WHO TOOK PART IN THE SURVEY

These pie charts show who responded to the survey. We conducted our survey in August 2007. We received replies from 87 people from businesses of all sizes. Over two thirds were directors or owners of their organisation. The organisations were of all sizes, split roughly one-third small (up to 10 people), one-third medium (up to 250 people) and one third large.

SURVEY RESULTS

Employees are looking for a deeper sense of purpose, and organisations will need to provide them with opportunities to make a difference. Those are the headline conclusions from our new survey.

Employees are looking for more out of their employment:

82% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that “employees are looking for a deeper sense of purpose”.

89% agreed or strongly agreed that “employees increasingly want to be part of something they believe in”.

73% agreed or strongly agreed that “increasingly, employees are looking for work that confers meaning on their lives”. And when the “don’t-knows” are factored out, this proportion rises to 90%.

This obviously has implications for organisations and how they manage employees:

88% agreed or strongly agreed that, “to attract and retain the best people, employers will need to provide them with opportunities to lead, to solve challenges, to make a difference”.

… and indeed for all areas of their operations:

89% agreed or strongly agreed that “organisations of the future will increasingly be judged by how they live their values in practice.

Attracting and engaging talent is more important than ever. As values change, we’re seeing new ways to make it happen. Businesses have to look beyond mere statements of values, and find how to make them more authentic inside and outside the organisation. They have to trust people - by positioning core employees as leaders and challenge solvers, and by providing them with the opportunity and power to make a difference.

To find out more about making a difference, visit the website at www.iwanttomakeadifference.com.

GETTING STARTED

When my daughter Lettice was three, she loved drawing faces. Like most parents, we enjoyed praising her efforts.

One day, she showed us her drawing of a face, which was recognisable as such, but had no eyes. "That's wonderful, Lettice," I said. "But where are the eyes?"

She gave me a look that children reserve for parents who are being particularly stupid. She held up her pencil, and said, "Here. In my pencil."

This blog, and the website www.iwanttomakeadifference.com, are about discovering our purpose and learning to be more effective at making a difference. They're about engaging more positively with the world around us. Partly to make things better. But also to release the potential that we keep locked up in our pencils...