What purpose-driven team practices really look like

Innovative not for profits are shaping the future of work. Want to learn and experience how? Purpose at Work and Wellbeing Teams will share how you can implement innovative ways of working to attract, engage and retain your workforce on 9 September in Melbourne.

In recent years, the call for a new approach to how organisations attract, manage and engage their workforce has been growing louder and louder, fueled by research into the worrying state of things like employee engagement, work-related mental health and workplace loneliness. 

Popular management books like Reinventing Organisations by Frederick Laloux, Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Drive by Daniel H. Pink have all made the case for more purpose-driven organisations where people have the trust, psychological safety and freedom to do their best work. 

International expert on person-centred care and planning Helen Sanderson realised that a purpose-driven approach to workforce management was the missing component in the social care sector. This inspired her to set up Wellbeing Teams, a UK-based social care provider that does things differently when it comes to recruiting, empowering and engaging staff.

During two workshops on 9 September in Melbourne Helen and Emily McArdle from Wellbeing Teams will demonstrate how to apply some of the purpose-driven workforce practices that have made Wellbeing Teams the workplace that it is today. In Wellbeing Teams, staff can bring their whole self to work and collectively use and develop all their knowledge, skills and experience in self-organising teams. 

These workshops are brought to you by Purpose at Work, who will also share their insights from their work in supporting Australian organisations to explore and embrace new purpose-driven ways of working. 

Aren’t not for profits purpose-driven organisations by default?

You would think that, given the strong values and clear purpose that many of them have. And although purpose-driven approaches are well-suited to not for profits, unfortunately most have a long way to go still. Restrictive internal systems and processes, unnecessary bureaucracy, and more policies and procedures than anyone can be expected to remember, let alone follow, are as easily found in the not-for-profit sector as anywhere else. 

Having your purpose and values reflected in how work is organised and your staff is supported, is critical to becoming a purpose-driven organisation. Only then can you expect people to live and share your values and work towards your purpose.

What will you get out of these workshops?

Sounds easy, right?! Just reflect your purpose and values in your workforce practices and you are good to go! But what does that really look like? 

Let’s start with recruitment. Many not-for-profit organisations realise the importance of recruiting for values and attitude as well as skills and experience. But are your recruitment strategy, ads and process creating a candidate experience truly reflective of your values? How often do you see candidates come out of the process, both the successful and unsuccessful ones, feeling empowered, enriched and respected like their needs mattered?

Wellbeing Teams developed a values-based recruitment approach that does all this and more. It works so well that it has won three recruitment awards in the UK. Emily leads this approach and on 9 September she will take you through the steps of their process, so you can start applying them yourself. 

Once you have attracted staff with the right values and attitudes, the challenge is to enable employees to apply them in their everyday interactions with clients, their manager and teammates. But we all know how easily internal interactions like team meetings can feel like a waste of time without much meaning and purpose. People enjoy connecting with their team, but meetings often fail to engage staff and generate useful outcomes. Or take performance reviews, the traditional approach made them disliked by both staff and managers and many question their effectiveness and purpose.

Wellbeing Teams decided to rethink these and other processes and develop purpose-driven team practices including:

• meetings that actually engage teams to share their practice, find improvements and solve problems themselves;
• alternatives to performance reviews that achieve shared accountability and development within teams; and
• proven practices that create a workplace where people feel safe to bring their whole self to work. 

On 9 September Helen will share these practices and let you experience them for yourself. You will leave the day with:

• a range of tools, practices and resources that you can start applying the next day
• practical advice on what to do, where to start and who to involve 
• experiences and suggestions from people struggling with the same issues as you.

Interested? Have a look at our event page, pick the session you would like to attend and book your tickets now! 

Both workshops run at the same time. Can’t decide which one to attend? Send two people and swap notes!

These will be hands-on, full-day workshops to practice, share and learn together about what makes teams work better and more purposeful. We hope to see you there!

About us: Purpose at Work assist organisations to achieve their purpose and live their values by improving the way they manage and engage their workforce.

Based on our experience working in social care and other not for profits, Yumi Stamet, Alan Hough and Caroline Alcorso specialise in new ways of working including self-organising teams. In this area we offer industry advice and assistance, workshops, research and policy work for not for profits and governments.