Engage

Studies have shown that most people want to be part of something greater than themselves – to do something that matters. This is especially true of the millennial generation – who will make up 40% of the workforce by 2020. As a business owner, how clearly defined is your brand purpose? What difference does your product or service make in the world? Now, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your purpose is to change the world, but, does your product satisfy a real need in the marketplace? In Roy Spence Jr.’s book, It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For, it’s clear that companies such as Wal-Mart and Whole Foods are very clear about their purpose, and succeed because of it.

Wal-Mart – “Saving people money so they can live better”

Whole Foods – “To provide choices for nurturing the body, the community, and the planet”

Distilling your purpose down to a clear and concise message that all of your employees (and customers) understand is essential for engagement. You then have to align your core values and long term strategies to drive to your purpose.

Empower

In order to shift from engaging to empowering, your employees need to have a stake in where you’re going. By involving your teams in creating the vision and defining the values for your organization, you’ve started to engage them. From there, include them in your strategic planning process where they determine the goals and actions that will drive you towards your vision and purpose. Then, give your teams the responsibility and accountability to achieve those goals.

Encourage

Too often, we find ourselves using “coachable moments” only for the poor performers for corrective action. But, if you are to give employees responsibility and accountability, it’s important to encourage them and guide them to learn and improve. Specific and sincere positive feedback recognizes and rewards your employee’s efforts and is essential for the development and retention of your top performers and in shifting your mid-level performers to engaged, high performers.

As more and more companies find that cultural fit is just as important (and maybe more) as job skills, knowing your brand purpose and values and communicating it both internally and externally allows you to attract better employees and retain the ones you have. In the end, a clearly defined purpose differentiates your company in the marketplace and aligns employees, leadership and strategy toward a common goal.