Understanding Purpose at Work
An individual’s purpose is an enduring, overarching sense of what matters. People’s purpose in life is as personal and varied as people themselves. They could experience a sense of purposefulness while striving for something meaningful.
The choices made by the company leaders and managers are the X factors that help employees fulfil their purpose at work. By making sound decisions, starting today, you can positively impact the lives of your colleagues and hence, the company’s performance.
Below mentioned are three ways to focus your efforts:
Beginning with the Organization’s Purpose
It may seem counterintuitive to consider the organization’s purpose first to support the life purpose of your employees. However, always remember that this is a part you control. If your company’s goal sits as a pretty picture on the wall, you are wasting everyone’s time. The outcome can be devastating if you talk about purpose yet fail to follow through.
Uncertain of whether your leaders are following through? Start checking yourself. One of the actions you can take today is to spend time with your team reflecting on and learning about your company’s impact on the world. Having a healthy dialogue instead of a monologue is the key. If handled gently, skipping on the bigger picture can lead to a sense of purpose. Employees are more likely to be enthusiastic about their work, performance, and company if it spends time trying to make an impact on the world.
Reflect, Connect, Repeat
Great things happen when employees get an opportunity to reflect on their own purpose and how it connects to that of the company. Employees who get such opportunities are more likely to feel fulfilled at work. Making this a habit will only do your company good.
Do your leaders and managers cultivate compassionate leadership? Or is the attitude more like – “stop being a baby about it”? Ask yourself if this is a team you would be comfortable sharing things with. If psychological safety is scarce at your workplace, you will never feel your purpose being fulfilled at work.
Help People Live their Purpose at Work
Employees like their employer to provide them with more opportunities to fulfil their purpose in their regular work day. It tempts companies to scratch this itch by implementing programs catering to their employees’ purposeful impulses within the community or anywhere else in the world. These companies offer paid leaves for their employees to fulfil their pursuits and enhance their work performance.
While such efforts are beneficial, they unfortunately are not a viable solution to the issues identified. To begin with, these opportunities must help employees find more meaning in their day-to-day work. By fulfilling your duties as an employer to help your employees live their purpose at work, you will make them feel more fulfilled. And when the work is aligned with the company’s purpose, that sense of fulfilment will benefit the company, too.
Summary
People’s purpose in life is as personal and varied as people themselves. By making sound decisions, starting today, you can positively impact the lives of your colleagues and hence, the company’s performance. Read the three ways to focus your efforts –
Here’s What Purpose-Driven Companies Do
A clear, concise organizational purpose is one of the most important characteristics of a successful business today. Purpose-driven companies have high levels of employee engagement and employee performance, leading to increased productivity, loyalty, and lower turnover.
Employees who are employed at a purpose-driven company usually feel more engaged, as opposed to the ones that don’t feel the same way.
Most companies, if not them all, have a vision/mission statement. However, the underlying values are what define a company’s purpose. The question thus becomes – what are the organizational values that purpose-driven organizations must install in their business practices?
Professional Development
Many companies quickly invest in their employees’ development and professional training. These are the kinds of companies that encourage their employees to hone their skills and advance their careers
For example – tuition reimbursement for continuing education courses and graduate degree programs and covering the costs of participating in workshops and conferences. These programs lead to increased employee engagement, as the employees that get the professional development opportunities show improvement in their performances.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Companies that work towards improving the environment, economy, and society, exhibit higher levels of employee engagement. Companies that engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) acknowledge the significance of social responsibility alongside making profits is a proven method of improving employee engagement, retention, the reputation of the company, and employee performance leading to enhanced ROI.
CSR can take multiple forms, however, reducing the carbon footprint, charity, philanthropy, and volunteering are some of the most common methods companies engage with.
Diversity
Another characteristic of successful businesses is their ability to embrace diversity in the workplace. Companies that render inclusion and diversity a significant part of their purpose experience high levels of engagement.
Summary
Professional development, CSR, and diversity are the values that purpose-driven organizations must install in their business practices.
Conclusion
There is a strong correlation between purpose-driven organizations and higher levels of employee engagement that eventually lead to enhanced employee performance. When a company wants to determine its purpose, a great place to start is to look at the company’s values.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
