The point of purpose
The business news that matters
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch…
Businesses with a purpose-driven approach are attracting more talented staff and outperforming their markets, Niki Turner-Harding writes in her latest column for Business Leader.
Niki is one of our Business Leader Experts and is writing a regular column on managing talent. She is the head of Adecco’s UK and Ireland business. Adecco is one of the largest recruitment businesses in the world, so Niki has an exclusive insight into how to attract and manage top staff.
In her latest column she tackles some of the thorny questions around purpose and business. Does it matter? How does it go from a written pledge to a tangible part of day-to-day business? And how do you avoid young employees becoming sceptical of it?
Niki writes:
As head of a recruitment company that strives to “make work mean more”. I’m no stranger to the ongoing debate surrounding the authenticity of prioritising a purpose-driven approach in business. Is it a genuine commitment to societal good, or is it merely a strategic move to attract and retain talent in a competitive job market? These are questions I relish discussing with fellow business leaders.
She adds:
From my experience, it requires careful planning and active engagement. On our own journey, we learnt the power of involving our colleagues in defining and shaping the company’s guiding principles from an early stage. We’re a company built on people, which gives us a responsibility to raise the bar.
As a result, we examined shared values and discovered socially-minded objectives – such as breaking down barriers to employment – that could unite teams across roles and hierarchies. We also leveraged our excellent HR, change management and internal communications teams to facilitate the transition to purpose-driven practices. By prioritising comms and engagement, and gathering feedback through surveys, we’re constantly addressing and adjusting any areas that need a little extra support or awareness.
You can read the piece in full here
Podcast…
The latest episode of our Business Leader podcast looks at the story behind Robinhood, one of the fastest-growing companies in America, and its launch in the UK. Jordan Sinclair, the president of Robinhood UK, explains how it is approaching the launch and the challenges that Robinhood has faced along the way…
You can listen to the podcast episode on Substack here, Apple here or Spotify here
Other stories that matter…
1. Retail sales were flat in the UK in February compared to the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, consumer confidence has stayed deep in negative territory at -21 for March (the same as February), according to separate data from GFK. You can find the retail sales data here and more on the consumer confidence figures here
2. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has told the Financial Times in an interview that a cut to interest rates is now “in play” in the UK. You can read the interview here
3. Two significant anti-competition investigations. The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit claiming that Apple unfairly dominates the smartphone market. More on that here. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority has said it plans to launch a full investigation into Vodafone’s £15 billion takeover of Three because of concerns the mobile network deal will lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses worse off. Announcement here
4. Data from LinkedIn shows that the number of new jobs offering remote working has tumbled significantly. However, those businesses that are still offering remote working are attracting higher-quality applicants. You can read more on this from Fortune here
5. A fascinating piece from The Economist on why the UK’s immigration policy should be seen as a strength. Here is an extract: “Angsty politicians gripe that Britain is letting in people from poor countries to do menial jobs, and weak students who want visas only so they can deliver pizzas. Multiculturalism has failed, they say: too many immigrants live parallel lives in segregated neighbourhoods. Nonsense: Britain excels at getting foreigners up to speed economically, socially and culturally. It is (in this respect, at least) a model for the rest of the world.” You can read the piece here
The new Business Leader…
The new Business Leader website and magazine have now launched. We are building a new inspirational, aspirational and agenda-setting business publication for the UK. You can read our analysis, interviews and expert columnists on our website by clicking the image below. Our new magazine is now available in shops and you can subscribe to your own print or digital version by clicking here
And finally…
For those looking to take a deep-dive into a particular industry, I recommend the Gamecraft podcast. This series looks at the history of the video game industry, including the rivalries at the centre of it, and how it has pivoted away from consoles and towards mobile. This series is a neat follow-up to some of our recent podcast episodes that have touched on this industry, such as our interview with Marc Allera. You can find the podcast series here
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