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How purpose-driven workplaces like Jaybro thrive in challenging times
Jaybro’s unique culture is what sets it apart from being ‘just another job’.
A lot of companies talk about their purpose, but all too often, they’re referring to a static mission statement tucked in the back of a dark filing cabinet. Successful purpose-driven organisations know that to truly inspire their employees and get ahead, their purpose needs to be part of the fabric of every single work day.
What actually is purpose, and why does it matter?
Terms like values, mission and vision are familiar to every business, although purpose is the factor that really personalises an employee’s contribution and provides a more tangible picture of what success looks like in their day to day role.
Purpose is a more meaningful and personal reason for employees to bring their best self to work each day. It’s a concept that is alive within an organisation; providing a reason for teams to go the extra mile and a connection for individuals to believe that they matter.
Samantha Huddle, Great Place to Work’s general manager in Australia and NZ, notes that the employees of today expect more than just a job that pays the bills - there needs to be a higher, more altruistic reason to come to work.
“In the 1980s, Great Place to Work-founder Robert Levering spent 10 years travelling and speaking to thousands of employees at different organisations and found that really great organisations had a few things in common - they had great cultures and high levels of trust. But we’re in a new world order now and we have new challenges.”
“Today, the theme that is emerging really strongly from our research is purpose. People in Australia today expect values, not just value. It’s not just enough to do something that is better for business - it also needs to be better for the world.”
Defining your purpose, using it to guide decisions, and then encouraging and rewarding employees for living it in their role has a knock-on effect on culture. Weaving purpose into decisions, rewards, structural changes and success metrics can have a direct impact on the delicate and intangible balance of factors that we label as company culture.
How purpose and culture work together
Culture can be difficult to define and even more difficult to shape and maintain in the way that management teams want.
Dependent on dozens of levers that can be shifted up and down, culture is affected by everything from individual mindsets to workload expectations to the physical environment of the workplace. A healthy culture is characterised by common goals, shared achievements, clarity of purpose, positive professional and personal growth, and having everyone strongly aligned to the same destination.
Often though, the task of maintaining a strong and positive culture falls on the shoulders of management teams. Without continued attention and consistent focus, healthy cultures can rapidly disintegrate.
Leaders within the organisation are tasked with not only monitoring hard metrics like revenue and GP, but carefully measuring and monitoring soft metrics such as employee sentiment. Allowing adequate time and energy for the soft indicators when the hard numbers are competing for your attention is a constant balancing act, but leaders need to always be looking ahead to ensure a consistent and positive trendline on all fronts.
Creating structure and repeatable processes around culture indicators can be helpful, says Jaybro Group HR Manager Alison Passey. She reveals that whilst it can feel counterintuitive, maintaining a positive culture can often mean being quite rigid when it comes to decision making.
“Retaining and nurturing the Jaybro culture so that it remains at the heart of everything we do has meant saying no to certain opportunities, people and even customers.”
“This is the critical difference that makes us a great place to work: we’re not all things to all people. We’re fiercely protective of our niche and stick closely to our chosen path even if it means turning away opportunities that appear to be positive.”
Read more about the Jaybro culture here.
People: the most critical factor in successful workplaces
Alison adds that this measured, consistent approach builds an environment where employees feel safe, united, confident, and understand what is expected of them. This also results in decreased turnover as employees feel they have found their happy place.
“This focus on staying on the path has meant that the employees who are an excellent fit for our culture remain with us for longer, are happier, and are more engaged in their work because they have found their ‘tribe’.”
And after all the effort that goes into recruiting the right people, it makes sense to retain and reward those that are aligned with the organisation’s purpose and a good fit for the culture.
Not only does this reduce disruption, but it also ensures learnt skills and knowledge are retained within the company, and that engaged employees continue to provide excellent service to customers.
All of this is especially important in the current economic climate, with predictions of the ‘great resignation’ looming. As the pandemic throws challenge after challenge at both businesses and individuals, employers who are not particularly people-focussed will be left behind as employees seek out more flexible, rewarding and purposeful work.
What it takes to become a Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, recognising organisations that are a cut above when it comes to employee engagement and happiness.
The 2021 Australia's Best Workplaces™ Report has just been released, covering the key themes to emerge from this high-level view of people and culture trends over the past 12 months. Issues such as trust, leadership, purpose, care and putting people first have proved to be strong indicators of great company cultures Australia-wide.
Focus on these critical components has propelled Jaybro to sit amongst the best companies in the country - Jaybro was awarded the coveted title of 19th best medium-sized company in Australia at a live event this month. This reveal of 2021’s Great Places to Work® sets us firmly amongst some of the biggest names in business such as Adobe, Canstar and BPAY.
Ranking #19 out of 2.5 million businesses in Australia is a phenomenal feat made possible by a thriving positive culture, a purpose that lives and breathes within the organisation - and of course, brilliant people.
