Have you ever been in a meeting with management and you bring up the topic of having a purpose…and they look at you like you’ve just turned into Alice in Wonderland going down the rabbit hole and they have no intention of going there with you? I have. It’s hard to hide those eye rolls and deep sighs for another culture bunny taking up their precious time. But when you are armed with good numbers and stats, you can actually get their attention!

Purpose is often considered one of those “softer” sides of business…something that could be considered fluffy and a waste of time, not about running a real business.

This couldn’t be further from the truth and the research is starting to show just how much of an impact being a purpose driven company has on the profitability of a company. The latest research shows a direct correlation between purpose-driven companies and the employees who find their work to be meaningful.

When you can show the hard numbers, it makes it easier to justify investment into culture, purpose and engagement. If the executive management doesn’t buy into the value of culture, they will be missing the boat in the coming years to make the company sustainable and successful.

Here are just three areas that have been measured to have a direct impact to the bottom line: attracting talent, retaining employees and higher productivity.

1) Attracting Talent

The race for talent is ON now. Many CEO’s are concerned about their company’s ability to be competitive going into the future because they may not have the right talent on board. By 2025, millennials will be 75% of the workforce…and they are looking for a very different way of working than previous generations. They want to have time for a life outside of work and also want work that matters. And they aren’t going to settle for less.

This is pushing companies to become purpose-driven. And it turns out this is a good thing! It means that companies must find a bigger why for what they are doing and find a way to communicate it in a good way internally to their employees and externally to their customers and market.

2) Retaining Employees

Keeping top talent is also essential to the success of a company. Purpose-driven companies have lower turnover because people are emotionally connected to their company, they believe in the journey and want to be a part of making that difference. Turnover can cost a company anywhere from 150% up to 400% of a person’s annual salary depending on their position, which makes quite an impact on the bottom line.

Also, employees who find their work meaningful are 69% less likely to quit their jobs within six months* and have longer tenure on their jobs. They will be more committed and productive at their jobs. Lower turnover positive impacts the bottom line.

3) Higher Productivity

Employees who think their work is meaningful are far more engaged and satisfied with the work, which directly correlates to higher productivity. According to the latest research on established job satisfaction to productivity ratios, it is estimated that highly meaningful work will generate an additional $9,078 per worker, per year.* There is definitely a snowball effect, both positive and negative, as to whether you have a truly engaged or disengaged workforce. Gallup shows that only 15% of the global workforce is engaged so there is a huge amount of opportunity to work strategically with culture to increase trust, engagement, and confidence which will result in higher productivity.

No matter which way you look at it, becoming a purpose-driven company is one of the essential keys to building a sustainable culture that will attract, retain, and create a highly productive workforce…and contribute to the long term success of your organization.

If you are interested in discovering your company’s purpose or strategically working with culture and engagement, reach out to us at support@Evoloshen.com and we’d be happy to have a conversation to help support your journey.

*Source: HBR.org