What’s the purpose of purpose: Just a trend or real benefit?

Hardly any business nowadays operates without a purpose. And I don’t mean the purpose of the respective business itself. It’s obvious that the purpose of a supermarket is to sell groceries, of the franchise restaurant chain to sell food and drinks, of the airline company to sell tickets. But it seems as though this isn’t sufficient anymore. In recent years, more and more companies have created their own business purpose on a different level. But why? Is it just another marketing trend? How do customers perceive this “purpose trend”? Will the trend be gone as quickly as others? Or does having a purpose bring any real long-term value? And if so – what is that value, and who does it benefit?

When we think about purpose I’m pretty sure we can all agree on some simple facts: Businesses have one thing in common: to earn money by selling something to customers. And to invest these earnings to (hopefully) sell and earn even more. This very simple principle has been part of economic theory for many decades. For a long time, the point of view of many businesses has been economically rather short-term, concentrating on topics such as earnings and shareholder returns. Strategic decisions have been made only after considering financial figures.

And, honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t you agree? This has always worked very well, at least for all the businesses with increasing revenues. So what has happened over the years to change the definition of purpose in such a fundamental way? Is there anything wrong with earning money? With having economic success? Does purpose now even replace profit?

Of course, purpose will not replace profit, because it actually stimulates profit. Purpose drives employee engagement which drives service quality. Service quality drives customer satisfaction which again drives growth and profitability. In the end, purpose and earning money are two sides of the same coin.

This is absolutely true for us, too. As a global logistics company, DHL Express is a business selling its express products and earning money with its services. It’s a highly competitive market but we’re very proud to say that we’re the most international company in the world. The world! By saying this, we mean 220 different countries and territories across the globe. These are different in many aspects. This might be the initial impulse to challenge (another buzzword) our purpose and to take a step forward by asking ourselves: 'Why are we doing this and what impact is our business having on our employees, on our customers and even on society?' That’s why and how we have created our purpose: “Connecting People, Improving Lives.” Our daily business enables local as well as global trade, and this helps to make the world a little better by offering chances to people and to businesses. In addition there is plenty of evidence that the more connected economies and societies are, the less likely they are to engage in military conflicts. By stimulating global trade we are making the world a safer place. So on a micro as well as a macro level we are delivering against our purpose.

First of all this purpose is something that motivates our people at DHL Express every single day. Could it be any different? All of us see the positive impact that our daily work has on other people and other lives. For example, during the pandemic DHL Express has been of great value with its global network, its airplanes and all its employees supplying the world with urgently needed equipment such as masks, protective clothing and, of course, vaccines. At Express Germany we have also just recently donated a shipment of healthcare products to India. This has only been possible through the passionate work of our colleagues – German colleagues supporting Indian colleagues, in this case. It's only with the efforts of these motivated people – who are keeping our service constantly running in every city and country – that our organization is able to improve lives globally. And, yes, we’re proud of that! That’s what comes to life when our people really feel and live our purpose. 

Let me share a very personal example: over last Christmas and New Year I was very excited and eager to attend several meetings with a large producer of COVID-19 vaccines in order to distribute their vaccines all over the world. By now DHL Express has shipped way more than 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines all around the world. Normally this is a time of year where I'm trying to stay away from meetings; but being able to help the world overcome the pandemic was extremely motivating. Working hard in order to connect people and improve lives is very fulfilling.

But, actually, we don’t think that this is enough.

Within DHL Express we have gone one step further and created our own “Wheel of Purpose”. Of course, this includes our daily business and purpose “Connecting People, Improving Lives”. But it’s far more than that. It also includes other purpose-strengthening initiatives such as GoGreen, GoTeach, GoHelp and GoTrade. And by mentioning that, we’re now talking about the entire DPDHL Group. And we’re talking about numerous projects for the benefit of the environment, education, and humanitarian support, as well as (for example) helping small and medium-sized companies in Africa. We’re talking about disaster relief provided by a very determined team. In 220 countries and territories there are many volunteering programs and internal engagement campaigns. Our people help each other – and our people also help others. Their engagement has its origin in our company purpose.

And this purpose is also part of and the catalyst for our new sustainability roadmap. As the world’s leading express service provider we have the responsibility to set a leading example regarding sustainability. And all aspects of the new roadmap lead to aspects of our purpose: clean operations protecting the climate, offering a great place to work for all, as well as being a highly trusted company and partner. We know that we have this responsibility. But far more important is that we live it. Only by living our purpose and showing our engagement are we able to provide the best service possible to our customers. And this service isn’t just lip service. You may have read it between the lines – I’m really proud to work for this company. There are certainly many reasons for this but feeling this strong commitment to “purpose” is one of the biggest ones. 

It's so satisfying to live your purpose together with your customers. So let me introduce you to one of them.

TIB Molbiol is a German laboratory based in Berlin. This lab was the first provider of synthetic DNA and of multiplex PCR tests for different viruses including COVID-19. They have been relying on DHL Express for supplying the world with these tests during the pandemic and have been very happy with us as their shipping partner. But let me take you one step back for a moment: it’s our people’s engagement as a result of our purpose that has taken us to this great service quality level, and therefore to satisfied customers such as TIB Molbiol. Since January last year they have been delivering more than 60 million test kits. So with their business model they were able to improve and save lives. And we are very lucky having the chance to support them. When TIB Molbiol started ramping up their production to provide an answer to the pandemic, we increased our pick-up frequency. 

TIB Molbiol and DHL Express do have a few other things in common – a fact that connects our companies even more. The lab developed the first COVID-19 test and also tests for different varieties of this virus in a very short period of time. Being innovative is also an important part of our DHL Express DNA. More than 50 years ago our business started with a passionate surfer transporting documents from San Francisco to Hawaii – and look at us now (I'll say it again: we're operating in 220 countries and territories). TIB Molbiol is also globally connected with production facilities and employees in Columbia, Italy and Spain. As already explained with the help of our “Wheel of Purpose”, social engagement plays an important role in our company. TIB Molbiol donated test kits to the WHO and countries with less financial power. Moreover, they also provided Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the government’s central scientific institution in the field of biomedicine, with 100,000 test kits to carry out research into different COVID-19 varieties. And with the environmentally appropriate production of their products, TIB Molbiol also pursues the protection of our environment. So, all in all, the company and its values really reflect ours.  

Does it make sense to hire a marketing agency to invent a catchy and simple slogan representing your company? Inventing a purpose? Definitely not. It’s not that simple. It is supposed to make sense for your company, your employees and your customers. Also, research has shown that purpose has been mistakenly thought of as an add-on for quite a long time. I came across one article published in Harvard Business Review about a study of high growth in companies. Researchers were looking at three strategies known to drive growth: creating new markets, serving broader stakeholder needs, and rewriting the rules of the game. However, to their surprise, they also discovered a fourth driver they hadn’t considered before: purpose. Moreover, they also described the benefits companies are quite likely to experience once they implement a purpose in their company: a more unified organization, more-motivated stakeholders, broader impact, and also more profitable growth.

The above has clearly shown that the purpose of DPDHL proves this research right, and in our case is so much more than just a fancy marketing attribute. It is the essence of what we do and reflects how we act with and towards our employees, our customers and society. That’s the reason why it’s also a success factor for employee motivation and customer loyalty. With our purpose as the starting point, we engage everyone at DHL Express, which leads to a better service, which results in customer satisfaction.

And with this I’m now going back to the start: earning money used to be the purpose of a business. With the help of a truthful purpose even more profit is possible. So in the end having a purpose and earning money are really two sides of the same coin. The challenges of the current pandemic have not only proved our company purpose but also have even taken us to higher heights in terms of profitable business. This would definitely not have been possible without our purpose being the core of DHL Express. My team and I will continue to work with passion for delivering our purpose - be it in the way we deliver our services or be it via our social responsibility programs. This is good for our employees, our customers, our investors, our planet and societies.

Published: October 2021

Images: iStock.com/csaksi; iStock.com/anyaivanova; DHL