Purpose: The Key Driver of Organizational Performance

 

In the past, purpose has often been cast aside as non-essential to an organization’s success. Finances, IT, sales, and products have traditionally been discussed far more often than purpose. Yet purpose is actually the key driver to organizational success. Without employees feeling a sense of purpose, a salesperson would be listless, and product engineers would lose creativity. Now more than ever, purpose is important to organizational performance because it inspires employees to move beyond inertia to action. 

Many people ask how purpose differs from mission, vision, values, principles, and culture. An organization’s mission describes what business the organization is in (and what it is not), and its plans for the future. Its goal is to provide a focus for leadership and employees. 

A vision statement lays out where the organization is going in the future. It is usually drawn up by senior management to take the thinking beyond day-to-day activity in a clear, strategic way. 

Values explain how the mission, purpose and vision will be achieved through the expected culture of the organization. They serve as a compass of the expected norms, behaviors, and mindset. 

So what, then, is purpose? 

According to David Packard, Co-Founder of Hewlett-Packard, purpose is like a guiding star on the horizon- forever pursued but never reached. Although purpose itself does not change, it does inspire change. The very fact that purpose can never be fully realized means that an organization can never stop stimulating change and progress. 

Have you ever had to drag yourself out of bed to go to a job that you hated? It’s like you’re pushing a heavy rock uphill. But when purpose is motivating your actions, everything feels very different. You have a kind of lightness, even when things are intense or tough. The same thing is true for organizations; you can feel when a company is animated by purpose… and that’s a feeling that people want to have! It’s also a feeling that drives better performance. 

Organizational Purpose 

The purpose of an organization is not the answer to the question, “What do you do?” which typically focuses on products, services, and customers, but rather the answer to the question “Why is your work vital?” It conveys what the organization stands for in historical, ethical, emotional, and practical terms. 

Below are the key characteristics of an organization’s ideal purpose statement, which is: 

• Central and enduring to the culture of the organization 
• Inspiring and unifying 
• The answer to the question, “Why is this work vital?” 

A purpose statement should be brief so employees can remember it and use it to guide their daily actions. It should also be broad in scope to allow the organization to adapt over time to a changing world, while its central focus remains constant. 

Here are a few examples of organizational purpose statements: 

• ING – Empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business 

• Kellogg – Nourishing families so they can flourish and thrive 

• Insurance Australia Group (IAG) – To help    people manage risk and recover from the hardship of unexpected loss 

• REA Group – To make the property process simple, efficient, and stress-free for people buying and selling a property 

• Southwest Airlines – To connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel 

• CVS – Helping people on their path to better health 

In the current world, employee engagement is crucial. Employees need to work with a sense of purpose that comes from knowing that what they do affects others in the organization. Engaged employees relish what they do and are more productive. 

Purpose provides clarity and stimulates innovation. Embracing clarity can open the door to allowing employees to see possibilities that they wouldn’t have otherwise seen. They understand the organization’s expectations of them and the reasons behind those expectations. It empowers them to deliberate new methods of doing their work to meet the organizational mission. 

We would love to hear from you! What’s your organizational purpose? How is purpose driving your motivation levels and enhancing the organizational performance? 

 

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter. 

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Future of Work for Product Managers

 

I feel lucky that my career has allowed me to meet so many interesting, curious, and knowledgeable people. You will find some of them in this roundup of podcasts and interviews that I joined.

1. Future of leadership for product managers

I was honored to be invited by Chad McAllister from Product Mastery as a guest for his webinar on trends influencing the future leadership.

This conversation discussed why product managers must know about the future of leadership, the big trends that are driving leadership change, what exactly current leadership looks like, and how leaders can encourage employees to get engaged and move into the future. Listen to the podcast here.

2. Workplace culture

Michael Ogunsanya, CEO and Co-Founder of MindStand Pod, invited me to discuss workplace diversity and inclusion as part of his series exploring workplace culture.

In this podcast, we talked about creating more connected and inclusive teams, including methods of creating practical strategies for creating an inclusive environment. Listen to this podcast to learn what your company can do to create a more inclusive workplace. Listen to the podcast here.

Would you like to join the conversation? Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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5 Tips for Asking for What you Want in Today’s Workplace

 

CHCI is honored to have Anne Loehr, Executive Vice President, mentioned in this article on 5 Tips for Asking for What you Want in Today’s Workplace that was published on Financial Management. Thanks, Hannah Pitstick for the excellent interview questions!

You can’t always get what you want, but the odds are much higher if you ask for it. The economic uncertainty of the past year deterred many employees from asking for promotions and raises, according to an Indeed survey, with women 12.1% less likely to ask for a pay rise and men 8.6% less likely. At the same time, employees became more comfortable asking for increased flexibility at work.

As the world continues to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has perhaps been no better time to ask for what you want in the workplace, according to Anne Loehr, an author and leadership coach based in Reston, Virginia.

“I can’t overstate the importance of asking for what you want,” Loehr said. “There’s no shame in asking for it, and no shame in not getting it either.”

While it never hurts to ask, your request is more likely to be granted if you consider your manager’s point of view and approach the situation from a place of clarity and mindfulness. Here are some steps to assertively asking for what you want in the workplace:

Get clear about what you want. Before you approach your boss or manager, you should spend some time figuring out exactly what it is you want. You may think you want a promotion or the option to permanently work from home, but when your request is granted, you might realise it’s not what you wanted after all.

“If you want more time off, what exactly does that look like?” Loehr said. “Does it look like a flexible workday? Does it look like remote work? Does it mean you can leave at noon? Simply asking for ‘time off’ is a bit vague.”

Take a moment to get at the root of your request. For example, if you think you want to be placed into a management role, consider the number of people you want to manage, the type of people you want to manage, and what you hope your day-to-day tasks will include. Write it down and review your desired outcomes before talking to management.

“Use your five senses to dig down, meaning what would it look like, sound like, and feel like when you got whatever you wanted,” Loehr said.

Outline the benefits for your audience. When framing your request, it can be easy to get caught up in why you want something and forget about why it could also be great for your manager.

“Put some thought into what the benefits are to your manager or colleague if they let you work remotely or take on this assignment,” said Amy Vetter, CPA/CITP, CGMA, the CEO of The B3 Method Institute in the US. “Usually, it’s something like you will be more effective, more productive, or it will improve performance. That way it’s less of asking for a favour and more ‘I’m actually helping you out here.'”

If your manager tends to respond well to numbers, you could even calculate the benefits for them. For example, if your productivity increased by 25% while you worked from home over the past year, you could request to continue working from home four days a week in order to maintain a 20% increase in productivity for the remainder of the year.

Customise your approach to your manager. Not all managers are the same, and you might need to tailor your approach to suit their personality and leadership style.

“If you’re working with an introvert, you might want to tee up the conversation,” Loehr said. “Let them know you want to schedule a time to talk about your career development so at least they won’t feel completely ambushed.”

In most cases, you will want to have the conversation in person or at least over a video call so you can observe body language, tone, and facial expressions.

“You’re always going to interpret emails and written messages based on how you’re feeling, and not necessarily on what the other person intended, so meet with them in person or over video,” Vetter said.

Before scheduling the conversation, it can also help to figure out the time of day or week your manager is most relaxed and open to suggestion. Don’t try to approach them with a request when they seem overwhelmed or stressed, and try to determine whether they will respond better to an emotional, data-driven, or straightforward appeal.

“If you come in armed with a lot of numbers and research, you might just set someone on the defensive,” Vetter said. “Not that you shouldn’t know what’s standard for the industry, but you don’t want to come in with threats, and you don’t want to come in with assumptions thinking the worst.”

Be present during the conversation. Too often people walk into these conversations preoccupied with their own thoughts and worries, and fail to be truly present, according to Vetter.

“Just be in the present moment, accept the conversation as it is, ask a lot of questions, and show compassion for your boss,” Vetter said.

Vetter recommended taking a few minutes of silence without distractions before the conversation to get into a positive and relaxed mindset. And during the conversation, make a point of listening to what your manager is saying and then try to get underneath their answers to pinpoint their “why”. If their reasoning is unclear, try asking your question in different ways and use open-ended questions without revealing your opinion, to encourage them to be frank about their thought process.

Follow up after allowing time to process. It’s very possible that your request won’t be immediately granted during the initial meeting, and that’s OK.

“This is a conversation, not a one-off, and it’s probably going to be multiple conversations,” Loehr said.

If your manager or boss doesn’t give you an immediate yes, tell them you would like to schedule a time a few days, weeks, or months later to pick up the conversation after you both have had some time to think things over. If they immediately refuse your request, you could ask to schedule another meeting to discuss their reasons for that.

“Don’t necessarily expect a resolution in that moment, but set a time for when you will have that follow-up meeting, giving yourself time to decompress, think about the conversation, and maybe take some other people’s input before you come back with your answer,” Vetter said.

Hannah Pitstick is a freelance writer based in the US. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Drew Adamek, an FM magazine senior editor, at Andrew.Adamek@aicpa-cima.com.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Best Practices for Hiring Gen Z

 

 

The US workforce is more diverse than ever: racially, ethnically, and even generationally, with different generations working side by side. Each generation has somewhat unique characteristics and, generally speaking, is distinctly different from the others. This can present organizational challenges. However, it is also an opportunity to leverage generational strengths for improved organizational performance. Since talent is infused in everything successful organizations do, it’s important that organizations can attract, hire, and retain Gen Z employees as part of their success strategy. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z currently makes up 20.35% of the US population. The eldest among them are between 22 and 25 years old, so you can expect members of this generation to start trickling into your ranks more and more in the coming years. They will impact the workplace for decades to come. This generation:

·         Is the most racially diverse generation, comprised of 52 percent white, 25 percent Hispanic, 14 percent Black, and 4 percent Asian people.

·         Has been raised with the internet and mobile devices from birth.

·         Faced more financial challenges, as well as greater mental health challenges, than Millennials or Gen X.

What Does Gen Z Expect From An Employer?

Gen Z is interested in who organizations really are in terms of their mission, vision, and culture. Additionally, they value benefits like short-term loans, mental health applications, daily pay features (same day pay option), and fitness and weight management services. They want fair and ethical bosses who encourage them to speak up and also help them create social impact. Gen Z is looking for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) culture. The majority of them (86%) want to know a potential employer’s commitment to diversity before accepting an offer. 67% are reluctant to accept an offer if they don’t meet any underrepresented employees during their interview process. Career advancement plays a prominent role in retaining Gen Z employees. They are seeking mentoring, training, and meaningful roles. 75% expect a promotion in the first year. 60% expect to change roles within the organization within two years; 50% admit they intend to look for a new job within three years. Some best practices to fine-tune the Gen Z hiring process include:

1.     Employee Referrals: Referrals are the number one source of Gen Z hiring. Over 60% of Gen Z candidates say referrals from current or former employees and alumni networks are their favorite way to learn about potential employers.

2.     Employee Influencer Networks: Lean on your current employees to attract young talent. Invite team members to share their work lives on social media, and post when you have new open positions.

3.     On-Campus Career Fairs: Gen Z values face-to-face communication. They prefer college career centers and hiring events nearly twice as much as their Millennial counterparts.

4.     Improve Your Career Site: A Careers Page is the foundation of your recruitment marketing strategy for Gen Z. Modernize your website and attract more candidates. Ask yourself: How does your website reflect your vision? Update information to make your open role postings more appealing to the newest wave of job seekers.

5.     Personalize Your Communication Strategy: Ask candidates to join the talent community before they apply. Share content based on their indicated interests. During the interview process, give frequent updates to let candidates know about their hiring status. At the time of making an offer, send a small care package that speaks to your new hire.

Check out the diagram below for the ideal Gen Z hiring process:

Now it’s time to apply a few ideas for the career advancement and retention of the Gen Z workforce:

1.     Create 30, 60, and 90-Day Objectives: Illustrate the value of these objectives and invite employees to accelerate the trajectory of their careers.

2.     Build an Employee Development Engine: Start in the right strategic direction, collect all relevant data points, have a professional development plan in place, integrate learning and development as a part of the career advancement, and measure performance at regular intervals.

3.     Demonstrate a Career Path: Create a framework to shape the first few years of employment. Illustrate a path that involves different tasks and roles to feed their need for engagement. Consider partnering at the university level to provide new learning opportunities. Set up internal marketplaces within your organization to match projects with needed skill sets.

4.    Use a Career Lattice Pathway: Career lattice pathways allow for vertical, horizontal, and diagonal movement. They are much broader than career ladders, which are narrower, have a vertical view, and focus primarily on getting promoted to the next job title. Nearly 90% of workers would consider a cross-departmental move without a financial incentive.

5.     Create Competencies: By aligning organizational competencies and expected proficiency levels with position descriptions, organizations can hire people who add value to the organization in a strategic and targeted way.

 

Best Practices to Hire Gen Z

Over 80% of Gen Z prospects expect the hiring process to take a maximum of two week. Transparent communication is essential for hiring Gen Z. 54% of Gen Z prospects won’t apply if they feel recruitment is dated. Outdated recruitment examples include:

·         Walk-in interviews

·         Generic or unclear job descriptions

·         In-person initial interviews

·         Job advertisements in print

·         Using temporary employment agencies

 

As more and more Gen Z enters the workforce, it is imperative that organizations educate themselves on what this generation values most in an employer. Hiring and retention strategies must evolve to incorporate those preferences and values. Managers and prospective hires, we want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience with hiring / getting hired. What has worked and not worked for you?

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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