Operating a purpose-centered business is important to the success of your company. Your company’s purpose explains to your employees and your customers the reason behind your business and the people it creates value for. Identifying and reflecting your purpose throughout your company is imperative to creating a company culture that is aligned toward one common goal.
Most executives and leaders are unaware of their ability to communicate the purpose of their company. Most leaders believe that their employees are experiencing the company’s purpose daily, when in fact, they’re seeing a disconnect between the organization’s purpose and its day-to-day operations.
One major source of this disconnect between leadership and employees is poor communication. Leaders need to take the time to properly communicate the purpose behind the organization. When communication is lacking,, employees won’t likely see their direct value-add to the greater goals of the business.
Another disconnect that could be happening is improperly aligned incentives. When employees don’t understand how their work directly impacts the bottom-line it may make it difficult for them to feel engaged. One way to fix this is to use performance metrics that are related to the company’s purpose.
How can you combat these issues and begin to put your words into action?
First, clearly explain why your company was started and what people’s actions do to contribute to the company’s purpose as a whole. All leaders throughout your company need to communicate this purpose. As we say, communicate, communicate, communicate! It’s not enough to just speak about it either, they must live it. You must also give your employees a link between what they do and what the purpose is.
As a leader, you should also empower your employees to live and act on the firm’s purpose. A great way to communicate this is to share stories of exemplary employees living the purpose. If your purpose is to give customers the best possible experience at your company, share a story of how one employee drove to their home to deliver their products.
A great way to implement your purpose into your employees’ daily activities is to include it into the performance metrics. These metrics should be included in the job description, the KPIs, and compensation metrics. One of the best ways to measure a company’s success in aligning its purpose with daily activities is to receive employee feedback.
Regardless of how you decide to measure your ability to communicate your purpose, it must be done one way or another. When you do receive feedback, listen carefully and take action when you need to.
Communicating your purpose to your employees is extremely important in creating a culture that is cohesive. At Culture Works, we can help you operationalize your culture, to put systems and processes in place so your purpose is ingrained in everything you do. Contact us for your culture assessment today!