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Do you know why you’re in business?
What about your employees and your candidates?
Is there a purpose to your business beyond just making money?
Let’s face it: purpose can sound a little idealistic or unpractical. We tend to think of purpose as something having to do with corporate social responsibility or altruism.
However, purpose isn’t about having your head in the clouds. It’s not even about CSR or altruism. The fact of the matter is that there is a very strong business case for purpose.
Why Purpose Matters
The long and short of it is that companies with a clear sense of purpose are more profitable, more successful and more likely to reach their business goals.
Most any business leader recognizes the benefits of purpose for PR, branding, and marketing – it’s great to market your mission beyond making money. In fact, a clear purpose is one of the most vital elements of a strong brand.
However, it goes so much deeper than that. Organizations with purpose at the core of their culture experience higher levels of employee engagement, greater employee retention, and attract top talent more effectively.
The Statistical Case for Purpose
Check out a few statistics from a 2016 study from Imperative and LinkedIn:
- 74% of LinkedIn members place a high value on finding work that delivers on a sense of purpose
- Purpose-driven companies have 117% more LinkedIn Company Page Views per employee
- Purpose-driven companies have a 33% better InMail Acceptance Rate
Even more impressive, the Harvard Business Review published a white paper showing that 58% of companies who prioritized purpose reported over 10% revenue growth in the past three years. In comparison, only 42% of the companies that were not prioritizing purpose reported the same.
Better yet, the whitepaper demonstrated that companies prioritizing purpose “saw a clear link between a widely understood sense of purpose and the ability to innovate and transform.” In a time of constant disruption, that agility is truly crucial.
However…you only realize the benefits of purpose if you understand WHAT your purpose is, and communicate it effectively to your employees, audience, and potential candidates!
Purpose Starts at the Top
Of course, purpose starts at the executive level. Unlocking the benefits of purpose starts with leaders having a clear understanding of purpose and how to put it at the forefront of their decision making.
Most entrepreneurs and founders started their businesses with a clear mission in mind. Unfortunately, all too many leaders either lose sight of purpose or forget about the purpose that they started the business with.
More often than not, the focus shifts to money. As a result, they lose out on the benefits of purpose, which ironically hurts their bottom line.
Before taking any other steps to prioritize purpose, you need to know exactly why you are in business! Financial gain is not an answer.
However, that’s just the beginning: in order to truly capitalize on our purpose, we have to communicate this purpose clearly to others.
You Don’t Reap the Benefits of Purpose If People Don’t Know About It
Sure, purpose-driven business leaders are more effective. However, businesses need to take advantage of purpose at all levels of the organization.
Anyone will deliver better results and be more effective if they are truly driven by purpose – which is why your team members need to understand your organization’s mission.
Going a step further, potential team members should understand what your organization’s purpose is. We need to leverage employer branding and recruitment marketing to help candidates understand what drives our organization.
In today’s ultra-competitive talent market, candidates want to find meaningful work. Younger generations in particular don’t want to work for just a paycheck, they want a sense of purpose.
Once you’ve identified your purpose at the executive level and communicated it to employees, you need to broadcast it by describing it on your careers page. Ensure recruiters are communicating the same message, and weave it in throughout your recruitment marketing efforts.
Leveraging the Power of Purpose
Purpose has the power to improve (or even transform) every aspect of your business. But first, you need a clear understanding of what your purpose is – and then get to work communicating it to others!
Be sure to check out our latest video on purpose with Qualigence CEO Steve Lowisz and the impact purpose has made on the organization.
