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Key Takeaways
Organizations today are facing a familiar challenge: doing more with less.
Hiring remains difficult, budgets are under pressure, and leaders are being asked to improve employee retention, engagement, and productivity while navigating constant change. In response, many organizations focus on new technologies, operational efficiencies, or cost-saving initiatives. While those efforts can help, they often overlook one of the most powerful drivers of workforce performance: purpose.
In a recent episode of When Work Works, host Julie Develin sat down with George Rogers, Chief Strategy Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, to discuss why purpose isn’t just a cultural initiative — it’s a business strategy. Throughout the conversation, Rogers shared practical insights on how purpose can help organizations create alignment, strengthen workplace culture, improve retention, and drive better business outcomes.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from their discussion—and why purpose may be one of the most valuable tools leaders have for building a more engaged and productive workforce.
What is purpose at work?
Purpose at work is the connection employees feel between their daily responsibilities and a larger mission, outcome, or impact.
When employees understand not only what they do, but why they do it, they are more likely to feel engaged, committed, and motivated. Purpose helps people see how their work contributes to customers, colleagues, organizational goals, and even their communities.
As Rogers explained during the podcast, purpose creates alignment between individual contributions and organizational objectives. That alignment can become a powerful source of focus, fulfillment, and performance.
Why is purpose more important than ever?
Periods of uncertainty can create anxiety, confusion, and disengagement.
When priorities shift, resources become constrained, or change feels constant, employees need a reason to stay connected to their work. Purpose provides that anchor.
Employees who understand the impact of their work are often better equipped to adapt to change because they can connect daily challenges to meaningful outcomes. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by uncertainty, they remain focused on the bigger picture.
Purpose creates stability when circumstances feel unstable.
What are the benefits of purpose at work?
Organizations that successfully create a sense of purpose often experience measurable workforce and business benefits, including:
These outcomes demonstrate why purpose should be viewed as a business strategy — not simply an employee experience initiative.
How does purpose improve employee productivity?
One of the most surprising insights from the conversation was Rogers’ perspective that purpose is not just motivational, it’s operational.
He says, “I don’t look at purpose as a feeling. I look at it as the ultimate efficiency tool.”
It’s a powerful perspective.
When employees understand why their work matters, they spend less time questioning priorities and more time focusing on outcomes. They make decisions faster, require less oversight, and can better determine where to invest their time and energy.
Purpose creates clarity. And clarity often leads to improved productivity.
Rather than chasing every request or competing priority, employees can evaluate opportunities through the lens of organizational goals and focus on work that drives meaningful impact.
“I don’t look at purpose as a feeling. I look at it as the ultimate efficiency tool.”
-George Rogers, Chief Strategy Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory
How does purpose reduce organizational friction?
Many workplace challenges stem from a lack of alignment.
Departments may disagree on priorities. Teams may struggle to collaborate. Employees may wait for approval before moving forward.
Without a shared purpose, organizations often experience unnecessary friction that slows progress and creates inefficiencies.
Rogers describes this as a hidden organizational tax. When employees understand the organization’s mission and priorities, they have a framework for making decisions independently. Purpose becomes a common language that helps teams move forward together.
The result is greater collaboration, improved agility, and faster execution.
How does purpose improve employee retention?
Compensation remains important, but employees rarely stay with an organization because of pay alone.
People want to feel connected to meaningful work. They want to understand how their contributions matter and how their efforts help create positive outcomes.
Purpose helps create that connection.
According to Rogers, employees are more likely to stay when they experience a sense of belonging in a workplace where they feel accepted, respected, and appreciated.
Purpose strengthens those feelings by helping employees see their role in something larger than themselves.
For organizations struggling with retention, helping employees understand their impact may be just as important as any compensation or benefits strategy.
What role do managers play in creating purpose?
Purpose does not come from a mission statement hanging on a wall.
It comes from conversations, relationships, and leadership behaviors.
Managers are often the most influential connection between employees and organizational purpose. They help employees understand expectations, provide clarity, and reinforce how individual contributions support larger goals.
Rogers recommends regular employee conversations focused on four key areas:
Roles: Do employees have the support, resources, and clarity they need to succeed?
Strengths: Are employees using the skills and talents that energize them?
Values: Do employees feel alignment between their personal values and the organization’s values?
Purpose: Do employees understand how their work contributes to meaningful outcomes?
These discussions help strengthen engagement before employees begin to disengage.
As Rogers noted, “When we don’t check in with employees, eventually employees check out.”
How does purpose influence customer experience?
Purpose is often visible in customer interactions.
Think about the hotel employee who goes out of their way to solve a problem. The healthcare worker who provides compassionate care. Or the retail associate who genuinely wants to help a customer find the right solution.
These experiences are memorable because they feel authentic.
Employees who understand the purpose behind their work often bring greater care, attention, and commitment to customer interactions. Their sense of ownership becomes part of the customer experience.
Organizations that foster purpose internally often create stronger loyalty externally.
How can leaders build purpose without a large budget?
One of the biggest misconceptions about workplace culture is that creating purpose requires expensive programs or elaborate initiatives.
Rogers argues the opposite. He says purpose starts with clarity.
Leaders can strengthen purpose by:
Sometimes the most powerful culture-building moments happen when employees hear directly how their work made a difference.
A software engineer hearing positive customer feedback. A frontline employee learning how their actions improved someone’s day. A manager recognizing a team member’s contribution.
These moments reinforce purpose in ways that no campaign ever could.
Making the business case for purpose
HR leaders often understand the value of purpose, but gaining buy-in from executives requires speaking the language of business.
Rather than positioning purpose solely as a culture initiative, organizations can connect it to measurable outcomes such as:
Purpose isn’t separate from business performance. It supports it.
As Rogers emphasized, leaders should connect their people strategy directly to business strategy, demonstrating how workforce alignment contributes to organizational goals.
Purpose is what employees experience every day
Organizations don’t create purpose through slogans.
They create it through experiences.
Purpose lives in the manager who takes time to listen. The leader who shares customer impact stories. The colleague who recognizes someone’s contribution. The organization that helps employees understand how their work matters.
When employees can clearly see the connection between what they do and the impact they create, work becomes more meaningful.
And when work feels meaningful, employees are more likely to stay, engage, contribute, and perform at their highest level.
In a workplace defined by uncertainty and change, purpose may be one of the most practical—and powerful—tools leaders have.
Listen to the full episode
Want to hear the complete conversation? In this episode of When Work Works, Julie Develin and George Rogers explore how purpose influences employee engagement, retention, productivity, belonging, and organizational performance—and why leaders should think of purpose as a business strategy, not just a cultural aspiration.
Listen to the full episode of When Work Works to hear additional insights, real-world examples, and practical advice for creating a workplace where employees feel connected to the impact they make every day.
This blog post was originally published by UKG – inspiring every organization to become a great place to work through HR, pay, workforce management, and culture technology built for all.