Can Internal Communications energise employees with Purpose?

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An internal communication strategy should have Purpose as one of its content pillars; Purpose builds alignment and engagement in employees

A senior leader in a company walks in to work in the morning, passing the reception area which has artistic wall art depicting the organisation’s Purpose. Other hallways have creative posters that capture the highly inspiring vision, mission and values espoused by the company.

Later in the day, during a coffee break, the leader walks into the cafeteria and sees many of the younger employees looking bored or glum.

No, it is not the food which they are unhappy about. The faces show a lack of engagement with the company’s culture and purpose.

This experience is hypothetical but based on real life.

Research has shown that in majority of the cases there is a disconnect between the company Purpose and it’s understanding among employees. An HBR survey showed that 95% of employees are either unaware or do not understand the company Purpose.

The lack of clarity increases as you move down the hierarchy, clearly indicating that the lower levels of your workforce are the most disengaged.

This is where Internal Communications plays a key role.

Effective internal communication is like a bridge between the lofty ideals of Purpose and the day-to-day realities. For Purpose to be more than a statement, it must be communicated in a manner that inspires, aligns and engages every employee. Purpose needs to be integrated into the Internal Communication strategy.

Ways to connect employees to your company’s purpose

According to a Harvard Business Review Study, 90% of organisations — that had a clearly defined purpose that resonated with employees — saw growth and profits at or above the industry average.

Over 60% of employees said they were motivated and/or passionate about their work, which was almost twice as much as companies that didn’t have a defined purpose.

Given the above data points, here are some suggestions for leveraging Internal communications to connect your entire workforce to the company’s purpose and enable them to live by your core company values.

1. Define a clear purpose such that it speaks to everyone

This is not always easy. The former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy, Hubert Joly, explains how a company’s Purpose is best found at the intersection of four areas:

•   The human needs of the workforce
•   The company’s unique capabilities
•   What the company’s employees are passionate about
•   How the company can create economic value

He also explained that this works best as a collaborative effort and should be co-designed by employees.

In order for a Purpose to become reality, it needs to be “translated” from abstract to practical terms. Remember, individual behaviours add up to the company culture. So it is critical that employees understand how their actions, behaviours, and interactions with other stakeholders can impact the overall company purpose.

The Purpose should resonate with employees at all levels, rather than a bland list of feel-good principles or values that are too general to be useful.

2.Enable your managers to align with the Purpose

Invest in training managers, helping them understand and connect to the company’s purpose so that they can effectively cascade the Purpose communication to their teams. One of the best ways managers can connect their employees to the company’s purpose is by giving real-life examples.

Communicating Purpose by pairing it with a recent example of its success in practice is a great way to help employees understand what the company stands for.

3. Incorporate Your Company’s Purpose Into Employee Onboarding

Design the onboarding activities, content, and feedback to reflect and reinforce your company’s core values, objectives, and strategies.

Internal storytelling is a great way to do that! For example, you can use stories, case studies, and testimonials to illustrate how your company’s mission and vision translate into action and impact.

Pro tip: Use quizzes, surveys, and assignments to assess how well the new hires understand and align with your company’s Purpose.

4. Tie Your Recognition Program to the Core Company Values

One of the best ways to help employees connect to your company’s Purpose and understand their contribution to it is by launching a formal employee recognition program tied to the core company values. Recognition programs that publicly and explicitly connect rewards to your mission and values show every employee what they should be striving for, and what rewards await them when they go above and beyond.

5. Launch Engaging Internal Campaigns

Internal communications departments also play a critical role in connecting the entire workforce to the company’s Purpose, mission, and vision. 

Creative, engaging, personalised, and interactive campaigns and storytelling are important for catching employees’ attention and encouraging them to consume content and information related to your company’s Purpose.

One of the best ways to communicate your organisation’s mission and vision is to use stories and examples that illustrate them in action. Real-life stories and examples can make your mission and vision more concrete, relevant, and memorable for your employees. 

For example, you could have a monthly newsletter that spotlights an employee-generated article about how they live by the company’s core values. 

6. Plan regular Leadership Communication

Leaders talking about Purpose and how it drives the organisation can lead to a high employee engagement. Leaders can call out ongoing successes or achievements, mention advancements in business operations such as Sales, Marketing, ESG, innovation, etc. Leadership communication can be in the form of multi-format content – quotes, videos, townhall speeches, emailers, etc.

A quarterly internal podcast hosted by your CEO, interactive activities, discussions on your intranet’s news feed, games, quizzes, surveys, or simulations that allow your new employees to explore, apply, and evaluate your mission and vision are other tools that can be used.

Purpose is strategic

Engaging employees on Purpose is an interesting strategy element for Internal Communications. It is not tactical, it is transformational; it is not bland, it is story-telling; it is not short term, it is a long running objective that integrates Purpose with the company’s culture and EVP.

 

To get in touch for our services or any other communication requirement, please contact + 91 842 581 4016 / 17 or simply drop an email at solutions@ticworks.com.