People and purpose

How does an individual sense of purpose link to the place where you work? Our Director of People and Strategy, Morven MacLean reflects on how a sense of belonging and a shared organisational purpose can help bring the best out of staff and volunteers at CHAS:

Like most ‘Millennials’, having a sense of purpose at work is of premium importance to me. Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to work in the charity sector. I need to work for a cause and a mission that I believe in. Working for a charity enables me to express and live my values every day. It also enables me to bring my whole self to work. We know from engagement surveys that at CHAS, our people are hugely mission driven. They believe in what we do and want to be part of a charity that makes a meaningful impact on the lives of children and their families. The articulation of a clear organisational purpose is critical in order for people to feel inspired, mobilise behind the cause and do the best work of their lives.

However, when it comes to employees, that sense of purpose is more than working for a great cause with a clear and inspiring purpose. As individuals, we develop our own sense of purpose and look for organisations whose purpose speaks to our own.

If we can help more people to find and live their purpose at work, performance is likely to improve and retention increase. So how do you figure out your purpose?

Identifying what you feel passionate about is a good place to start. When do you feel most alive? For me, my passion is developing others. I feel the happiest and most alive when I am supporting and coaching others to maximise their potential. I love mentoring and developing colleagues at the start of their careers, supporting people to take on new roles and to step up. I derive huge satisfaction from watching those people flourish and step in to their power. Nothing comes close to this for me. This is my purpose. And being able to do this at a charity like CHAS is a privilege, because my purpose aligns with the wider organisational purpose.

It’s only in the last few years that I have been able to articulate my individual sense of purpose. It has become clear to me after years of working and volunteering in the charity and public sectors. My sense of purpose has grown and evolved through the experiences I have had.

I would encourage you to pause and reflect on your individual sense of purpose and how that links with your organisation and what your organisation is going to do for the world. Individual and organisational purpose need to align if you’re to feel happy and energised at work.

At CHAS we want to foster a sense of belonging for all our people. We want all our people to bring their best selves to work, to be inspired by our organisational purpose, and to understand how their individual purpose aligns with that. If we can achieve this throughout the organisation then people will feel a greater affinity and sense of belonging in the charity. And that will enable us to ensure that no family in Scotland faces the death of their child alone.

If you would like to find out about career opportunities with CHAS, please visit our vacancies site. We are also looking for volunteers in a number of roles across Scotland, please visit our volunteer opportunities page to register your interest.