Internal communicators can make an impact on organisational purpose, says the IoIC’s Suzanne Peck

“I’ve always believed that your why matters more than just your what. Why we come to work and put the effort into the job we do is important. Personally, I want to be able to make that connection between what I am doing and the difference it’s making, no matter how small that may be. But I’m wired to want to go to the next level: I’m there because I believe I am contributing to something important. My actions, my work has a purpose.

Purpose is going to grow and take on more importance in workplaces large and small.

There are a number of interpretations of purpose. It’s aligned to engagement, but it’s more than just CSR, it’s a mindset. It’s about how a business does things, about why a business exists and it makes the connection between doing things right and doing good. It’s also profitable.

In a survey last year, Harvard Business Review Analytics and EY’s Beacon institute said, “A new leading edge: those companies able to harness the power of purpose to drive performance and profitability enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.” This is a reprise of the findings of Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, who in 1994’s ‘Built to Last,’ found that between 1926- 1990 a group of visionary companies – those guided by a purpose beyond making money – returned six times more to shareholders than explicitly profit-driven rivals.

Purpose is also appealing to Generation Z. Dubbed the future of your workforce, those born after 1996 have grown up with a desire to make a positive change to the world – leaving it in a better state than they entered it. More than 80% of Generation Z wants to work for a company that cares about its impact and want to work for a purpose, not just a paycheck.

Now, I don’t kid myself that through my role as a communicator I am doing good by saving lives or inventing time-saving gadgets. I’m not creating new business processes or bringing Tim Peake back to Earth. But how well we communicate the organisation’s purpose internally could have a major effect on employees’ engagement levels.

A survey from Deloitte found that 73% of employees who say they work at a purpose- driven company are engaged, compared to just 23% of those who don’t. Engagement matters for attracting new people, for retention, for business performance, for customers, for your brand, your reputation, as well as for profits.

As communicators, we’re well placed to help articulate purpose. We connect people no matter where they are, we help them collaborate, to share information that helps them to do their jobs better. We clarify messages, we offer context and relevance, and we can be the ears and eyes offering leadership honest feedback.

Because it’s the ‘frontline’ people who need the help. That same Deloitte survey reported that 47% of executives strongly agree that they can identify with their company’s purpose, compared to just 30% of employees.

We’re now in the period when, for the first time ever, there will be four generations of people in the workplace. There are different work ethics, different attitudes, influences and values, different reasons why they are working there, but they are working side by side, colliding and colluding.

We’re going to have to work imaginatively and smarter to communicate and connect such diverse audiences and preferences through the words, actions and channels we use.

I’m not expecting to see organisations teeming with t-shirt wearing or company song- singing employees, but anything we can do to reinforce the why works for me.

Suzanne Peck is president of the Institute of Internal Communication