'What is your purpose’ is in my view a question we don’t get asked often enough at work, a question we probably don’t ask ourselves either. And that’s a real shame. Our purpose and how knowing what it is, can actually help us provide an excellent customer experience but also, help us stay engaged and help us enjoy our work more.
Some of you may be shaking their heads and wondering whether I have started the Christmas celebrations a little early and had one eggnog too many. Well, let me put this into context.
We all know that having a sense of purpose in our lives is essential to our well-being, however, having a sense of purpose in our role at work is equally important.
A few years back, when I was working in contract catering, we got a new MD, who was very much a people person and who was genuinely interested in us. When she met you the first time, she would ask ‘what do you do?’ And more often than not, the answer would be ‘I’m the catering manager’ or ‘I’m a CSA’ and so on. And her reply would be ‘I’m not interested in your job title; I want to know what you do. What is your purpose?’ This was usually met with silence. No-one knew what she meant. This was new to most of us.
You will find many quotes about purpose at work and the many benefits to yourselves, your manager and your company. But my personal favourite is by Howard Schultz, former CEO at Starbucks
“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”
And this is the key – finding your purpose at work is only the start; it is important to you as a person, but it is essential for the whole team, that you have a common purpose to work together efficiently and provide an excellent customer experience at all times. This is an exercise that you should do as a team, finding your common purpose. Brainstorm this at a team meeting, write it down, frame it even and display it prominently on your staff board so that everyone can see it every time they walk pass, and it becomes second nature to you all.
So, what is your purpose at work? What is your driving force?
- As a cleaning operative – are you just cleaning tables or are you providing a clean and safe restaurant for people to enjoy their meals in a pleasant environment?
- Or as a chef – are you simply cooking or are you providing tasty nutritious meals, so employees feel healthy at work?
- As a catering manager – do you just ‘manage’ people, try to reach your target sales and GP, or are you fully supporting your teams, empowering them, and facilitating their work so that you can provide the most amazing customer experience?
One of the issues around finding our purpose at work, is that very few companies encourage self-reflection and put purpose at the heart of what they do regarding the personal and professional development of their teams. It is simply not part of their company culture.
Our purpose is linked to the important role of supporting our customers, and at Valentines Learning we identified many benefits to finding our purpose; here are some of them,
- Greater motivation and engagement
- Feeling passionate and fulfilled
- Pride in what we do, in our achievements
- Feeling that our work matters
- Bringing a meaning to our work
- Understanding our contribution to the company
- Being aware of the difference we make in our customers’ lives
- Happiness!
You probably heard the story that on a trip to Cape Canaveral in the 1960’s, John F Kennedy was meeting the team working there. The employees were all lined up, and the President shook a few hands, moving from one to the other, exchanging a few words with some of them. He asked a man in a white uniform what he did at the site. “I’m a janitor, I clean toilets”, the man said. Kennedy smiled, shook his hand, and moved on to the next employee and asked the same question. The next janitor who did the same job, keeping the building clean, replied, “I am helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President.”
You see, the difference was that the first janitor thought about the task he was doing, ‘cleaning toilets’ while the second one, thought about how he was helping NASA. He could see the bigger picture, he understood what NASA’s mission was – not just building rockets but putting a man on the moon before the Russians did.
The purpose for this cleaner was this goal. He understood the part he was playing in the US space programme – his work – his purpose was to put a man on the moon.
Now, I’ve heard various versions of this story and I can’t be sure this happened exactly like that, but I believe it really did. Perhaps because it illustrates my point rather well?
So, are you just cleaning, cooking, or managing staff? Or are you a key player and helping your team achieve your common goal of delivering an excellent customer experience?
At this time of Christmas, good will, and good spirit, if I have one wish, it is that everyone starts thinking about what their purpose at work is. You may have thought about this before, this is great, if so, discuss it among your team and find your common purpose. But if you haven’t, do start the process now, give it some serious thought and make it a New Year resolution you will keep! Get a clear idea of what your sense of purpose is, write it down, leave it by your bedside and read it every night before going to bed, so that you keep reminding yourselves of what your goals are. And I promise you, it will help you find fulfilment at work, start enjoying and take pride in what you do – then you and your team can achieve anything you want.
Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and best wishes for the New Year.
If you would like to know how Valentines Learning can help you and your teams find your common purpose or would like to know more about the training we offer the hospitality industry, contact us today.
