Reckitt Benckiser's SVP of HR: 3 steps to embedding purpose in your business

2. Make it sticky

The second step is to give the purpose a real meaning. Yates says it is important to ask: “Why is it important? What does it mean to me?”

In other words, the message needs to be ‘sticky’. She explains: “We don’t talk about the percentage market share of Lysol, we talk about saving children from diarrhoea with handwashing and good hygiene and Harpic creating toilets to reduce open defecation in India, or we talk about where we can really genuinely make a difference. People remember that.”

Furthermore, this creates pride within the company, she continues: “it’s not hard to think that our people are prouder to work for a place that’s about creating innovative solutions to help people live healthier and happier lives, than just delivering shareholder value.”

Yates' final step, 'live by it', can be seen on the next page...