It's increasingly hard to attract and retain talent, especially in an environment of inflation and talent shortage where the best people have the pick of offers. Remuneration, benefits, even career development eventually have their limit in even the most broad-minded companies.

Still, employers have other fallbacks - other 'levers' to pull, as PwC put it a few years ago when the Great Resignation started to hit Australia. Purpose and employer brand is one of these.

People Matters reached out to Janeen Speer, the Chief People Officer of Benevity - a company whose entire business revolves around helping other organisations achieve their own purpose - and asked if she could give additional insights into how purpose can be leveraged into culture, employer brand, and ultimately attracting the right people.

Overcommunication is key to talent attraction

It's all about articulating your organisation’s why, Speer said - and articulating it early on, from the start of the recruitment process.

"A good place for HR leaders to start is by sharing the organisation’s mission, the commitments it is making to social impact, and the opportunities it provides employees through its various programs to contribute to that purpose," she suggested.

Tangible examples work well too, for instance highlighting specific examples of giving, volunteering, positive action or environmental programs during the recruitment process and onboarding.

"Sharing these examples not only reinforces the company’s brand promise but also empowers prospective employees to have a positive impact through their relationship with the company from day one and gives them something to talk about within their networks, which may also support future recruitment efforts," Speer said.

The format is also important - she recommends video storytelling, such as footage from company events that illustrate the organisation's values. Benevity, for example, has an annual week-long Homecoming celebration for the global team to connect, with an employee-led concert on the final evening that aims to raise money for various causes, and photos and videos from the event are well-received, she said.

Speer herself hosts a session on Benevity's culture during the onboarding process, where she shares an original “manifesto” video that the company created in the early days.

"It is always a group favorite and does a nice job of connecting the group to discussion on our mission and values - as it gives people something to listen for in the conversations to follow."

Purpose can help people stay on board too

Speer's team has data backing up the importance of incorporating purpose into talent strategy. Benevity released a talent retention report several years ago that found companies see a 52% lower turnover among newer employees when they participate in purpose programmes. Some of these might include employee resource groups or recognition and reward programmes that actively highlight how employees' contributions align with the company’s mission.

"We have a long-standing tradition of Critter Awards at Benevity, which are peer-nominated awards that celebrate the many diverse ways that our people are having an impact and living our values," she shared one in-house example. "This event allows us to hear inspiring stories about our people, delivered by their peers who see them in action daily."

Appropriately, award winners get to allocate a $1000 grant to a nonprofit of their choice.

But such programmes are just one part of the whole, she added - it's important that purpose is also reflected in the work environment and context that work is completed in.

"Not every task will align directly with an individual’s sense of purpose, but if the environment they work in resonates with their values and allows them time to connect to their passions that will go a long way in connecting purpose at work," she explained.

And purpose can even be connected to people development - helping them advance their careers in ways that  simultaneously allow them to drive purpose more effectively. Speer shared that Benevity is launching a change agent programme with this precise objective, where senior leaders will select a group of employees at various levels who are positively impacting the business and then focus on accelerating their development by building business acumen and providing mentorship from leaders in the business.