John Sylvester: Want me to go the extra mile? Give me purpose!

-

“A report by global brand consultancy Calling Brands has revealed a “dramatic shift” in employee attitudes towards work – with corporate ‘purpose’ emerging as a powerful new driver of attraction, retention and productivity that few businesses are leveraging.

As a result the consultancy has urged business leaders to rethink the conventional approach to employee engagement in response to a surge in demand for purpose at work.

After pay, purpose has been revealed as the second most important reason people are attracted to work for, and stay loyal to, an organisation.

According to Crunch Time: The Power of Purpose, working for an organisation with a clearly defined purpose – an underlying ethos that goes beyond commercial and operational goals – ranks ahead of other factors such as level of responsibility in a job and even career progression.

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Keep up with the latest in HR...
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Optin_date
This field is hidden when viewing the form

 

This reveals a fundamental shift in the relationship between employees and the businesses they work for…”

It isn’t at all surprising that purpose was ranked second in the Calling Brands survey, (HR Magazine – http://tinyurl.com/bqzdr7x).

This has simply measured and put it into perspective something that most businesses discovered many years ago. That was why the much derided “mission statement” arose; to define and give everyone the same clear vision of the organisation’s purpose.

“…Across the UK, US and Germany, an average of 52% respondents ranked pay and benefits as most important, purpose was ranked as next most important (18%) ahead of work culture (17%), responsibility (7%) and opportunity for promotion (6%)….

…The survey also revealed that, on average, 57% of respondents (64% Germany, 58% US, 48% UK) said they would favour joining an organisation that has a clearly defined purpose.”

What matters now is how organisations integrate this ‘new discovery’ with motivation schemes to maximise the benefit to the business.

I can now claim over 30 years experience in the incentive and motivation agency business! After five initial years at Grass Roots I joined p&mm in 1989 and, following a management buy-out, the business was floated on AiM in 2004 as Motivcom plc. I sat on the main board through to its fully supported acquisition by Sodexo in September 2014. I continue on the board of the company with an objective to drive its integration with Sodexo and help realise the strategic benefits of being part of a larger international group.

Latest news

Lauren Webb: Empowering women to lead the way in analytics and AI

Women remain wildly underrepresented in technical and digital leadership, making up just 22% of the UK’s AI talent. It’s jarring.

Employers urged to balance flexibility and fairness as England’s World Cup campaign begins

Employment lawyers are advising organisations to plan ahead for leave requests and workplace flexibility as the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets under way.

Amy Coleman on uncertainty and pressure at work

“Many of you shared feelings of uncertainty and pressure as the work evolves.”

Workers fear favouritism is driving workplace rewards and recognition

Many UK employees believe workplace rewards are influenced by favouritism, with women significantly less likely to view recognition as fair.
- Advertisement -

Curtis Holmes: Payroll is the driver for employee engagement

Payroll has long been treated as a back-office necessity: essential, but not something that shapes culture or drives engagement. This no longer stands.

Labour market yet to show major AI impact on jobs, govt adviser says

A government economic adviser has challenged predictions of widespread AI-driven unemployment, arguing labour market data has yet to show disruption.

Must read

These five film and TV character types could help you build a better team

Which film characters do your recruits admire?  Getting to know some of an employees pop culture heroes can be useful in understanding their own personalities, according to Alexandre Pachulski of Talentsoft.

Arran Heal: Be ready for the Worker Protection Act

The Worker Protection Act will become law this year, meaning employers have to demonstrate they have taken “reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees."
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you