In our last blog, we explained why work is about way more than just a pay cheque and spoke about the tremendous gains that can come when a company has a solid sense of its Purpose – of why it’s in business. And this is not about the profit angle but the service angle, the greater good that comes from whatever it is that we do.
For Walt Disney it’s “To make people happy.” For Steve Jobs and Apple, it was about being so innovative that they “delighted customers by giving them what they didn’t ask for - products they didn’t even know they wanted.” And for Richard Branson’s Virgin suite of companies, it’s about “being a consumer champion, sticking two fingers up to the establishment and fighting the big boys – usually with a bit of humour.”
Purpose sits at the head of a company’s ‘statements of intent’ and a Golden Thread should run through that brand promise from Purpose to Vision to Mission to Values and Behaviours:
Purpose – the ‘why’ of your business – what you’re doing for your customers, the environment, the planet. This is also, by inference, what your employees can expect from you.
Vision - what the business is aiming for in future years.
Mission - where it’s at now, what business the organisation is in.
Values - our behavioural compass - this is how we do things around here, come what may.
Behaviours - concrete, real-life examples of us living our Values – what we expect, what we sign up to, what we actually day-to-day do.
Of course, it’s easy to draft lofty statements, PR soundbites for the company website, and Virgin, for one, believe it’s vitally important that their Brand Purpose, Vision and Values are actively delivered and brought to life through the Behaviours of employees from top to bottom within the company. Richard Branson was notable for treating his staff the way he wanted them to treat their customers. On office visits, he would personally introduce himself to as many people as he could; he manned phone lines and listened to customer and employee gripes to get a handle on problems that needed fixing; and at weekends he would often ring staff to thank them for delivering first rate service. Friendly, human, relaxed, professional, uncorporate – just as Virgin’s brand values stated on their website.
There’s no magic formula for creating stellar levels of employee engagement and customer loyalty but having a strong and heartfelt Purpose that people feel, believe in and buy into is a terrific place to start. After that, let your team loose to bring it to life:
In short, put people first … employees at the head of the queue, customers second, shareholders third … treat your employees right and the service they’ll give to your customers will keep your shareholders happy.