“Business Does Not Create Value – People Do”

Introduction: The Real Question Facing the RMG Industry

The Bangladeshi garment industry has achieved remarkable growth over the last four decades. We have become one of the world’s largest apparel exporters by focusing on cost efficiency, scale, and speed.

However, the global market has changed.

Today, buyers are no longer selecting suppliers only based on low price. They are evaluating:

• Productivity per worker
• Quality consistency
• Ethical leadership and compliance culture
• Innovation capability
• Stability of management and workforce

At this critical stage, one fundamental truth must be clearly understood by owners and management:

“Business does not create value. People create value.”

Machines, buildings, ERP systems, and compliance certificates are important – but they are inactive assets without skilled, motivated, and capable people to operate them.

The Competitiveness Gap in Bangladeshi RMG

Most garments factories still compete using old strategies:

• Cutting costs instead of increasing productivity
• Long working hours instead of smarter processes
• Reactive compliance instead of ethical leadership
• HR as an adminitrative unit, not a strategic function

As a result, many factories face:

• High employee turnover
• Low middle-managment capability
• Poor supervisor leadership on the floor
• Frequent buyer dissatisfaction
• Dependence on a few key individuals

This is not a technoloy problem. This is a people and leadership problem.

Why “Low Cost” Is No Longer a Sustainable Strategy

Bangladesh cannot compete forever on wages alone.

Other countries are emerging with:

• Lower labot costs
• Better automation
• Faster learning curves

The only sustainable competitiveness advantage Bangladesh can build is:

“A highly skilled, disciplines, ethical, and productivity-focused workforce.”

And that requires intentional people development, not accidental learning.

The Missing Link: People Development

In many factories, people development is misunderstood as:

• Occasional training programs
• Compliance-related awareness sessions
• One-time leadership workshops

True people development means:

• Developing capable supervisors, not just operators
• Creating decision-making middle managers, not order followers
• Building ethical leaders, not fear-based controllers
• Designing career paths, not dead-end jobs

“When people see growth, they give commitment.

When people gain skills, productivity rises.

When people are respected, quality improves.”

Reinventing HR: From Admin Function to Business Partner

In most garments factories, HR is still seen as:

• Payroll processor
• Leave and attendance manager
• Compliance document handler

This is a strategic mistake.

Modern competitive factories treat HR as:

• A productivity partner
• A leadership development engine
• A culture builder
• A risk management function
• A talent sustainability unit

Reinvented HR focuses on:

• Supervisor and line-leader capability building
• Performance management linked to real KPIs
• Data-driven workforce planning
• Leadership behavior assessment
• Succession planning for key roles

HR must sit at the strategy table, not only at the compliance desk.

Owners’ Mindset: The Most Critical Factor

No transformation is possible without owners’ belief.

Owners must move from asking: “How much does HR cost?”

To asking: “How much value does our people system generate?”

Factories that invest in people experience:

• Lower rejection and rework costs
• Reduced absenteeism and turnover
• Higher buyer trust
• Strong second-line leadership
• Long-term sustainability

People development is not an expense. It is a return-generating investment.

Practical Actions for Garments Owners and Management

To build people-driven competitiveness, factories should:

1. Redesign HR’s role from admin to strategic partner
2. Develop supervisors and middle managers systematically
3. Link performance appraisal with real productivity KPIs
4. Use HR analytics, not intuisiton, for decisions
5. Create ethical leadership culture, not fear-based control
6. Invest in learning systems, not only machinery
7. Prepare next-generation leaders inside the factory

Conclusion: The Future of RMG Belongs to People-Centric Factories

The future winners in the Bangladeshi garment industry will not be:

• The biggest factories
• The cheapest producers
• The most automated plants

They will be the factories that develop people better than others.

Because in the end:

• Machines depreciate
• Buildings age
• Buyer change

But capable people multiply value.

“Business does not create value. People Do.”

Factories that understand this will not only survive – they will lead Bangladesh’s next phase of global competitiveness.

Author: Abdulla Al Babul
Founder, MegaBot Business Consultancy
Specialist in People-Driven Productivity, HR Analytics & Workforce Sustainability