Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | November 21, 2016 | wbjournal.com F O C U S H E A L T H C A R E thank you ! 144 golfers + 75 sponsors raised $240,000 to provide 175,000 + meals across the state! Fallon Health acknowledges the support of our sponsors at our 11 th Annual Golf & Gather FORE a Cause event. Reliant_full color_PROCESS.pdf 1 9/19/2016 10:45:03 AM Worcester Business Journal WBJ Worcester Business Journal WBJ A sense of purpose Healthcare firms find reminding employees of their impact beyond day-to-day activities keeps them happy and productive BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer I n 1962, President John F. Kennedy visited the NASA space station in Florida not too long after he announced plans to get an American on the moon by the end of the decade. As the fabled story goes, Kennedy was taking a tour of the space center when he spotted a janitor sweeping the floor. The president stopped the tour, walked over to the man, and said, "Hi, I'm Jack Kennedy. What is it you do here?" "Well, Mr. President," the janitor replied, "I'm helping put a man on the moon." In a speech at a MassMEDIC event celebrating women in the medical tech- nology field at Boston Scientific in Marlborough earlier this month, Bruce Pfau, the vice chair of human resources and communications at Dutch audit firm KPMG, used this tale to illustrate the importance of having a workforce that is motivated by a higher sense of purpose. Pfau was the driving force behind a recent overhaul at KPMG focused on making employees feel more connected to their work, an initiative that has resulted in boosted employee morale and a sharp decline in turnover. Pfau and several executives in the medical technology field said when it comes to improving employee morale at any company – whether it's an account- ing firm or a medical device maker – it's important to appeal to employees' sense of duty and have leaders who live the business' mantra rather than just talk about it. "To try and appeal to a sense that moves beyond pay stubs and benefits is extremely important," Pfau said. Looking at jobs in a new way In his speech, Pfau cited a survey from British consultant Calling Brands that found a sense of purpose is second only to compensation in terms of what's most important to employees. Another study by Net Impact found nearly half of the workforce would be willing to take a 15-percent pay cut to work for an organization where they felt they could make an impact. KPMG did hundreds of employee interviews to determine the definition of a higher purpose in the context of the firm, and after that, tried to appeal to employees by making a video reminding people of the company's his- tory as a champion of democracy and a fighter of bigotry. "What do we do at KPMG?" the video asks, "we shape his- tory." The idea, he said, was to get peo- ple to look at their jobs in a new way. After that, KPMG encouraged every employee to share their stories about Bruce Pfau was behind an initiative at Dutch audit firm KPMG geared towards giving employees a stronger sense of purpose at work. More than 42,000 KPMG employees participated in the firm's effort to recast their jobs in a new light.

• Cover