Several years ago, the CEOs with whom I work in NYC for Vistage Worldwide (there are 23,000 CEOs globally) began referring to the companies as CILOs- Continuous Improvement Learning Organizations. The focus of a CILO is to hire talented workers and dedicate time for continuous improvement learning as part of the standard job description. With professional and personal growth, many will outgrow their current positions and grow into new ones where they can make higher contributions.
Periodically, we share stories on some of our staff have grown thanks to the CILO culture. We find that people who live their purpose at work are more productive than those who don’t. They are also healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay. Recently, we’ve noted that the CILO culture is especially effective at this post-pandemic time, because it’s encouraging people to pursue their longer-term purpose at their companies.
McKinsey’s recent report, Help Your Employees Find Purpose – or Watch Them Leave, demonstrates just how important this us for them now. Their research found that 70% of employees said their sense of purpose is defined by their work. However, two-thirds reporting that the pandemic has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life. About half said they’re reconsidering the kind of work, with Millennials three times more likely to say so than older workers. It’s likely that those companies which foster continuous improvement have a better chance of meeting employees’ changing purpose needs by enabling them to adopt new, supportive positions. We will be monitoring this in the future. How are your workers doing? Are they engaged and focusing on taking on new challenges in the company to continue meeting their purpose needs? What challenges are you encountering? Share with us.