Purpose & Employees: Alignment Is Key

Employee well-being and resilience has always been a consideration on the executive agenda. Purpose has now become central to achieving this goal in the workplace.

It is now understood that people who live their purpose at work are more productive than people who don’t. They are also healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay at a company.

Since the pandemic, this consideration has been accelerated - not just from the leadership team, but also from the employees themselves.

In an article published by McKinsey and Company aptly titled Help your employees find purpose—or watch them leave, they reveal the results of a recent study and the findings linking purpose and work performance are compelling.

THE SHIFT WITH PURPOSE AND THE EMPLOYEE

Nearly two thirds of respondents to the survey advised they are now evaluating their purpose in life. Almost half said they are reconsidering the kind of work they do.

70 percent of the employees surveyed said their sense of purpose is largely defined by work. Purpose is an important factor at every level of the organisation.

THE BENEFITS OF ALIGNMENT WITH ORGANISATIONAL PURPOSE

When employees feel their purpose is aligned with that of their organisation’s, the benefits expand to include stronger employee engagement, heightened loyalty, and a greater willingness to recommend the company to others.

It therefore makes sense that purpose should be embedded in retention and talent strategies.

Yet, an individual’s purpose is deeply personal, so if it needs to align with that of the organisation’s - how can this be achieved?

IT STARTS WITH THE INDIVIDUAL

Individual purpose can be thought of as an enduring, overarching sense of what matters in a person’s life. People experience the feeling of purposefulness when they are striving toward something significant and meaningful to them.

There are clear patterns, or purpose archetypes, that help employers categorise what people find meaningful, but ultimately an individual’s purpose can be as varied as people themselves.

LIMITED CONTROL

While companies and their leaders can play an influential role on the individual purpose of their employees, they have limited direct control over it.

Companies therefore need to meet employees where they are in their organisation and their individual purpose journey in order to help them optimise their sense of fulfilment from work.

The choices that company leaders and managers make are integral in helping employees fulfil their purpose at work. Here are three ways McKinsey offers to focus efforts:

1. START WITH YOUR ORGANISATION’S PURPOSE

Given the organisation’s purpose is the only part of an individual’s purpose you have control over, it’s important to take a close look at how your company meaningfully considers its role in society.

As highlighted in a previous post, this needs to be authentic for all key stakeholders - including employees. If you talk about purpose but don’t follow through, the results can be very bad for your reputation and your bottom line.

Routine measurement helps leaders encourage buy-in, spot problems early, and take appropriate action. A few companies go further and embed purpose metrics into performance assessment.

One action you can take today is to start spending time with your team to reflect on the impact your company has on the world, as the survey found that employees are five times more likely to be excited to work at a company that spends time reflecting on the impact it makes in the world.

2. REFLECT, CONNECT, REPEAT

When employees have a chance to reflect on their own sense of purpose, and how it connects to the company’s purpose, good things happen.

Survey respondents who have such opportunities are nearly three times more likely than others to feel their purpose is fulfilled at work. Make this a habit in your company.

People in the survey whose managers didn’t provide them opportunities to reflect on purpose stood just a 7 percent chance of fulfilling their purpose at work.

3. HELP PEOPLE LIVE THEIR PURPOSE AT WORK

Sixty-three percent of people surveyed advised they want their employer to provide more opportunities for purpose in their day-to-day work. You need to find ways to deliver - and not just corporate social responsibility projects or pro bono work. These initiatives are simply ‘scratching the surface’ of purpose.

The starting point should be opportunities that help employees find more personal meaning in their day-to-day work. By doing your part to help employees live their purpose at work, you will enable them to feel more fulfilled. And when the work is aligned with the company’s own purpose, that sense of fulfilment will ultimately benefit the company, too.

Many people spend the majority of their waking hours at work, so creating space for the little things to become purposeful can quickly snowball into better work experiences and better work environments for everyone.

References:

• https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/help-your-employees-find-purpose-or-watch-them-leave

• https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/igniting-individual-purpose-in-times-of-crisis

• https://www.theworddepot.com.au/blog/purpose-brands-driving-change-are-trusted-more

• https://www.theworddepot.com.au/blog/measuring-purpose-its-actually-a-thing