zendesk

Examples of people-centric HR practices

Examples of people-centric HR practices abound in organizations that leverage AI for more personalized, empathetic, and autonomous service. Here are just a few:

• Personalized onboarding journeys tailored to individual roles and learning styles

• Flexible employee benefit programs allow employees to customize packages based on their life circumstances

• AI-powered career guidance systems that suggest development opportunities aligned with personal aspirations

• Manager coaching platforms that improve leadership capabilities

• Feedback mechanisms that demonstrate how employee input shapes organizational decisions

The most effective organizations integrate these practices into a cohesive experience strategy rather than implementing them as isolated initiatives.

Key components of a people-centric approach to HR

Creating a truly people-centric approach to HR requires several components working in harmony to deliver exceptional employee service. Let’s explore four of these components across your employees’ journey in your organization:

• Well-developed EX journey map: A comprehensive visualization of every touchpoint in the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to offboarding, helps identify key moments that matter and opportunities to create positive experiences.
• Highly personalized interactions: Tailored communications and support help recognize employees’ individual circumstances, preferences, and career aspirations rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
• Omnichannel touchpoints: Seamless employee service management across multiple platforms—including digital self-service, mobile apps, chatbots, and in-person support—allows employees to engage on their terms.
• Feedback opportunities for continuous improvement: Regular, accessible channels allow employees to share their experiences and insights. Then, companies can take visible action on that input to drive meaningful change.

Using intelligent, autonomous tools to enhance key components of employee service will help you create a people-centric environment across all HR operations and improve the overall employee experience.

Benefits of people-centric HR

Investing in people-centric HR practices delivers substantial returns for organizational performance in several key ways. Here are five of the top benefits:

• Higher productivity: When employees feel valued and supported with personalized resources, they demonstrate greater focus, efficiency, and discretionary effort in their work.
• Reduced turnover: Organizations that prioritize employee experience report significantly lower attrition rates. Employees can foster deeper loyalty when they feel the company genuinely cares about employee well-being.
• Better engagement rates: People-centric approaches foster stronger emotional connections to the organization’s mission and values, resulting in higher employee engagement and more proactive participation.
• Improved satisfaction: Companies see greater employee satisfaction when HR services are responsive, personalized, and designed around actual employee needs rather than what’s most convenient for the business.
• Improved customer service: Employees who experience excellent internal customer service naturally extend the same level of care to external customers, creating a virtuous cycle that enhances the overall brand experience.

Essentially, with better EX, employees are better at their jobs—more productive, engaged, and satisfied, and less likely to leave—and customers reap the benefits.

How to implement a people-first approach to HR

Transforming your HR function to become truly people-centric requires strategic implementation of tech tools and human-focused initiatives.

• Leverage AI to personalize experiences: AI in HR helps personalize service for companies of any size by analyzing employee data to identify preferences, anticipate needs, and deliver tailored recommendations. AI-powered HR assistants, like AI agents, offer 24/7 support, answering employee questions about benefits, learning, and policies. These systems learn from interactions to become increasingly effective at understanding nuanced requests and delivering relevant responses so employees feel valued.
• Streamline HR workflows with automation: Automating routine administrative tasks like onboarding and leave requests ensures consistent, high-quality service, allowing HR professionals to focus on higher-value human interactions. While maintaining the human touch at critical moments, automation enhances the employee experience and allows HR professionals to prioritize coaching, conflict resolution, and strategic initiatives.
• Use employee self-service for empowerment and transparency: Modern employees demand consumer-like digital convenience at work. Robust help desks and portals empower employees by providing control over their information and on-demand access to resources. Effective self-service tools reduce reliance on HR for routine tasks while increasing transparency, which is key to a people-first culture.
• Rely on data to reward and recognize contributions: Data-driven recognition programs ensure employees receive timely, meaningful acknowledgment for their efforts and achievements. Advanced analytics can identify patterns in performance, collaboration, and skill development, enabling more objective, equitable recognition practices that celebrate diverse contributions. AI-driven reporting can help deliver recognition in ways that resonate most deeply with each employee.
• Create opportunities for coaching and growth: A people-centric approach prioritizes development through personalized learning and coaching. AI-powered tools can identify areas for improvement and recommend opportunities based on career goals, skills, and preferences. These systems track progress and adapt, creating personalized growth. Managers, when supported by coaching prompts, can help create employee development plans and have meaningful conversations about goal orientation.

Following these five steps will help ensure your implementation sets your people up for success—and that their needs are prioritized across your HR operation.

How to measure the success of a people-first strategy

Implementing people-centric HR initiatives requires clear workforce management metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate impact and guide continuous improvement. To analyze and interpret those KPIs, you need the right tools—and according to Gartner, more than half of HR leaders report that they lack the technology to meet their future business needs.

To measure the return on investment (ROI) for a people-first strategy, track correlations between employee experience metrics and business outcomes. For example, showing how improvements in employee experience scores predict changes in customer satisfaction, productivity, or innovation metrics creates a compelling case for continued investment.

KPIs for people-centric HR

An effective measurement framework includes:

• Employee Net Promoter Score (NPS) to gauge overall advocacy

• Employee satisfaction scores for specific HR services and touchpoints

• Time-to-resolution for HR service requests

• Self-service adoption and success rates

• Employee retention rates, particularly for high performers

• Engagement scores across different demographic groups

• Correlation between experience metrics and productivity indicators

• Quality of hire and time-to-productivity for new employees

• Internal mobility rates showing career development opportunities

• ROI for learning and development initiatives

Valuable insights often come from comparing experience metrics across different employee segments and identifying disparities that may require targeted interventions. Review these metrics regularly to inform ideas for refining HR service delivery and continuously improving over time.

Frequently asked questions

LATAM Airlines

LATAM Airlines achieves 90% employee satisfaction with Zendesk

“We saw how our customer service team was working with Zendesk to become more efficient and improve the customer experience, and we decided to bring that magic to our internal employee operations.”

Monica Obando

Senior HR Manager

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Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are registered trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.