Belonging, Inspiring, Leadership & Management, Purpose
When employees are connected to purpose, they give more effort and are less likely to leave the company.
When employees are connected to purpose, the business receives all kinds of benefits.
When employees say their work is meaningful, they are less likely to quit and more likely to give extra effort on the job. When employees feel valued and celebrated, they are more likely to participate in innovation and adapt quickly to new ideas.
And when employees connect with purpose, companies reap financial rewards.
What having purpose looks like
Purpose can be a difficult term to wrap arms around. Is it the company鈥檚 mission? Or an individual鈥檚 sense of having an impact?
鈥淎t a very high level, a sense of purpose is really tied into pride,鈥� says Julian Lute, senior strategic advisor with 逸遊娛樂城庐. Do people feel their contribution is meaningful to the organization or the wider world?
Purpose is also about alignment.
鈥淲hen people feel like they鈥檙e not aligned with the purpose, the mission, and that excitement, they feel excluded from innovation,鈥� Lute says.
He gives the example of a hospital system, which might do a great job of celebrating doctors and nurses with appreciation days and storytelling campaigns, but neglects the administrative staff and medical billing professionals. What kind of message does it send to an employee when they work in the basement and are never celebrated for their contributions?
鈥淵ou can have people who are central to an organization, whose work is on display and whose work executives are talking about, but they just aren鈥檛 getting that shine,鈥� Lute says.
When an employee says their job isn鈥檛 meaningful, that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean the work they do isn鈥檛 incredibly important. Without medical billing staff, hospitals can鈥檛 bring in money from insurers, but these workers often don鈥檛 feel their work is respected.
Making connections
Purpose starts with leaders, but employees can also be influenced by their fellow employees. If colleagues from other departments don鈥檛 connect your work with the overall mission of the organization, some workers can feel undervalued or overlooked.
Imagine a manufacturing plant where the corporate staff is always at odds with the production floor workers, Lute says. How can you help these two groups connect the dots between their work and the work of their colleagues?
When an employee says their job isn鈥檛 meaningful, that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean the work they do isn鈥檛 incredibly important.
At DHL, getting employees to connect with one another has become an obsession, with the global logistics company launching a 鈥減assport鈥� 鈥� a tool where employees can log interactions with other DHL employees on their journey.
鈥淎s you go through your journey, you鈥檙e collecting stamps of completion, you鈥檙e collecting awards of recognition within it,鈥� explains Rick Jackson, executive vice president of engagement and enablement at Deutsche Post DHL Group on the 鈥淏etter鈥� podcast.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got managers of our groups and countries signing it and leaving nice messages once they鈥檝e finished a program to show how much they鈥檝e achieved,鈥� he says.
The passport then becomes a prompt for employees to share their stories with each other about their service at the company and how they share in the global mission.
Bringing purpose to frontline employees
Who are the employees most likely to struggle to connect with purpose?
鈥淚t鈥檚 the likely suspects,鈥� Lute says, identifying three groups:
1. Frontline workers, including frontline managers
The reason? These employees are generally focused on execution of a specific business task. They鈥檙e customer-facing, dealing with issues in the moment. They don鈥檛 have the space to step back and see the big picture.
It鈥檚 crucial for frontline employees to be empowered to think on their feet and adapt to meet the needs of the customer. Lute gives the example of Wegmans, where frontline employees are given the authority to 鈥渟erve the customer as they need to be served in that moment.鈥�
If a customer needs help finding a product in another department, employees have the authority to leave their station and serve the customer. The magic comes from how leaders manage employees who take the initiative, which Lute describes as 鈥渘ot being in bean-counting mode.鈥�
鈥淲hat you really hear is, 鈥業 know what corporate says I鈥檓 supposed to do, but in this moment, I have to do it like this,鈥欌�� Lute says. Leaders should recognize when these deviations from protocol are attempts to live up to a higher mission, such as providing excellent customer service.
2. Contract and temporary workers
These employees are often treated differently than other employees and feel less ownership over their contributions They might not attend company meeting or receive important company messages, even when they are doing something really important for your brand.
3. Hourly workers
At the typical U.S. organization, less than half (49%) of hourly workers report having meaningful work.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e hourly, you鈥檙e focused on the schedule,鈥� Lute says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e focused on just getting hours, earning money, and everything counts.鈥�
What managers can do
, Sharlyn Lauby, author of HR Bartender, identified the challenges facing frontline managers and the support they need to succeed.
At the top of the list? Managers must become more effective communicators. Here's how Lute suggests managers can help communicate with their frontline workforce andx help them connect to the purpose of the organization:
1. Make time for sharing stories
鈥淵ou have to become an expert storyteller,鈥� Lute says. Leaders have to explain how the work of the individual employee contributes to the overall business.
Here鈥檚 how Jackson tells that story about frontline employees at DHL:
鈥淚f you鈥檙e in a warehouse and it may be in the middle of the night, and it鈥檚 cold and wet and you鈥檙e sorting the parcels around the network, you understand that if you don鈥檛 do your particular role, you鈥檙e part of a much bigger cog in the organization that, at the end of the day, is improving the lives of the customer.
You鈥檙e not just a picker or a packer. You鈥檙e not just a warehouse site worker, but you鈥檙e crucial in the supply chain.鈥�
2. Create safe space for feedback
Lute acknowledges how hard this task can be for middle managers who face enormous pressure to meet their numbers. But it鈥檚 crucial that employees feel safe to ask questions and share what鈥檚 really happening in their daily routines.
His advice: 鈥淎cknowledge the failure.鈥�
Employees can feel disconnected when goals and priorities change and a new initiative make their previous work less relevant.
鈥淢ost people work really hard every single day, and they want recognition for their hard work,鈥� Lute says. Make sure that when you pivot, you continue to acknowledge the team鈥檚 work and sacrifice.
3. Be an advocate
Middle managers must understand their responsibility as someone who can remove barriers and solve problems for their frontline workers, Lute says.
He gives an example of a company where factory floor workers are asking for new shoes because the long hours on their feet are painful. When the frontline managers response is, 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing I can do about that,鈥� workers don鈥檛 feel cared for by their organization.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when people start questioning whether or not your mission and your values actually make sense,鈥� Lute says.
Workers are asking for support, not because they want free stuff, but because they care about their job. It鈥檚 a manager鈥檚 job to empower them to do their best work.
Become a purpose leader
Download our report about the power of purpose in the workplace, with essential tips for building trust and inspiring employees.
