A company’s culture can have a massive impact on its employees and its customers. When your culture aligns with your employees’ sense of purpose, you’ll see a wave of positive effects ripple out through your organization and all the way to your bottom line. In this article, we’ll go over how purpose drives company culture. Next we will show you how to identify whether or not you already have purpose-driven culture. Lastly you will learn how to create one if it’s missing from your business.
1. Your purpose is your employees’ why. It creates employee happiness by encouraging them to push harder, think more critically, and build an audience around their ideas. With a mission in mind, each day comes with passion and meaning rather than simple boredom or short-term goals (like paying rent).
2. Transparency breeds trust. Employees can trust management if they know what you stand for—and that you live it too. Workplaces are stronger when people feel like they are part of something greater than themselves; a mission gives employees that sense of belonging and direction, even though everyone has unique roles to play.
3. Employees who align with your company culture will stick around longer—or come back sooner after being gone for good! They won’t jump ship because there’s no place else they’d rather be.
Want to learn how I help companies create epic company cultures? Check out this article on why purpose is the new standard!
Believing in something bigger than yourself, particularly a mission to change society, is sure to create a dedicated and driven workforce. By making work not just a job but an important part of your life’s purpose, you can live more meaningfully both at work and at home. An entrepreneur with clear direction and goals is bound to attract other people who will work with them toward common prosperity. Everyone wins. A happy employee leads to higher productivity. When we love what we do, we won’t be thinking about punching out as soon as 5 p.m. hits. With a sense of purpose, we might actually stay late because we have that extra burst of energy from knowing our time here matters.
They don’t call it hard work for nothing; those first few months can be tough, especially for those new to the workforce and earning their own income. But by feeling like you’re helping others and working towards a meaningful goal , these tasks are made easier. Employees feel valued when they know that their company cares about them. According to Gallup, engaged employees are up to 33% more productive, customer-oriented and profitable than disengaged employees.
On average, engaged employees also spend more than two hours less per week doing things unrelated to their core duties (e.g., social media) and are absent about 37% less frequently. Just asking how was your day? or taking 10 minutes after a meeting to personally thank employees for helping with a challenging project can go a long way!
A sense of purpose is one of those things that we all crave. It gives us a reason to get up in the morning and helps us see what we’re working towards. When employees have a sense of purpose, it can be contagious. When everyone is moving in sync, you know you’ve created a company culture that supports long-term success. Here are six ways you can bring purpose into your company:
1. Put purpose at your company’s core: While you may know why you started your business, it’s easy to lose sight of that purpose over time, especially when things get busy.
2. Encourage your employees to feel personally connected to their work: People don’t just want a sense of purpose in their job—they want it on a personal level, too. One of the best ways to do that is by encouraging them to get involved with outreach initiatives, like volunteering, that support your business and its goals as well as other people and causes they care about.
3. Support your employees as they contribute to their local community: It’s not just about your company; it’s about what you can do for others, too. As an employer, supporting your employees as they contribute to their local community can go a long way toward fostering a sense of purpose in your workplace.
4. Provide meaningful projects and opportunities for growth: When people feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, they gain a sense of purpose that can fuel long-term motivation and engagement. That’s why you should support your employees as they work on meaningful projects that contribute to company goals or help them grow in their current roles—it’s an excellent way to reinforce your company culture while also supporting personal growth and development.
5. Provide support and resources for employees who want to launch a side hustle: Freelancers aren’t your only option for developing a sense of purpose outside of work. In fact, you can actually encourage it as an employer! Many people find their personal sense of purpose by launching side hustles that put their skills to good use while also helping others. Leaders can support their team members along their journey by offering resources and providing flexibility around hours so they have time to devote to outside projects.
6. Provide regular check-in opportunities: It’s easy to lose sight of a sense of purpose when you have so much going on. Even if your employees feel connected to their work, they may not have time to think about what it means beyond their daily tasks.
While money is a big factor for most employees when looking for a job, it turns out that having a sense of purpose. Feeling connected to something bigger than themselves—is even more important than salary. According to an IBM study, nearly 90% of millennials want to work at companies that make social and environmental impact. In fact, Millennials are 55% more likely to stay with their company for over two years if they have a clear understanding of what their organization stands for.
If your employees don’t feel motivated by their work and if they don’t believe in your mission as a company (big or small), they won’t bring enthusiasm or excitement into your office each day.