Want productive employees? Treat them like humans.

I’ve had a handful of conversations lately about the scary, ugly side of some businesses. 😱

Tales of micromanagement, favoritism, lack of work-life balance, and lack of growth opportunities. Yikes!

And at the end of each of those conversations, the moral of each story was simple: Treat people like humans.

When did that become something we had to ask for at work rather than a given? 🤔

While Jackie and I would both admit we’ve had our fair share of the trial and error of learning in this area while building Accelity, one thing has always made sense: treating people like humans (and I'd add, like adults) just makes the most sense and leads to better, healthier growth.

Here are a few things we strive for at Accelity:

1. Respect individual autonomy.

We trust team members to make their own choices, giving them the freedom to act according to their values and expertise. That autonomy builds confidence and encourages independent thinking. When people think outside the box, we get our most creative and impactful results—and we love that!

2. Encourage personal responsibility.

Every team member is accountable for their work, actions and attitudes, and that ownership leads to stronger employee motivation and a real sense of pride in the work and results. When people take responsibility, decision-making improves—and so does overall team performance.

3. Acknowledge every team member’s maturity in decision-making.

We set clear expectations and trust our team’s judgment. Recognizing their ability to make thoughtful and informed decisions not only boosts morale but also supports self-confidence within each team member. There’s been so much incredible growth on this team!

4. Foster an environment of mutual respect.

A culture where open communication, empathy, and consideration for different viewpoints are valued leads to stronger collaboration and positive working relationships. Our team members enjoy working with each other because they feel safe collaborating and, yes, even making mistakes with each other!

Have we always been perfect at this? HA… no. 🫠 But that’s the point. When we treat people like humans, we also give ourselves the grace to grow as leaders.

5. Provide opportunities for growth.

We have a team that seeks growth and career development. That means we as a company need to provide opportunities to make those things happen. We have honest and open dialogues about career progression, fair compensation conversations and more. We talk about career pathing often, and align our quarterly continuous education initiatives with the areas where each team member needs to grow. Within the last year, we’ve promoted over half of our team because of their incredible success and growth, and we’ll continue to have those conversations to ensure their roles match the skills and growth they bring to the table.

And what have we seen as a result?

In an industry where marketing agency turnover averages about 2 years, our average employee tenure is more than double that.

✨ Clients are happy—they’re hitting goals, they trust us, and they know we can provide value.

✨ Employees are happy—they have space to be who they are and do their best work.

When it comes to treating employees like humans (& adults), what would you add to my list?