6 Articles on Shared Purpose | Gartner’s April HR Leaders Monthly

Many people have reflected on their purpose in life during the past two years of the pandemic. And while there are many definitions of purpose, a McKinsey article describes it as an enduring, overarching sense of what matters in a person’s life; people experience purposefulness when striving toward something significant and meaningful to them. With many workers wanting to express a greater sense of purpose through their work, HR leaders and their teams are trying to redesign the employee value proposition (EVP) to build shared purpose into their EVP. This 39-page edition of Gartner HR Leaders Monthly Magazine includes six articles on what shared purpose means and what progressive organizations are doing to put it into action as part of their EVP. The articles range from building shared purpose around employees’ views on ESG issues, establishing an ethical decision-making environment for leaders, and effectively addressing pushback to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Page 4 begins an article, “Every HR Leader Has a Role in Building Shared Purpose,” which addresses how the CHRO and Heads of Recruiting, L&D, Total Rewards, and D&I contribute to implementing and supporting a sense of shared purpose. One example on page 6 (Figure 1) shows how L&D at Griffith Foods helps employees identify their own purpose and connect it to the organization’s purpose. It does this through an 11-step learning journey that spans six weeks and culminates in a Personalized Purpose Plan for each employee. Other ideas are discussed.