Investing in business people often reflects the stock market – on any single model for too long. When the talent war was angry, some companies scrambled to benefit and allowances from each other, competing for the title of “Best Place to Work”. However, once the climate cools down and the talent pool swells, those tempting benefits are the same as recruitment and retention mechanisms, which are usually the first to go, leaving employees wondering where the commitment goes. This over-corrected cycle can undermine trust and erode the foundations required for inevitable market volatility and other challenges for Foundation companies.
Companies freed from this cycle by fixing their people’s strategy in something that lasts more than the market trend, i.e., shared value. It can act as a stable force when investment in employees is consistent and rooted with a clear sense of purpose. Employees believe that their growth and well-being are actually important to leadership, not only when it is convenient, but also at the core of their organization’s identity. Reliability like this builds loyalty and promotes an environment where people are willing to invest in their best self (and best work).
In fact, recent data shows that organizations that have strategic investments in employee development reports have increased profitability by 11% and are twice as likely to retain employees. When a company shows a consistent and long-term interest in the development of its employees, employees feel safer, encourage growth and innovation, and ultimately contribute better, more creative investments to promote business performance. By investing in people through development opportunities both inside and outside the work, companies can forge the working environment in which employees want to stay.
Purpose and value-driven development in practice
Excellent things can happen when companies provide employees with opportunities to pursue goal-driven experience. Opportunities such as nonprofit board services, skills-based volunteering or volunteering are more than just add-ons; instead, they can be a powerful lab for experience and growth.
Employees in these roles use keen judgment to expand empathy and a renewed sense of mission. Lessons learned in these areas – for example, ambiguity, building consensus and driving change – can directly translate into stronger leadership and more dynamic teams.
This, in turn, catalyzes the ripple effect that changes the workplace. Teams benefit from a fresh perspective, a broad understanding of the world, while individuals discover new reserves of resilience and creativity. Organizations that develop these experiences find themselves gaining higher engagement, stronger retention rates and a reputation for attracting top talents.
How to embed purpose into your culture
Embedding purpose into a company culture begins with intentional alignment to identify opportunities to resonate with the organization’s mission and employees’ diverse passions. Development can operate in two different ways on the individual level and on the professional when people have the right to pursue experiences that reflect their values.
The support provided by employers is to make this journey scaffolding. Employees thrive when they can receive training, mentoring and co-commitment to impact peer communities. Structured preparation expands their influence in the community and builds confidence that continues to work every day. Employees think employers see it as a whole, not just output. For example, I once had a managing director of a famous investment company that told me that she didn’t think the company’s leaders knew who she was until she was invited to the Boardlead.
Investing in these supported businesses supports witness employees to inspire colleagues with new skills and stories, triggering a ripple of engagement and innovation.
Measure important things: long-term return on investment for purpose
The real impact of value-driven HR programs cannot be captured by counting volunteer hours or tracking participation rates only. The real story in the narrative staff brings back: how financial leaders’ board experiences reshape their approach to risk, or how marketers’ community work sparks a breakthrough campaign.
These real-life first-hand stories, combined with hard data about engagement and retention, reveal a deeper fact: companies investing in goal-driven growth to build teams are more agile, loyal and long-term success. These benefits recombinate over time. Feeling and supporting employees become advocates of the brand, driving innovation and collaboration. The organization is known not only for the way it does, but for the purposes it represents.
Author: Rob Acton, Founder and CEO, Cause Strategy Partners, a technology-driven provider of board placement and governance training.
