Can you define or create real purpose for your employees and something that goes beyond creating the best widget for the best price?
Almost all people have an in-born desire to devote their time and talents to something greater than themselves. This is called “the purpose motive.” People want to contribute if they genuinely believe in the greater purpose behind their work. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, people especially want to do work that “benefits others and contributes to society and have a little fun along the way.”
Many products and services solve real or serious problems that customers have. Consumers don’t want to buy products but rather – they want to solve their problems. One way to help find the real purpose of your businesses is to complete the following:
You know when you (have this problem), what we do is (offer this solution).
A dentist may say: “You know when you have a toothache and the pain is unbearable, well what we do is remove all that pain in less than 30 minutes”. In marketing terms this is known as your unique selling proposition (USP). As well as delivering a valuable message to your target market, it is essential to know or clarify your USP to confirm your employee motivation. This can be used further to co-create a business culture that is therefore aligned and can effectively assist to deliver your USP.
A business that provides dental services may have a USP: “We take away people’s pain and give them confidence to smile”. Other than being paid, this example is another positive and very amicable reason on why employees working for such a business maybe motivated to turn up and contribute.
To create a strong USP, you have to examine the profile of your perfect customer and then deliver a strong message to your market that shows them you can meet their needs and solve their problems. It then clarifies to your employees why they are doing what they are doing and thus defining the “real purpose” of their commitment and contributions.
For example, a security alarm company doesn’t just sell security alarms. They sell peace of mind to their customers. People involved in the home security industry are engaged in the serious work of keeping people safe. Keeping people safe is an amicable industry and pursuit to be involved in.
If your company provides a luxury product or service you can still create a purpose motive. You don’t just sell cruises. You are in the business of making people happy and providing people with luxurious worldwide adventures and memories that will last a life time.
A recent 10-year study of 50 of the world’s top businesses revealed that a business which creates a culture of improving other people’s lives grows up to three times as fast and as large as the competition.
You can actually drive this purpose-filled behavior into the very DNA of the company by looking at your company in a different way than most business owners or managers tend to. Consider these thoughts from the Harvard Business Review:
“Traditionally, economists and financiers have agreed that the sole purpose of business is to make money—the more the better. That conveniently narrow image, deeply embedded into the Western capitalist system, molds the actions of most corporations, constraining them to focus on maximizing short-term profits and delivering returns to shareholders…
“Institutional logic holds that companies are more than instruments for generating money; they are also vehicles for accomplishing societal purposes and for providing meaningful livelihoods for those who work in them. According to this school of thought, the value that a company creates should be measured not just in terms of how it sustains the conditions that allow it to flourish over time. These corporate leaders deliver more than just financial returns; they also build enduring institutions.”
Whether you are in charge of your company’s strategic vision or you are a start-up, you can start thinking in terms of a greater purpose right now. You don’t have to sacrifice a profit motive, but it’s great to think beyond that motive to your customers, employees and further, the communities in which the company is working in.
More and more people are interested in working for these types of companies, shopping with these types of companies, and doing business with these types of companies. Companies that not only offer value to people, customers and the community, but rather define and convey an amicable “real purpose” and of course allow their employees to have some fun and innovate, are more likely to be more sought after by customers, potential employees and other parties that can offer beneficial strategic alliances and assist such a company to grow fast and dominate the niche in which the company is trading in.
Paul Marshall
Partner | HR Chief | FCPHR
With decades of Business and HR experience a HR Pro, corporate trainer, author and a welcomed and trusted business partner with commercial awareness and expertise in people, performance and HR capabilities .
Author of:
103 Golden Tips to Turbo Charge your Business make More Money and Get Rich
103 Golden Tips to Turbo Charge your Employees Skyrocket Productivity and Get More Output
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