Making your Company’s Purpose your People’s Purpose

What gets you moving each day?

What gives you purpose?

For me, it’s simple. I’ve always felt the need to give back. It’s a lifelong passion instilled by my family, and it energizes me every day.

It’s also why I’m at DHL, an organization that cares about people and communities around the world, and one that proves its commitment through actions that deliver results. It’s why, for the last 25 years, I’ve been excited to go to work each day.

With all the daily challenges you handle in your business, the question of purpose may not be top of mind. But as far as I’m concerned, it absolutely should be. And if you run or manage a company, you shouldn’t just be thinking about your own journey. You should be taking the time to understand what drives your colleagues, your employees, and your customers.

Ultimately, when business teams have a shared sense of purpose, it’s a powerful way to stay engaged and in sync. It’s also an awesome force for lasting social and environmental progress.

So, how can you bring purpose to your business, and just as importantly, how can you motivate your employees and get their buy-in on your company-wide purpose?

The answer lies both outside of your company, and deep within it. It involves the communities where you serve, the world we all live in, and the environment we all share. But it also involves the people inside your company – your employees – who may need some extra support and guidance along the way.

Internal Focus

Demonstrating purpose within your organization means inspiring your people to volunteer and give back, but it can also take the form of direct assistance with educational opportunities, extra benefits, and financial support. 

 At DHL, our way of achieving this inward focus includes our DHL GoIn Program. It’s an Internal Social Responsibility initiative that offers financial aid to employees who need assistance for home improvement or infrastructure repairs to maintain or adapt their homes. 

On a recent trip to Guatemala, I saw these efforts firsthand. I visited one of our team members, his wife, and their two daughters at their house. Along with other DHL Express leaders, I had the privilege to put the finishing touches on a GoIn renovation of their property that included adding interior doors where none existed before, as well as other important structural improvements.

Another example was support we provided to a team member in Chile who is disabled and can’t live on her own. We were able to find her a position working near her home as part of a group that receives customers who are picking up or dropping off shipments. As a result, she’s been able to achieve a vital degree of financial independence for the first time in her life.

I had a renewed sense of purpose following the trip to Guatemala and interaction with our Chile team member because I saw our purpose, “connecting people, improving lives,” in action for our very own people. But how do we translate that sense of purpose to our 400,000 employees?

One thing we’ve learned as we make connections globally is to inspire your teams, and gain support and involvement, you need to let everyone know what you are doing, how it’s making a difference, and how they can help. So, broadcast your commitment on social media, consider sponsorship opportunities that get the word out, and get people excited about the great things you are doing.

Considering the Greater Good

Looking outside your organization, purpose can take many forms. While your company may have a good environmental, social, and governance (ESG) plan on paper, making a real impact means committing the time and resources to make it happen. At DHL, for instance, sustainability is not just a plan hanging in the background or inhabiting our website, it’s something we talk to our employees about every day, and a cause we invest in continuously. Zero emissions by 2050, fleets of electric vehicles, and a commitment to all-electric cargo planes – it’s all part of the mission we live across the company. In fact, our electric aircraft efforts recently took off with the first flight of our Eviation Alice cargo plane, and we have 12 more on order.

The fact is, when your company has a purpose, it gives your people purpose too. Maybe your organization, like DHL, is also focused on diversity, equity and inclusion – not just in your workplace, but as a principle that you champion in your community and beyond. Maybe your purpose if food security, combatting homelessness, or boosting educational opportunities for at-risk youth. Whatever the mission, it must be integrated into your operations and consistently communicated to your teams.

At the end of the day, your purpose needs to reach far into the community, and deep inside your organization. When that happens, you and your teams will be revved up to hit the ground running each day.