Commentary By Matthew Hayes, Managing Director, Champions UK plc
Purpose-driven companies come in all shapes & sizes and can be found in industries all over the world. But the one thing they have in common is a clear understanding of what they stand for, and a willingness to take a stand in ways that create long-term value for their company and all the people it serves.
At Champions UK plc, we specialise in helping our clients build business strategies and stand out from the crowd. We place purpose front and centre from the C-suite stakeholders down to our commercial due diligence growth and strategy services, helping our clients to harvest the purpose of the business, developing empowered internal and external communications.
But why is purpose so important?
There are eight main reasons:
>Purpose-led companies make more money, have more engaged employees and attract more loyal customers. According to PwC, 79 percent of business leaders believe that purpose is central to success. Despite this, less than half of employees know what their organisation stands for and what makes it different. Don’t let your staff become part of that 50 percent.
>Developing a coherent purpose at the centre of any strategy impacts decision-making, inspires employees, and builds trust.
> Purpose functions as a boundary setting exercise when delivering business growth strategy. Additionally, usually when tackling complex issues, purpose can serve as a guide which keeps decisions in line with the big strategic picture.
> As well as acting as a manual to the business, purpose can stimulate original concepts and creativity in an organisation. Guided by purpose, employees can be empowered to reallocate their time to be problem solvers and value providers.
>Purpose reduces the feeling of fear during times of organisational transformation. Tying changes to a company’s purpose can help employees see that the short-term changes relate to long-term strategic purpose rather than incite fear and a fight or flight scenario.
>Purpose can be channelled to incorporate different international teams together under the banner of a common goal. With a more universal and diverse world, globalisation and teamwork are increasingly important as organisations try to deal with disruption. This has become even more defining in a post Covid hybrid workforce.
> Not only does purpose unite international teams, but also unites larger enterprises. Companies can assess their potential for collaboration or mergers and acquisitions with a firm by looking for a commonplace within the two businesses.
> Having a clear and defined higher purpose can lead to a better reputation, greater consumer loyalty, higher levels of innovation, and last but not least, EBITDA growth.
Without a clear purpose, business strategy and operations will drift, damaging differentiation, decreasing cohesion, motivation, and alignment across an organisation, and ultimately weakening performance.
