Organisations have been rethinking their purpose

The purpose of an organisation is the fundamental reason why the organisation exists. The pandemic seems to have resulted in much soul-searching at many organisations about their purpose and a desire to articulate a clear and compelling reason for being beyond making money. It is often at moments of significant threat or crisis that people pause to think about meaning, direction and priorities.

Examples of purpose-driven organisations

There are many ways to be a purpose-driven organisation. Some companies focus on social responsibility, while others focus on environmental sustainability. Some companies focus on improving the lives of their colleagues or customers, while others focus on making a positive impact on their communities. Here are a few examples of purpose-driven companies:

  • The Body Shop’s purpose2 is to fight for a fairer, more beautiful world. The company is known for its naturally inspired and ethically produced beauty products which are easy to refill, never tested on animals and produced without any form of human exploitation.
  • Tesla's purpose3 is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. The company is known for its innovative electric vehicles and solar energy products.
  • Patagonia's purpose4 is to protect our home planet. The company is known for its durable and ethically made clothing and outdoor gear as well as for its 2022 announcement that all profits will go towards fighting the climate crisis and protecting the environment.
  • Southwest Airlines’ purpose5 is to connect people to what's important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.
  • Ben & Jerry's purpose6 is to make the world a better place, one scoop at a time. The company is known for both its ice cream as well as its socially responsible business practices and its commitment to social justice.

Requirements to be purpose-led

No matter what the focus is, the key to being a purpose-driven organisation is to be authentic and to commit to a chosen purpose wholeheartedly. A purpose should not be just a marketing slogan or a public relations stunt. It should be something that is deeply ingrained in the organisation’s culture and connects its past identity with its future potential in a motivating idea that can inspire stakeholders. Purpose should drive organisational strategy and decision-making. Corporate objectives and operations should be aligned with it. It also needs to be embedded in the organisation’s culture, daily management practices and routine communications. Leaders need to help employees understand how their role contributes to the delivery of purpose.

Does purpose come at the expense of profit?

Many fear that becoming purpose-led comes at the expense of the bottom-line. Purpose and profit are, however, not mutually exclusive. Purpose-driven companies tend to outperform their competitors in terms of financial performance. According to a study by Harvard Business School, purpose-driven companies achieve 5% to 7% higher returns than the market, grow faster and have higher profitability1. This is likely due to several factors, including increased customer loyalty and improved employee engagement. Customers are more likely to be loyal to brands that they believe in. Colleagues are more likely to be engaged in their work when they feel like they are contributing to something meaningful.

What is Key Travel’s purpose?

Key Travel is an international travel management company exclusively dedicated to serving non-profit organisations such as humanitarian NGOs, faith-based bodies, and academic institutions. Our purpose is to increase the quantum of good in the world. We aim to achieve this by reducing the cost, complexity, risk, and carbon-impact of travel for our customers so that they can direct more of their resources to delivering their mission.

We have aligned our strategy and operations with our purpose which means we make all decisions based on the best interests of our customer community. While interacting with non-profit organisations, we remember that we are here to serve them and their desire to do good in the world. Our actions are guided by 3 core values:

  • Compassion: We define real compassion as going beyond listening and actually solving the problem. It is about showing great empathy in understanding the needs of others and taking action to satisfy those needs in a timely manner.
  • Impact: This is about making a difference. It consists of doing what’s right and achieving significant results in every role, making a strong and urgent contribution to the success of our customers, partners and colleagues.
  • Simplicity: We aim to simplify travel as well as our ways of working. This is about taking initiative to simplify the complex world in which our customers, partners and colleagues operate, covering processes and ways of working.

To understand how much progress we are making in realising our purpose, we at Key Travel measure the impact of what we do.  For every $1,000 we save, customers can feed a family of 3 in developing countries for a whole year7. A saving of $8,000 can fund a freshwater well to serve 2,000 people with clean, safe drinking water for 20 years8. Every $50,000 saved can fund a post-graduate researcher for a full year at a university in a G20 country7.

Summary

There is an emerging trend for organisations to be purpose-driven.  Consequently, many have extended their concern beyond their own financial success. They are also concerned with the wellbeing of their customers, colleagues, and the communities in which they operate. They are committed to making a difference in the world and to leaving it a better place than they found it. As the Boston Consulting Group put it, “the best purposes latch on to a timeless good related to collective flourishing” 9.

1 https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54523

2 https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/about-us/our-story/brand-purpose/a/a00003

3 https://www.tesla.com/en_gb/blog/mission-tesla

4 https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/ownership/

5 https://www.southwest.com/about-southwest/#:~:text=Our%20Purpose,and%20low%2Dcost%20air%20travel

6 https://www.benjerry.co.uk/about-us

7 Key Travel estimate

8 https://waterwellsforafrica.org/whats-the-cost/

9 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2019/getting-uncomfortable-on-purpose