ON TOPIC
“Gone are the days where you could
hide your practices or fool
customers. We look at Glassdoor
and sometimes we get feedback
that we don’t like to see, but it’s
important for us to see it. The same
goes for our customers. We have a
five on Trustpilot, but it’s critical that
that’s the case.”
He acknowledges that “always
doing the right thing” is an
aspirational goal, which must involve
supporting people to highlight poor
practice. “We are very big on
empowerment and accountability,”
he stresses. “People need to feel
they can raise their hands.”
Such “psychological safety”
enables the “self-policing” of
purpose, points out Wilson. “You can
call out bad behaviour because it’s
in the service of the purpose, not of
an individual or a political aim. You’re
almost working for a higher
authority,” she says.
What it isn’t, she argues, is “a
process of inventing or creating
something that you Sellotape on the
outside”. Rather, it’s “a mining
exercise to find the parts of the
organisation that really motivate and
inspire people.
“Today’s organisations have a
huge amount of data; by drawing
on cultural, emotional and qualitative
insights, what we’re often doing is
uncovering a truth that already
exists about the business.”
For example, when working with
The British Army to help boost
applications, Karmarama conducted
qualitative interviews, quantitative
research and data analysis
to uncover a deeper human
benefit to joining, above and beyond
skills development and adventure.
This uncovered a powerful driver
that attracted people to the armed
forces: the notion of belonging to a
O
brotherhood or sisterhood, of
experiencing powerful bonds that
support you and encourage you
to grow.
Using a platform of ‘This is
Belonging’ to give the Army a
purposeful position, it succeeded
i n d ra m a t i c a l l y i nc re a s i n g
applications: 2017 saw a 31%
increase in regular soldier
a p p l i c a t i o n s a n d i n 201 8 ,
applications reached a five-year
high. In the first week of 2020, the
record was broken for the highest
number of applications to join the
Army in a single day.
While the slogan was bold and
appealing, its value lay in tapping
into an existing truth. Similarly,
companies can talk to their people
in meaningful ways to excavate
their own truths.
To this end, Sage conducted a
three-day online hackathon with
Identifying purpose
For many organisations, the question
is not why they should pursue
purpose, but how to identify and
leverage it effectively. While
articulating values is a part of the
process (creating an accessible
shorthand) it has little to do with
inauthentic sloganeering.
“The worst thing is when the
board has an away day, somebody
paints something new on the wall of
reception, the CEO makes a big
statement in the world… and then
everything carries on as normal.
That’s a disaster,” argues Wilson.
“It needs to be something that
has meaning,” she asserts. “For us,
an inner purpose is the ultimate
definition of what an organisation
wants to contribute to the world,
over and above products and profits.
“There are two elements to an
effective purpose,” she continues.
“First, it has to inspire and motivate.
It has to galvanise me to want to do
my very best work. But I have to be
able to see how that purpose relates
to my role in the organisation. I think
that’s a really important part of the
communication around purpose:
working with individual communities
and tribes to make that purpose not
just resonant but relevant.”
February – May 2020 // 27