Is your organisation purpose-led or purpose lazy?
In 2016, the Deloitte Millennial survey found (for the first time) that employees entering the workforce would prioritise the sense of purpose around people rather than growth or profit maximisation. These priorities included:
- Providing a good income to employees
- Being the best possible place to work
- Improving the skills of the workforce
- Providing services/goods that make a positive difference to people’s lives
- Generating and supporting jobs.
Back in 2016, there was a distinct mismatch between what employees saw and what employers were doing. Fast forward to 2022 and those organisations who took the time to state their purpose are now being pressured by employees to do the right thing in a way we’ve never seen before and it’s caught some organisations out.
Here’s a quick definition of what purpose (in a business sense) is and the value that it has. A purpose statement describes, simply, the role that the organisation exists to fulfil in the world. It’s a statement that connects employees to the things that the organisation stands for and is a demonstration of the action it will take on societal and cultural issues.
Being purpose-led means that you take a lead on global issues and build a safe environment where humans can connect their values to their work and be the best of themselves. When done properly it informs strategy, culture and how the organisation wishes to be viewed on the world stage. It leads to better decision-making and improved results through happier staff.
This means that merely coming up with a catchy one line statement isn’t enough. Organisations that do this badly are purpose-lazy and see purpose as a PR/branding exercise and not as a global leadership role or corporate responsibility.
When they fail to deliver on their purpose, they are not only seen as inauthentic, but lose credibility. This in turn leads to lost sales, loss of revenue, a reduction in engagement and the loss of the very people required by the organisation to ensure that purpose is delivered.
In its research last year, The Josh Bersin Company found ‘…when companies make mission and purpose part of the work, they are 4.3 times more likely to meet or exceed financial targets and 4.8 times more likely to satisfy and retain customers.’ That’s how important it is.
As Patty McCord said in her book Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, ‘Excellent colleagues, a clear purpose, and well-understood deliverables: that’s the powerful combination.’
Going public on purpose
IKEA is one such organisation. Its vision is ‘To create a better everyday life for the many people’ not just for their customers, but for their employees as well. With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the company was decisive in its approach, recognising early that it has a responsibility to stay aligned with its purpose. To this end Ikea has paused operations in Belarus and Russia in order to protect the security of staff and customers and to send the message that it is committed to creating a better everyday life for many people.
Other organisations have been forced to respond to employees disgruntled at a lack of action in relation to purpose. Atlassian is one such organisation.
In a memo to staff about the conflict in Ukraine at the start of March, co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes said, ‘This is a complex geopolitical situation and everyone is trying to process it. It’s important we all speak with kindness and lead with heart.’
Employees were having none of that and pressured the company into a retraction. To their credit the founders admitted that they hadn’t been strong enough in their response and vowed to ‘stand with Ukraine and its people in their fight to maintain their freedom and sovereignty.’
A similar issue arose in 2020 when Nike threw its weight behind the Black Lives Matter movement in line with their purpose, ‘Through sport, we are breaking barriers and building community to change the game for all.’
It didn’t take long for staff and media to point out that only 23% of the company’s high ranking vice presidents were non-white (according to Nike’s 2019 numbers).
Other organisations also felt the heat of not living their purpose and this gave rise to the social media hashtag #pulluporshutup
Culture is not a tick list of ‘things’ the leaders need to write to say that they’ve done the right thing. They are things that they need to engage staff in and then commit to in good times and bad. Only when this work is undertaken and decisions are consistently made in relation to it can organisations ever be seen as purpose-led. Anything else is just a lazy approach to culture.
This is a movement that’s been building for the last six years and it’s no longer on the periphery. So, does your organisation have a purpose? Is it delivering on it?
