This is part two of a two-part blog post discussing the impact of perks and purpose on attracting and retaining employees. To review part one, please see the post here.
Creating a workplace where people easily find a sense of purpose in their daily tasks is easier said than done. This isn’t something that HR can implement while the rest of the organization gets on with business as usual.
Instead, creating purposeful work requires buy-in from leaders and managers across the company. Everyone needs to understand the importance of meaningful work and be on the same page to create a culture where people feel proud to work.
Here are some ideas to get you started with creating a company where every employee finds purpose and meaning in their day-to-day role.
1. Communicate Purpose Regularly
Big-four accounting firm KPMG set a challenge for themselves a few years ago. They’d realized that purpose-driven work was vital to job satisfaction, engagement, and retention. But they wanted to know what they could do to encourage their employees to connect their work even further with their sense of purpose.
When they dove into the issue further, the firm realized that having leaders who talked about purpose was one of the key indicators of whether employees found meaning in their work.
80% of those who worked under a manager who regularly communicated purpose reported feeling that the work they did made an impact, compared with just 39% of employees whose managers did not talk about purpose.
Talking about purpose also made a difference to employee retention, with an attrition rate of just 5.6% in the group whose managers communicated purpose, versus 9.1% in the other group.
KPMG’s experience demonstrates the role that managers and leaders can play in helping their employees find a sense of purpose in their work. By talking regularly about the wider impact of your team’s activities and linking their work back to the company’s overall aims, you help staff members understand how their role fits within the organization as a whole.
2. Understand Employees’ Purpose
As well as regularly communicating how your team members contribute to the organization’s purpose, you can help them find more meaning in their work by getting curious about their own sense of purpose.
Most of us have (or want to have) a sense of purpose in our lives. However, many people find it hard to articulate exactly what that purpose is, so it isn’t usually something people will state out loud in everyday conversation.
Nonetheless, it is worth drawing out what your direct reports value and find meaning in during your 1:1s and performance reviews. Not only will this give you a better sense of what motivates them, but it will also help you find ways to connect their personal sense of purpose with the goals and aims of your organization.
Not everyone will perfectly align with the company’s purpose but there needs to be some overlap if you want your team members to feel that their job is more than just a means to a paycheck.
As a result, understanding how employees see their purpose should be a consideration right from the hiring stage. Make sure your application process includes questions that explore where prospective staff members see their own values and sense of meaning overlapping with those of the organization.
This cultural fit is harder to assess than skills and experience, but it will be a key factor in whether employees find their work meaningful.
3. Give Employees Ownership of their Work
Nobody likes to be micromanaged, but some companies do better than others in giving their employees a sense of ownership, autonomy, and accountability at work.
A sense of control over how, where, and when they work can help your team members feel valued and trusted. It also gives them a greater sense that their jobs are meaningful and have impact.
Research shows that people who have greater autonomy over their work report higher levels of job satisfaction, engagement, and motivation.
When we give our teams the freedom to choose how they approach and organize their work, they feel a greater sense of agency. In turn, this inspires them to consider themselves a vital part of the company’s success – not just another cog in the wheel.
This sense of being able to have an impact through our work helps us to see our jobs as more purpose-driven and meaningful.
Obviously, you’ll need to consider the needs of the business too. Some roles offer more scope for autonomy than others. But, as far as is possible, managers should support their direct reports in taking ownership of their tasks and deciding how to approach them.
Where autonomy is more difficult – for example in roles where following exact processes is important – managers can still help their teams take ownership by making sure everyone understands why things are done a certain way.
It’s also important to keep an open mind and be willing to listen to suggestions for improvement from employees at every level of the organization.
4. Articulate Impact
We’ve already looked at how talking about your company’s purpose can help your employees find a greater sense of meaning in their work. However, you can take this approach even deeper by also regularly sharing stories that illustrate your business’s impact.
Talk about your successes, the impact you’ve had on your customers’ lives, and how these relate back to your company’s core aims and values.
In this storytelling, it is crucial that you bring it back to the input your employees have on making these successes a reality. Make sure your teams know how their work has contributed and give them the recognition they deserve.
Case studies can be helpful here in bringing your company’s impact to life. While figures, charts, and statistics are great for monitoring your work and tracking KPIs, people tend to find it easier to relate to stories about individuals or organizations.
Share customer success stories internally as well as externally to foster an emotional connection between your employees and their work.
Like talking about your company’s purpose, sharing stories of your impact is most effective when it is a regular part of your working practice. Don’t save these up for your annual or quarterly reviews, but make them a part of weekly briefings and general team discussions.
Remember, sharing these success stories doesn’t have to be a formal process. Even news of small wins can help to engage employees with their sense of purpose and find meaning in their work.
Plus, regularly recognizing and celebrating your team members’ contributions to organizational success goes a long way to making them feel valued and respected by the company.
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When it comes to engaging, motivating, and retaining staff, we need to look beyond just the salary and compensation package we offer.
Employees want to be seen as full people, each with their own sense of meaning and purpose. When we help them connect that sense of purpose to their work, our companies are rewarded with engaged and productive team members who go above and beyond to contribute to the organization’s success.
By regularly talking about the company’s purpose, sharing stories of our impact, and giving our employees the respect and trust to take ownership of their work, we can create thriving workplaces where people feel fulfilled by purpose-driven work.