Urban legend has it that on a trip to Cape Canaveral, President Kennedy was meeting the employees working at the site. The President asked a man in White overalls what he did at Cape Canaveral. “I clean toilets”, replied the man. Kennedy smiled, shook his hand and moved on the the next person, with the same question. The next toilet cleaner replied, “I am helping to put a man on the moon, Mr. President.”

The legend concludes that the cleaner shared a bigger purpose and was therefore more motivated in his job.

Of course, there’s no way to verify the authenticity of this story but what is true is that when employees share a bigger purpose, it can and does boost their morale and motivate them to perform better.

This simple fact struck me most when I worked for a contact centre operation in India. The Back Office (BPO) industry is one of the highest paying industries in India. Their young employees are not only well paid but are extremely well looked after, almost to the extent of being pampered. I was astounded to see the state of the art facilities, in-house salons, restaurants, gaming rooms and what not within the company premises. On top of that, the employees enjoyed free rides to work, lavish discounts at many of the city’s best cafes, bars, restaurants and cinemas, big 5-star parties every quarter and all the other sundries such as healthcare and so on. I thought that the life of a call centre employee is, well, lavish.

And yet, the company I worked for had a very high employee turnover – approximately, if not in excess of, 40%! (I later found out that it was industry average). The company identified it as a problem but the acceptable solution was to throw even bigger and better perks at the employees.

Clearly, something was wrong somewhere. The issue definitely wasn’t the lack of perks or poor salaries (if anything, I believe it was exactly the opposite), but it was one of a lack of purpose. After talking to many employees, I realised that most of them looked at their jobs simply as taking calls from irate customers sitting in faraway lands. Moreover, they did that on behalf of a foreign company that doesn’t even exist in India. Clearly, if I am made to deal with customers who are not mine, on behalf of a company I don’t work for, then I won’t feel as enthusiastic about solving their problems as I would otherwise. So the problem was not of poor remuneration, it was that of not feeling part of something worthwhile.

I used the Indian BPO example but trust me, it’s not limited to that one industry. This problem exists in far more companies and industries than meets the eye. Indeed, most of us have no greater purposes than simply doing what is expected of us and making a living. After all, how many of us, including me for most part of my career, passionately believe in what our companies stand for and what they do?

But the responsibility for the lack of passion for the company rarely sits with the employees. It often lies with the management who can’t articulate their companies’ purposes and/or fail to effectively communicate it down the line.

But in a few cases when they do, the results are often remarkably powerful. A sense of purpose gives people a reason to fight for something they genuinely believe in. It acts as a rallying cry to play their part in achieving something worthwhile. One of the big reasons behind the allied forces’ victory in WWII is that they knew what they were fighting for and why it was important. It was also the sense of purpose that gave Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela the momentum their causes required.

It is equally true in the commercial world. This is where successful companies stand out. They have a very clear understanding of their purpose and they do a great job of convincing their entire company of that purpose. Apple, Nike, and Innocent drinks immediately come to mind. They have a very clear idea of their raison d’être, which is original and authentic and a lot more than the often drab “increasing shareholder value” and “customer delight” and “corporate citizenship” hogwash. Nike wants to “help athletes of every level to achieve their potential” and Innocent wants to “Make natural, delicious food and drink that helps people live well and die old.” 

With such clarity of purpose, these companies are able to attract and retain people who share their worldview and are equally committed to it. They know that they are part of something important and meaningful. These companies inspire a sense of employee loyalty that ultimately has a positive rub on effect on their customers.

Moreover, when you have loyal and passionate employees who share their company’s worldview, it creates a unique organisational culture that in itself gives the company its competitive advantage. Those who work for a living keep jumping from one company to another every few years. Clearly, the same people replacing each other in competing organisations simply end up creating a homogenous culture across the industry. And when a company doesn’t have a unique culture – a unique way of doing things, and doing them differently, it can’t be unique and different in the marketplace.

Apple is a great example. Here is a technology company that’s unlike any other technology company. Apple does things differently largely because of the people it employs. It’s website calls for potential candidates to ‘create world’s most loved technology and help people discover what they can do with it’.

As you can see, there as many companies that offer employees a chance to make a living and then there are a few that offer their employees a chance to be a part of something meaningful. Ask yourselves which company you work for. What gets you out of the bed and off to work? What gives you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. If you own a company, ask yourselves why your employees work for you. What purpose have you given them? What’s your raison d’être? What’s your rallying cry?