The world needs engaged employees in all fields, and for those of us who lead institutions that can never pay more than market rate, finding non-monetary means to engage employees is paramount.
Having worked at both for-profit and nonprofit entities, I have been pleasantly surprised to witness employees in both sectors motivated by the notion of “greater good.”
While this may be expected in the nonprofit setting, I see employees in public companies still wanting to be part of something greater than themselves, even if just to be part of the “world’s best ___ company.”
Connecting employees to a common purpose is easy, once you push your own ego to the side. As your high school coach used to say, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team.’”
Here are some suggestions:
Find your greater purpose
Of course, most of us work to pay the bills, but there must have been something more that caused you to join, lead or even start your current company. Was it to bring the best product or service to market? Was it to be part of a great leadership team? Tapping into your early aspirations makes finding a greater good that much easier.
Communicate your greater purpose
Once you find your purpose, communicate it loudly and frequently. I either start or end an all-staff meeting with a reminder about our zoo’s purpose. I then cite a very specific example of how we did or will accomplish it.
Recruit mission-driven employees
Scripted interview questions from HR can make it difficult to spot a fully engaged employee. One of my worst hires was someone who looked great on paper, but ultimately didn’t believe in zoos. Ascertain whether the recruit has the “fire” or not. I now ask our “evangelists” to attend interviews to spot the “fire” in interviewees.
Tie compensation to the greater purpose
For those accustomed to quantitative performance reviews, this can be challenging. I am not suggesting you forego performance metrics and accountability (after all, a clean bathroom is still core to a custodian’s job), but you can tie bonuses to a common purpose. At our zoo, one way we measure impact is attendance; thus, one aspect of our bonus structure ties to the zoo’s overall annual attendance.
Invest in your common good
There are multiple ways for all employees, regardless of title, to invest in your greater purpose. Don’t send only sales professionals to conferences. I send employees from all departments to do field conservation work. One of our most passionate employees is our custodial manager who participated in a Canadian polar bear project. She now tells visitors how important it is to keep a clean bathroom, kitchen and earth for the bears’ sake.
As a zoo professional, I study all animals. As social animals, humans have a basic need to feel connected with one another. As employees, we need to feel we are connected with a common purpose. In the end, maybe we each have a need to describe our job’s function as “to save the world.” ●
Tanya Peterson is president and executive director at the San Francisco Zoo.
