Purpose in professional services: why it matters, and 7 ways to make it work
Recently I’ve done quite a bit of 'Profit with Purpose' work with Professional Services clients, big and small. Some work friends have asked - really? When I dig deeper, what they’re asking is:
(1) does it matter? shouldn’t I focus my energy on inspiring and enabling change in sectors such as consumer goods?
(2) does it ‘work'? or is Purpose within Professional Services Firms just surface stuff, a bit of necessary reputation-polishing?
My answers are: yes, it really matters! And yes, it definitely can ‘work’ to achieve exciting outcomes for the firms themselves and for their stakeholders.
Purpose-driven businesses put people and planet on a par with profits - knowing that if they truly serve the interests of their stakeholders, sustained growth and profit will certainly follow. For certain, the poster children of the Purpose movement are companies like Patagonia, Seventh Generation, Natura and Interface - followed by the big consumer goods manufacturers such as (my former employer) Unilever, and Danone. But I feel strongly that the principles of Purpose-driven business are highly applicable to the suited-and-booted purveyors of professional services: management consultants, lawyers, accountants, executive search and more. Not only that, but it’s really important that Purpose lands deeply in this highly influential sector.
So in this piece my aim is to inspire you, if you work in Professional Services, to push hard for your firm to take on - or take further - the challenge of Purpose, and execute it with passion.
Why does it matter?
Firstly, because companies around the world look to management consultants, accountants and lawyers to advise them on how business works and how it is changing. If Professional Services Firms (I’ll call them PSFs from now on) advocate Purpose-driven, stakeholder-conscious business - and if they walk the talk themselves in their own businesses - this can have a huge positive ripple effect on how business gets done. Furthermore, many CEOs of world-leading companies have done a stint at a leading management consultancy.
Secondly, PSFs employ millions of people around the world. Their aggregate environmental impact might be tiny compared to extractive and manufacturing sectors, but their people impact is big. It’s well known these are often high-stress environments with high levels of mental ill health and burnout. These companies have the opportunity to lead the way in terms of enlightened people practices.
What’s the business case for Purpose, in Professional Services?
Here are the top three good reasons for PSFs to become Purpose-driven, from the inside out.
Client demand. Increasingly client companies want advice on winning trust, on ethics, governance, social impact, environmental sustainability, and more. PSFs that walk the talk in these areas will have hugely enhanced credibility with clients. Not only that - ‘conscious’ client companies are increasingly preferring to hire values-aligned PSFs. They are requiring greater disclosure (diversity data, environmental sustainability data etc) as part of the RFP process, the resulting ‘survey fatigue’ leading to the development of new sustainability standards for the professional services sector.
Attracting and retaining the best talent. According to Cone Communications, 79 percent of millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work. Another 75 percent of millennials say they would take a pay cut to work for a company with a strong commitment to the Earth. In a recent Medium article, McKinsey’s Global Managing Partner Dominic Barton reflects on the pressure from within: "The people are saying what are we doing, Dom, what is your carbon footprint, because we probably think it’s pretty bad, so what are you doing about it? I mean, I get those questions from first-year people.”
Staff happiness and performance. PSFs are the ultimate ‘knowledge economy’ firms: they sell the time of talented specialists. The upside, if they manage their biggest resource well: highly motivated employees delivering great service to clients, growing revenue, and committing their long-term career to the firm. The downside, if they manage people poorly: stress, burnout, absenteeism; potentially lawsuits and reputational damage. In a EY survey (2016) of top executives, 89% said a strong sense of collective purpose drives employee satisfaction; in another 2016 survey by Korn Ferry, 93% of respondents agreed that “embracing the mission/purpose of your organization increases employee productivity.”
Getting buy-in
So I hope you agree, there’s a big case for change. Equally, it’s a big commitment to become deeply Purpose-driven from the inside out. In a sector that's characterised by the maximisation of billable hours, client fees and profits per partner, there are some tough discussions to be had on how to better deliver against the needs of all stakeholders.
The starting place is partner/executive team buy-in. There’s lots of work to do to bring to life what it means to be Purpose-driven, and how it can be made compatible with a focus on maximising billable hours. Partners in PSFs often prize their individuality highly, but in a Purpose-driven organisation it's essential that staff see all leaders collectively walking the talk - and that starts with buying into the case for becoming Purpose-driven in the first place.
Inspiration is key, but inevitably and rightly, there will also need to be a tailored business case prepared - getting really specific on the business case elements listed above.
Then you’re into the exciting process of gathering deep and broad insight from stakeholders, and discovering your firm’s distinctive point of view and Mission/Purpose.
Seven ways PSFs can thrive through Purpose
Let’s cut to the action. Here are seven ways in which PSFs can thrive - and help people and planet to thrive - through Purpose.
1/ Client work & thought leadership - being a catalyst for change
Tackling the world’s problems is, let’s face it, a big growth area - and it’s exciting work to know that what you’re doing is making the world a better place. According to the Better Business Better World report by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission, achieving the UN Global Goals could open up an estimated US$12 trillion in market opportunities in four economic systems: food and agriculture, cities, energy and materials, and health and well-being.
So whether they are serving corporates, governments or the third sector, PSFs are seeing a huge opportunity in developing services at the intersection of commerce, society and the environment. These can range from social impact innovation, to environmental footprint measurement, to purpose-led transformation of company cultures.
The question for PSFs is whether they just respond to client needs in these areas, or whether - at a time of breakneck change in the world - they use their influence to drive a progressive agenda. PWC talks of ‘using our knowledge, skills, voice and relationship to work with others and become ‘part of the solution’ through activities that make a difference and influence change in the marketplace, with clients and suppliers’.
Equally, taking a progressive stance inevitably requires firms to be smart and principled regarding the clients and projects they take on. PWC UK was recently criticised for reported negotiations with Saudi Arabia to land a major contract to help streamline the country’s military.
2/ Towards a truly participative work culture
The 'working world' is currently an unhappy place. According to Gallup’s global State of the World Survey, 85% of the world’s employees are disengaged, or very disengaged, at work. In the UK it’s 89%. Hierarchical work cultures and workplace stress are key drivers.
Purpose-driven organisations put a lot of focus on making sure their employees thrive. It’s now well accepted that the key to thriving knowledge workers is to tap into their intrinsic motivators: according to Daniel Pink, these are Purpose (the feeling that my work matters, that I’m contributing to something bigger than me); Autonomy (my voice is heard, and I have a high level of self-direction); and Mastery (my work gives me ‘flow’ and I have the opportunity for personal growth). Fewer top-down carrots and sticks; greater belief in the innate potential of employees to make good decisions and do great things, in line with the firm's Purpose and Values.
The very act of becoming a Purpose-driven organisation is an extraordinary opportunity for PSFs to invite staff into a new, more participative relationship. Discovering Purpose and shaping a bold change agenda should never be a totally leadership-driven, top down exercise. Through a combination of digital tools (for bigger organisations), interviews and workshops, staff should feel they’ve had the chance to input and co-create, and their voices have been heard.
In this area, the approach of insurance company Aviva is relevant to PSFs. Under Mark Wilson’s leadership the company went through a major company-wide Purpose-driven transformation starting in 2013. Following a broad stakeholder consultation (including employee workshops), the executive team shared their new Purpose and a reshaped strategy with the top 100 managers in the business. Following feedback and refinement, the ideas were then shared with a further 300 employees (lots of interactivity, visual stimulus)- who were invited to figure out what this meant for the business and themselves. Then the top 150 leaders facilitated sessions for Aviva’s 30,000 employees to begin conversations about their personal motivations and how these might fit with the organisation’s Purpose and values. This began a new tradition at Aviva: quarterly whole-company meetings called Big Koru. Koru means ‘conversation’ in Maori (Wilson’s a New Zealander). Staff engagement increased from 56% in 2013 to 75% in 2017.
3/ Tackling the big issue: burn out
As noted, stress and burnout are endemic issues for professional services firms. Purpose-led transformation can give a firm the context/trigger to tackle employee stress and burnout in new, bolder ways.
Consultancy firm BCG - No.4 in the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2018 - tackled burnout head-on. In 2005 when Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow surveyed BCG staff, she found that the key issue was unpredictability. Most consultants were unable to forecast when their work would spill over into evenings and weekends, so found it hard to plan their time out. Leslie partnered with BCG partner Debbie Lovich on designing, piloting and then rolling out a programme that became known as PTO – Predictability, Teaming and Open Communications. With PTO, consulting teams openly communicate their individual scheduling expectations prior to the project’s onset, as well as check in with each other regularly. It's not about reducing hours worked per se – it’s more about collaborating openly to ensure that each team member is able to achieve a more sustainable work-life balance. The programme was reported as a huge success, with substantial improvements not only in employee satisfaction but also in teamwork and value delivered to clients.
4/ Championing a cause
Pro/lo bono assignments have long been a great way for PSFs to benefit deserving third-sector organisations that otherwise couldn’t afford these services (when I was running Collectively.org I was very thankful for the pro bono work of the brilliant team at Mayer Brown LLP). There’s a missed opportunity, however, if it’s only done by partners/senior members of a firm, on a totally ad hoc basis or purely following the personal interests of the people concerned. There’s an opportunity in many firms to drive up transparency and access to these opportunities, internally and externally.
In addition to this, the biggest firms are showing how they can focus effort, investment and skills to make a global-scale impact on a single issue. A great example is McKinsey’s Generation programme. To bridge the gap between youth unemployment and entry-level job vacancies, Generation offers rapid training for high-demand professions, social-support services, and guaranteed interviews with employers. It’s active across 20 professions and 65+ cities worldwide, and 85% of 20,000 participants have been placed in jobs.
Small firms can also make a big impact. Gi Fernando MBE set up digital training company Freeformers with the Mission 'to build a digital economy for all, by building the future workforce now'. They have a social impact programme called One_for_1. For every digital champion they train in a big corporate, they also train a 16-25 year old who’s struggling to get into the workplace. What’s more, half of their staff are young people who have come through the One_for_1 programme.
5/ Shrink the footprint
For PSFs, environmental footprint is largely a question of buildings and air travel. It’s not the most glamorous part of their Purpose agenda, but it’s being taken increasingly seriously after a slow start. PWC and McKinsey are signatories to RE100, with PWC reducing CO2 emissions by 77% between 2007 and 2017, and McKinsey committing to use renewable energy in 100% of its operations by 2025. Peer-to-peer support and best practice sharing is provided by sector-specific organisations such as the Legal Sustainability Alliance.
6/ Transparency, as the key to trust
In my experience, many PSFs quickly understand the Purpose opportunity from an internal perspective. They are less clear on how to bring it to life authentically for clients and other external stakeholders. There’s often nervousness in ‘claiming to be good’ in case you inadvertently invite more scrutiny and draw criticism around the things you’re not yet doing well.
A big part of the answer lies in transparency. In a digital world, businesses are glass boxes not black boxes - your clients will evaluate you less via your marketing materials, and more via what they can find out about you online and from peers. They can search for news articles, look up what your employees say about you on Glassdoor, or look on your website for which other clients you serve, or details of your environmental record.
The more you do to live your Purpose and Values, and take bold action to benefit your stakeholders, the more that increased transparency will work in your favour. Your outbound marketing is less 'smoke and mirrors' and more focused on bringing to life, step by step, the exciting reality of how you’re working differently from others in your sector. No need to be perfect: the key need is to be transparent, sharing the good things and making clear where you’ve still got a way to go.
7/ From Purpose to Platform
The very best Purpose statements act as invitations for others to join in.
They can give PSFs a platform to start or shape the debate; convening multiple parties to collaborate around an issue that needs solving. As an accountancy firm, for example, a Purpose platform enables you to transcend the usual service line ‘expertise battles’ around tax services or international accounting standards.
Under the leadership of Sacha Romanovitch, Grant Thornton UK defined their Purpose as ‘to unlock the potential for growth in our people, clients and our communities to help shape a vibrant economy for the UK’. Conscious that their clients spanned commercial and public organisations, they built a thought leadership and conversation platform around the idea of Shaping a Vibrant Economy. They ran roundtables with over 1,000 leaders from business, government and the third sector; they conducted 'Live Labs' in 7 cities, co-creating practical steps to address big issues affecting their regions; created an online tool called the Vibrant Economy Index; and many more activities besides. Romanovitch stepped down in late 2018 after a much-reported clash with other partners, but - in my view - her work to establish a Purpose platform for the company was an exciting foundation for building values-based relationships between staff, customers and other collaborators.
Smaller companies can do this too. Digital agency Freeformers (mentioned above) has created a Purpose platform around digital skills in the future world of work. Their strong voice in this hot debate helped them secure a collaboration with Facebook to bring digital skills to 300,000 18-30 year olds across six EU countries.
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This list of six ‘ways’ is by no means exhaustive - there are many more dimensions to becoming a professional services firm that thrives through a powerful sense of Purpose, and doing the right thing for your stakeholders. If your firm is a way down this track and you want to benchmark your progress, take a look at the B Impact Assessment. You may decide to aim for certification as a B-Corporation: with more than 2,500 B-Corps across the world, the B-Corp certification logo is increasingly magnet for talent and for customers who care who they buy from. B-Corp firms such as Future State (USA management consultancy), Bates Wells Braithwaite (British law firm) and BlueRock (Australian financial advisory) are leading the way.