The higher purpose – InsideData
Submitted by: Gerda Heyman
Businesses have always thrived or struggled based on their reputations. Leaders these companies know that are monitoring how customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders view them is only gaining in importance in the age of social media, where messages and comments can spread globally in a matter of minutes.
According to the RepTrak™ 2020 Global Trends study, 70.2% of reputation leaders say that managing the reputation of their company is more important now than it has ever been.
As the world transitions into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the full extent of economic globalisation has been revealed by the spread of Covid-19, business leaders are beginning to understand the intangibles that can make or break companies. The diverse trends and risks that shape the reputations of companies have been unpacked by studies such as 2020 Global Trends, and one of the most interesting is the concept of Higher Purpose.
“When your organisation has a strong purpose based on doing good, that is the north star that helps to guide all decision-making. It ensures that the big picture around the human, environmental, ethical, financial and political are considered in making decisions. When this is in place, it reduces the risk around all of the other areas.” – Reputation leader, Global Trends study 2020
Reg Bath, Chief Executive Officer: Technology at South Africa’s InsideData agrees that every organisation needs to have a vision of its higher purpose. “InsideData’s higher purpose is to serve and satisfy our clients with our competent and dedicated employees, while offering the right products and services to address their needs. It is also our responsibility to our employees to create an environment in which they can grow and thrive, providing them with a ‘safe’ environment in which to operate.
” InsideData, a Level 1 B-BBEE company, employs more than 300 people across three offices. As the business grow and expand its geographical reach, it continues to create more job opportunities within the South African economy. The company’s goal is to continuously strive to enable its clients to deliver seamless engagement with their customers on all their information requirements, irrespective of their preferred communication channel.
Although InsidaDate plays a vital role in the economy, creating jobs and providing essential goods and services, it also realise the need to start shifting its focus to what it can do for the larger community additional to making money.
Bath explains, “As good leaders it is our responsibility to create the synergy and vision required to remain authentic and relevant to ensure that we continue to deliver on our higher-purpose, taking our people along this journey with us. Companies need to be agile and adaptable, embracing change as it presents itself or they will eventually become irrelevant.”
Focusing on the greater good during the Covid-19 pandemic
Rafiq Sallie, Chief Executive Officer: Print and Mail Services at InsideData, explains how the company is shifting its focus from operations and profit to the greater good for its employees, customers, and stakeholders.
”The establishment of our Research and Development team give us the opportunity and ability to investigate the influences of the changing world, especially now, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It enables us to align and organise the business to not only stay abreast of these changes, but also to adapt in addressing the needs of our employees, customers and other stakeholders,” Sallie says.
“I believe our leadership actions and drive to continue with business operations during the lockdown resulted in a successful attempt to maintain our service delivery to our clients and generating enough revenue to pay our suppliers/staff, contributing towards the economy as a whole. Furthermore, our actions have, and still do, add positively to the situation we find ourselves in, revealing the mature and professional attitude we have demonstrated towards this pandemic.
” InsideData is mainly focussing on the health, safety, and the overall wellbeing of its employees, since most of its staff complement consists of factory workers, who live in townships and are the main breadwinners in their households. The company also offers customers discounted rates on the printing of Covid-19 awareness collateral such as posters and stickers, contributing to the greater good during the pandemic.
The company is committed to delivering value to its customers, investing in its employees, dealing fairly and ethically with suppliers, supporting the communities in which its offices operate and generating long-term value for all stakeholders.
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