Earlier this month, we held an online webinar with three senior HR professionals to discuss the role purpose plays in the success of their organizations – from talent attraction and retention to sustainability. Allison Pinkham, Chief Human Resources Officer at Galderma, Keri Fleming, Chief People Officer at Mazars, and Adwoa Dadzie, Chief People Officer at Hearst Magazine, all attended and shared their insights with us.
Despite the different natures of their organizations, all shared a common belief: purpose must be at the forefront of all your conversations and decisions to align staff behind your business values, build a strong and unified culture, and attract and retain the best talent.
Below, we share a snapshot of the conversation and the insights these HR leaders had on how purpose helps them inspire, engage and give their people a sense of direction.
How would you define purpose?
While many organizations understand the need to be purpose-led in theory, they are often unsure of how to define and implement an effective purpose strategy.
Key elements from Brandpie’s approach to purpose – that it aligns leadership teams and must be activated effectively through brand, culture, sustainability and digital – were echoed by the panellists.
Purpose must sit at the heart of your organization and how it communicates with stakeholders, colleagues and customers. Branding must be ‘relatable consumable, and memorable,’ said Fleming.
While every organization has its own purpose, our panel members also highlighted the importance of leaders and employees having a personal purpose that simultaneously resonates with the organization’s messaging.
What role does purpose play in talent retention and attraction?
When the core values and objectives of your organization align with your employees or prospective employee’s personal values, it has a significant impact on your ability to both attract and retain talent. Research-driven dermatology brand Galderma, for instance, has a purpose of ‘advancing dermatology for every skin story’. This concise and focused mission has increased staff retention and driven recruitment, said Pinkham.
As CHR, Pinkham described her personal experience with eczema, and the impact this had on the way she connects with and communicates Galderma’s values - a clear alignment between her own purpose and that of her organization.
“That’s why I wanted to join Galderma – to make a different in peoples’ lives,” she added.
When it comes to attracting and retaining talent, purpose must be based on ‘authenticity and aspiration’, said both Dadzie and Pinkham. Each participant described their organization’s core values as resonating with their talent.
Can you share an example of how you have implemented purpose?
To develop and maintain a strong purpose, organizations must create formal processes that lead to real, tangible outcomes. Dadzie highlighted the need for attainable goals and real success stories that allow employees to see value and connect with the work they do, outlining how at Hearst this is built into each employee’s growth plan.
Pinkham shared an anecdote about how Galderma uses its purpose to contribute to their employee’s mental health and wellness, including awareness campaigns around skin health, disease awareness such as skin cancer awareness, and its ‘skin camps’, a summer-camp style safe space for young people with medical skincare needs.
Purpose-led initiatives like these have allowed Galderma to give back to its community and are a tangible example of purpose in action.
What is the relationship between purpose and sustainability?
‘Sustainability = longevity.’
All of our HR professionals were aligned on the need for impactful and relatable sustainability goals that reflect their organization’s purpose. In a world rife with greenwashing, it is vital to have well-considered, core sustainability initiatives that truly align with your brand.
Often, organizations can find themselves discussing a wide range of issues when it comes to sustainability simply in response to external pressures. This scattered approach to messaging can cause them to be perceived as being disingenuous, as they discuss issues that don’t naturally align with who they are or what they do.
Fleming expanded on this point, explaining how Mazars is focused on the ‘big picture’ when it comes to sustainability. That means any sustainability venture developed by the organization needs to be relatable to individuals and not siloed.
Ultimately, relevancy and authenticity are key.
How do you measure the effectiveness of purpose?
It’s not enough to say you’re purpose-led – you have to measure the effectiveness of your strategy so you can continue to tweak and develop it. This was a sentiment echoed by Fleming, who said:
“We make sure that we are monitoring our metrics; are we trending in the right direction? Are we being critical about our current stance with regards to our purpose articulations, with regard to our retention efforts – with regard to whatever the case may be – and are we testing those hypotheses?”
Purpose is effective when ‘people feel connected’ and have ‘a sense of belonging,’ summarized Dadzie. To truly evaluate the effectiveness of a purpose strategy, organizations must consistently test their processes. Even if the brand is in its early stages, being purpose-led from the outset puts you on the right path to building a brand that is both guided by its values and stays true to its mission.