Purpose problems

Purpose. It’s a word packed with meaning; an idea espoused by business leaders and thinkers alike.

And yet behind all the hype and headlines, purpose has two persistent problems:

A clarity problem

Call it ‘purpose’, ‘purpose-led’, ‘purpose-driven’ – there is no universally agreed definition or framework. Is it simply a statement of why your company exists? Or is it a holistic response to the needs of your stakeholders? Too often leaders are unclear what purpose really means, and therefore unsure what exactly to ‘do’ with it.

An employee engagement problem

In pursuit of the perfect purpose statement, the shiny B Corp badge, or the all-encompassing ESG framework…it can be easy for employees to be overlooked or forgotten altogether. And yet the reality is that an authentic and impactful purpose always starts at home – with the people inside the business.

The impact of these problems?
A growing disconnect and a rising discontent from employees who are looking for more:

• 82% believe it’s important their company has a clear purpose…but only 42% believe their company’s purpose drives impact (McKinsey ‘Purpose: Shifting from Why to How’, 2020)
• 76% want to work for a company that’s having a positive impact in the world…but 66% say current efforts do not go far enough (Net Positive Employee Barometer, 2023)
• 61% of Gen Z workers deem environmental and social responsibility a must-have for employers…and 45% would consider resigning from a company whose values don’t align with their own (Alight International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study, 2022 | Net Positive Employee Barometer, 2023)

Purpose 9 exists to bridge this gap – to help leaders uncover what matters most to their people, and to put employees at the heart of the their pursuit of purpose and impact.