Purpose is quite a trendy buzz word these days. Corporations such as Unilever have a corporate purpose statement and Roche has a Chief Purpose Officer.
Furthermore, there is overwhelming evidence that linking the company purpose to people’s jobs makes business sense.
- According to Peter Fisk, the author People Planet Profit, “Purpose-driven companies are more ambitious, they attract the best talent, inspire richer innovation, make faster decisions, are more trusted, have greater loyalty, and attract more investment.”
- Forbes states that “58 % of companies that prioritized both the definition and enactment of organizational purpose experienced growth of 10% or more.”
- A Cone and Porter Novelli study showed that 8 in 10 consumers are more loyal to purpose-driven brands.
- Harvard Business Review says that “purpose is not just philanthropy; it is a source of competitive advantage”.
However, there is still a major disconnect: 68% of business leaders said that purpose is NOT used as a guidepost in leadership decision making processes and only 33% of employees draw real meaning from their employer’s purpose.
So how can you add purpose to employees’ jobs?
First of all, try to define what purpose means for your organization. Peter Fisk suggests that “A good purpose should capture the whole sense of being of an organization. It should highlight a business’ evolutionary path. It should capture what an organization aspires to be and do”.
Simon Sinek’s simple yet powerful “Start with Why” framework is a great tool to find your organization’s purpose.
However, as Peter Fisk highlights “purpose is certainly much more than a tagline. It is an ambition, a cause, something which the organization and its customers can strive for together.”
How action for Sustainability can be a source of purpose
Engaging employees around your Sustainability strategy and initiatives can truly be a way to connect their work to your company’s purpose (if Sustainability is part of it).
Having a positive impact for society and the planet is not only great for motivation, but enhances well-being.
According to Psychology Today, “Generosity is strongly associated with well-being, it comes from a powerful sense of connection to others, an empathic and compassionate transcendence of separateness, and of our own self-centredness”.
The more employees take action on Sustainability, the more will help you accelerate your Sustainability leadership!
Read more about benefits of connecting people to purpose at work.
What are your thoughts on purpose? Do you think it is a buzz word or a real key asset for companies? Leave a comment below with 3 actions you could take to add purpose to your job!
Start to take action with our free resources!
- Book a Sustainability Activation session : identify objectives and action steps to integrate Sustainability in your job and business.
- Free guide to engage your teams: 5 steps to integrate positive impact from within
- Free workbook to make your job great again by integrating Sustainability
- Read this post for additional resources, ideas and organisations to follow
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Written by Marena Eirich, founder of teams4purpose®. My mission is to make action on Sustainability accessible to employees.
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