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able to align their own values with
those of their employers. Notably,
public discourse around ‘corporate
meaning’ increased five-fold
between 1994 and 2016, according
to research by Oxford University
and EY.
At a time of low unemployment
and almost limitless consumer
choice, public attitudes also fuel
commercial drivers. If organisations
want to attract and retain both their
talent and their customers, they will
need to embrace authentic purpose.
“There’s something going on in
the world about the inside and
outside of organisations not being
different,” says Liz Wilson, chief
operating officer of creative agency
Karmarama, part of Accenture
Interactive. She has noted “a
groundswell of interest” from firms
wishing to communicate their ‘inner
purpose’ in their employer brand
and employee communications.
“The whole of life is a lot more
transparent with digitisation and
social media, and I think big
companies are finding that what
they promise the world in their
advertising has to be delivered in
everything they do; how they ask
their people to behave,” she explains.
“Having a strong sense of inner
purpose is how you can frame that.
“ O rg a n i s a t i o n s s u c h a s
McDonald’s are telling us where their
beef and eggs come from, showing
the integrity of what they’ve
promised in their behaviours. An
inner purpose is a frame that can
guide and empower employees at
every level of the organisation.”
For Karmarama, ‘inner purpose’
equates to “having a long-term vision
that’s inspiring but achievable;
something people can engage with
practically and emotionally” (see
box, p25). This is a must if we want
people to bring their whole selves
to work, and especially vital in a
volatile and uncertain world, where
purpose represents “the lighthouse
in a storm”.
“Almost all organisations we talk
to nowadays are going through
some kind of transformation, often
digital transformation, which involves
l ot s of d i f fe re nt e m p l oye e
behaviours,” says Wilson. “The real
24 // Future Talent
difference between a successful
transformation, and an interesting
plan met by grumbling, is a sense of
purpose: the sense that the
transformational process you’re
going through is aligned to purpose
in the organisation. That motivates
and galvanises the right kind of
behaviours. The purpose is the thing
that connects people to your vision.”
Tech disruption is creating “a real
attraction to humanity”, adds Tracey
Groves, CEO of Intelligent Ethics.
“This is about all of us wanting to
engage, to be connected, to be
purposeful and to work together,”
she says.“We live in such an
uncertain world that we are yearning
for stability and belonging. You
achieve that through human contact
and connection; through having a
shared vision and an understanding
of why we’re here.”
Connecting people
through a shared vision
A shared vision is a tool that helps
conglomerates and multinational
organisations to connect their
businesses and workers – across
industries, countries and continents
– though consistency of purpose.
Take financial services company
Legal & General. As its group HR
director Emma Hardaker-Jones
explains: “We’re a really diverse
business. At one end, we sell
I think
people can tell
the difference
between a
PR stunt
and a
meaningful
intention
life insurance, pensions and
annuities; at the other, we’re the
eighth-biggest house builder in the
UK. We are involved with later living,
affordable housing — and we’re the
biggest asset manager in the UK.
Those businesses, in and of
themselves, are very different, but
we have a unifying purpose of
inclusive capitalism (see Q&A, p28).
“This allows the divisions to run
their businesses in the way they
need to, while creating a common
strand across the organisation,” she
says. “That thread comes from the
top down, around our purpose. It
makes it easier to make decisions.”
She cites the example of benefits
packages for staff: “Last year, we
made a number of changes to our
package, including increasing
maternity and paternity leave. Each
of our businesses will have a slightly
different competitive landscape, but
one thing that was striking was that,
because there was this unifying
theme for us as a business, we were
able to agree that we wanted one
way of doing things across the
organisation. I think that’s an
example of this coming to life.”
A common purpose is similarly
visible at Marriott International, the
world’s largest hotel chain, which is
guided by the unifying principles of
its founder, J Willard Marriott. He was
ahead of his time in his articulation
of purpose, and his words continue
to resonate: “Take good care of your
employees, and they’ll take good
care of your customers, and the
customers will come back.”
Today, Marriott has distilled his
thinking into four core values, stating:
“As we change and grow, the beliefs
that are most important to us stay
the same — putting people first,
pursuing excellence, embracing
change, acting with integrity and
serving our world.”
This consistency of purpose
complements the individuality of
Marriott’s’ brands and properties.
“We are people-centric: our
culture is all about the people who
work for us, the people who come
to our properties and those who will
come in future,” says Iratxe Alvarez,
director of HR at London property
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.