You can’t fake purpose
Nearly two in five Gen Z and Millennial employees have rejected a job or assignment because of purpose misalignment. If an organisation doesn't act in the way that it says it will, 35% of Gen Z and Millennials will walk away without another job to go to.
Research also shows that Millennial and Gen Z workers value purpose almost as much as they do pay, and for many, it's a key determinant as to whether they join an organisation or not.
Yet for many organisations, purpose is just something to be included on an annual report or added to the ‘Our culture’ webpage without fully understanding ‘why?’ let alone ‘how?’!
You can't fake purpose. Organisations that do 'check-box culture' - where they spend time producing purpose statements without understanding why they are important - are usually the worst culprits. They don't understand or anticipate the negative media reaction when they have a purpose that they actively choose to ignore.
Purpose for any organisation is incredibly important and not something that can be shortcut, handed to consultants, or constructed by cutting pictures out of magazines at an overtly expensive senior management retreat.
When purpose is embedded into day-to-day operations, then a company is four times more likely to hit and/or exceed its financial targets and almost five times more likely to keep its existing customers and attract new ones.
The goal isn't to have the best purpose statement on your website. The goal is to create something meaningful, that employees feel connected to and that is lived in plain sight every single day.
