Boosting employees through a sense of purpose
PHOTO/LAURA FINALDI
Bruce Pfau was behind an initiative at Dutch audit firm KPMG geared towards giving employees a stronger sense of purpose at work. More than 42,000 KPMG employees participated in the firm's effort to recast their jobs in a new light.
Hologic develops technology like mammography exams that help save lives. It is helpful to remember that every day, especially when doing mundane work, said Sara Rann, the firm’s vice president of tax.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy visited the NASA space station in Florida not too long after he announced plans to get an American on the moon by the end of the decade.
As the fabled story goes, Kennedy was taking a tour of the space center when he spotted a janitor sweeping the floor. The president stopped the tour, walked over to the man, and said, “Hi, I'm Jack Kennedy. What is it you do here?”
“Well, Mr. President,” the janitor replied, “I'm helping put a man on the moon.”
In a speech at a MassMEDIC event celebrating women in the medical technology field at Boston Scientific in Marlborough earlier this month, Bruce Pfau, the vice chair of human resources and communications at Dutch audit firm KPMG, used this tale to illustrate the importance of having a workforce that is motivated by a higher sense of purpose. Pfau was the driving force behind a recent overhaul at KPMG focused on making employees feel more connected to their work, an initiative that has resulted in boosted employee morale and a sharp decline in turnover.
Pfau and several executives in the medical technology field said when it comes to improving employee morale at any company – whether it's an accounting firm or a medical device maker – it's important to appeal to employees' sense of duty and have leaders who live the business' mantra rather than just talk about it.
“To try and appeal to a sense that moves beyond pay stubs and benefits is extremely important,” Pfau said.
Looking at jobs in a new way
In his speech, Pfau cited a survey from British consultant Calling Brands that found a sense of purpose is second only to compensation in terms of what's most important to employees. Another study by Net Impact found nearly half of the workforce would be willing to take a 15-percent pay cut to work for an organization where they felt they could make an impact.
KPMG did hundreds of employee interviews to determine the definition of a higher purpose in the context of the firm, and after that, tried to appeal to employees by making a video reminding people of the company's history as a champion of democracy and a fighter of bigotry. “What do we do at KPMG?” the video asks, “we shape history.” The idea, he said, was to get people to look at their jobs in a new way.
After that, KPMG encouraged every employee to share their stories about how their work makes a difference. They surpassed their goal of 10,000 stories by Thanksgiving by the Fourth of July, and by Thanksgiving had 42,000 stories.
In the firm's partner survey later on that year, 85 percent of people agreed KPMG was a great place to work, compared to 82 percent the year before.
Saving lives, one day at a time
Although helping people and saving lives is instilled in the fibers of medical technology companies, it still helps to be reminded of the big picture, said Joanna Engelke, senior vice president of global quality at Boston Scientific. Boston Scientific does that every year during a full-day event, where patients and physicians who have benefitted directly from one of Boston Scientific's medical devices come in and tell their story, said Engelke. The idea, she said, is to connect the head and the heart.
Still, no workplace is perfect, said Mary Beth Moynihan, senior vice president for corporate marketing and market access at Boston Scientific. There are still many days where going to work feels like, well, going to work, she said. Through those tough times, it's important to have dedicated leaders.
“You can have a mission, but if the leaders don't live that, it won't be as successful,” said Sara Rana, vice president of tax at Marlborough medical device manufacturer Hologic.
Rana said she chose to work at Hologic because she felt drawn to its mission, she said.
“Every tax dollar that we save is going towards research and development … [those are] life-changing opportunities for patients,” Rana said.
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