Refreshing Purpose audio version  |  18 mins  |  Listen now

Its 125-year-old purpose, which had been articulated by the Partnership’s founder John Spedan Lewis as the ‘happiness of its members’, just was not cutting through. It needed a refresh, but one that remained true to its heritage, while future-proofing the Partnership for the 21^st century.

As Becky Wollam, purpose activation lead at the John Lewis Partnership, explains, the purpose was failing to resonate with employees, potential recruits, and customers. ‘Our partners, our employees, were telling us that they wanted us to stand for something more than just being an employer.

‘Candidates didn’t see [our purpose] as a key attraction to join the business. And our customers were telling us that we weren’t doing enough either in terms of them knowing we were purpose-led, and being able to articulate that, or in seeing the evidence.’

But, perhaps more importantly, its purpose was also not being used internally in driving how the partnership operated. As Becky Willan, co-founder of brand purpose agency Given, which advised John Lewis on its two-year journey, explains: ‘For me, the measure of how effective a purpose is for an organisation is the extent to which it is being used to make decisions day in, day out from big strategic ones down to everyday actions.’

With an increasing number of public-listed organisations articulating the role they need to play in society, and viewing it as a key driver of long-term growth and performance, there was a real danger that the pioneering John Lewis Partnership could be left behind.

The arrival of a new chairman, Dame Sharon White, plus several executive appointments, which coincided with the outbreak of Covid, provided an opportunity to reflect on and review the partnership’s corporate purpose.

Working with Given, John Lewis created a Purpose Working Group, comprising 16 partners, representing a diverse cross section from across the business, who each volunteered to participate.

But while they were empowered by the chairman to start the work, the ultimate decision-making powers lay with the Partnership Council, comprising 60 elected employees, whose role is to hold the chairman to account, influence policy and make key governance decisions.

Four members of the Partnership Council also sat on the Working Group to ensure there was a connection between the two. They regularly reported back on the progress of the council’s work, then fed back any response.

Work on refreshing the purpose took place over two stages. The first ‘was about really understanding what the core themes and ideas were at the heart of the partnership that made the partnership a truly purpose-driven organisation’, explains Given’s Willan.

‘The second part was about having that conversation in lots of different, but tightly managed, ways to really get under the skin of what those words meant. Because words matter; the words we use in a purpose statement really matter. We needed to create lots of different ways that allowed people to almost try on and test out what those words mean, and what the Partnership might do differently as a result.’

Wollam adds: ‘It was a very iterative piece of work, in terms of the Working Group thinking about it, working with Becky and her team in terms of insight and creativity, sharing it with the Council, listening to its feedback, tweaking and evolving. It was incredible: it ended up being the Partnership’s largest ever listening exercise.’

The Given team first posed the question: what does happiness really mean? ‘We knew from the science of happiness, and this was borne out, that there is a concern that if you use a word like ‘happiness’, it’s a bit frivolous. It’s about a moment of pleasure or satisfaction,’ explains Willan. ‘Whereas happiness is grounded in some really important ideas around being heard, being respected and being able to trust.

‘We were able to get people to think quite deeply about questions like What does happiness mean? What does it mean for a retailer? What are the benefits of being a partnership when it comes to being purpose-driven? What does working in a partnership really mean? We were able to unpack these words through lots of different channels.

The project involved 12,000 partners as well as customers and suppliers through a combination of workshops, focus groups and around 50 existing forums – all the time listening to feedback and opinions – as well as online, using a Buzzfeed style survey.

‘If we needed to go deep and really get under the skin, we might use workshops and focus groups but where we wanted a broader understanding, we used the more digital channels. But a big part was also just creating those two-way feedback loops,’ explains Willan.

John Lewis’ Wollam adds: ‘We really thought carefully about the look and feel of the engagement, so that it was different from what partners were expecting. We also used our Council and Working Group to drive engagement, but I think this is a topic that most people want to engage in… What will make you happier? What does happiness mean to you? Where do you think the Partnership should be going? But that is also the power of a co-owned business, that everybody has a voice that is listened to.’

The skill of Given’s project team ensured that these conversations did not turn into ‘huge, existential questions’ about happiness; they offered stimuli which prompted reactions.

‘We might say These are the different choices that the Partnership has got. If you were in charge and had £1,000 to spend, how would you split this among these different initiatives to have the most positive impact on happiness?’ explains Willan.

‘It’s a combination of engaging mechanics and content, underpinned by sound research techniques. You are constantly balancing between it being engaging and interesting for those people taking part, so it feels like engagement, while collecting robust data points that then enable you to make an informed decision about the right strategic direction to go down.’

The exercise also extended to other stakeholders, such as suppliers and customers. ‘The incredible thing about John Lewis is that most people have an emotional attachment to the brand,’ adds Wollam. ‘We invited customers to give their views, but we did research and insight into what our customers’ expectations are and what do we need to do more of to meet those. Equally, we asked our suppliers about their relationship with John Lewis, what their view of the brand was, and what we needed to do more of.’

Having gathered ‘thousands and thousands’ of data points, the Working Group convened for three days at John Spedan Lewis’ home in Longstock Park, Hampshire, which has been used as a retreat for the partnership since his death in 1963.

‘We had data points, we had verbatims, we had little video clips. We had all this stuff, which the Working Group pulled together [with my facilitation] to get to this new idea that wasn’t just about our purpose but also its underpinning: what that meant in terms of [its three key principles] Happier People, Happier Business, Happier World,’ adds Willan. ‘The architecture of that was really co-created there, based on those thousands of data point inputs from the whole business.’

After two days of data analysis, each member of the Working Group was initially encouraged to write down – in a sentence - their interpretation of purpose. They were then put in pairs, asked to compare their interpretations, and create an amalgamation of the two.

The pairs were then put into fours and asked to repeat the process, before finally being put into two groups of eight and each bringing together their views as one sentence. The final versions were remarkably similar, in terms of themes and tones, and formed the basis for the resultant corporate purpose statement: Working in a Partnership for a Happier World.

The three principles that underpin the purpose are brought to life by Happier Hows, which clarify what they mean in practice encompassing connections, voice, passion, kindness, and trust, the architecture clarified what this meant in practice and how to bring the purpose to life. ‘Happier Hows become really important, because if we are all about happiness, then what does that actually mean in the context of the decisions that we’re making from one day to another?’ says Willan.

For example, connections translate into creating opportunities for partners to connect with each other in a more meaningful way, to developing new ways to bring partners, customers and communities together and forming deeper connections with customers.

Voice involves creating the conditions for a thriving and impactful democracy. It means drawing on customer feedback and suggestions to develop new products, ideas, and services to go beyond what was acceptable before. It means supporting employees of John Lewis Partnership’s suppliers so that they can voice opinions, ideas, or concerns.

Passion is about creating products that customers will be proud to own, that have meaningful stories. It is about campaigning about issues and causes that partners care for. It is about helping partners find their passion and, if possible, to turn that passion into commercial opportunities.

Kindness is what it says on the tin: it is about shaping a fairer society through employment opportunities, forming mutually beneficial partnerships with suppliers that improve working conditions and create better jobs and about encouraging partners to be kind to each other.

Trust relates to delivering on the promises made to customers, suppliers, and communities. It is also about being transparent, open, and honest about the environmental and social impacts of the business and being principled in decision making.

Having achieved the backing of the Partnership Council – just three voted against the initiative – the refreshed purpose, with its underlying architecture, was enshrined into the Partnership’s Constitution.

The activation team, who focused on five key areas - strategy, portfolio and governance; communications and engagement; customer proposition; partner proposition; and measurement and reporting – then started to cascade the refreshed purpose through the organisation.

This kicked off with a one-day Happiness Conference for the Partnership’s top 180 leaders to discuss what this meant in practice, why it was important and their role in driving it through the organisation, which was followed by five engagement events for middle management, such as branch managers.

‘We asked them to bring a plus one, who was the most influential person in their unit, which tended to be a frontline shop floor partner,’ adds Wollam. ‘That was brilliant because the ’plus one’ felt so incredibly special, and from our point of view we had this top-down, bottom-up accountability.

‘The day was focused on purpose. Why is it important? What’s the difference it’s going to make? What do we need from you? A purpose that includes the word ‘happier’ in a cost-of-living crisis, when the business is struggling in terms of sales, is certainly not easy.’

Willan adds that it was important the events did not evangelise about purpose, but instead created space for managers to share their doubts and reservations. Lord Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, a pre-eminent expert on happiness and a leading academic on corporate purpose, attended the leadership meeting to offer scientific insights into happiness and help to unpick any misconceptions, including the view that it could not be measured.

His opening statement, which prompted much soul searching, revealed that around 80 per cent of an individual’s ‘happiness’ at work relates directly to their line manager.

‘Backing it up with science helped, but we also created time for people to really think about the business opportunities around this. How might this focus help us innovate stronger propositions or create more engagement with customers?’ explains Willan. ‘People were able to make it really tangible and use it to solve some of the challenges that we are all facing, unlocking the opportunities that everyone is excited about.’

Each attendee received a Finding Happiness workbook, containing adaptable exercises that could be delivered online or in person, in a variety of formats and durations, to support them as they embedded purpose across their teams. This was supported by an internal communications campaign designed to inspire, engage and motivate partners as they sought to understand and embed purpose in their working lives.

But Wollam concedes that purpose can feel ‘a bit fluffy’ for some people, particularly those who have commercial performance targets, but some concerns were assuaged when chairman Dame Sharon White issued a statement declaring: ‘Purpose isn’t a fluffy side-line to our business strategy. It is our business strategy.’

‘But I think the genius elements that the working group came up with in our purpose is the word ‘happier’. If it had been ‘happiest’, then I think we might have got a bit more questioning,’ she adds.

That does not mean that there have not been any challenging questions. The Partnership’s weekly staff newsletter, the Gazette, which dates back to 1918, allows partners to submit letters, anonymously if they wish. During the World Cup, for example, the Gazette published letters from partners regarding the United Arab Emirates, where the John Lewis Partnership operates several stores, querying its position on Qatar.

‘What has been powerful is how partners have used our purpose when they feel uncomfortable or want to better understand a decision,’ adds Wollam. ‘The board must answer that question or be comfortable with their response. I think it has widened the conversation, creating more breadth in conversations that previously felt more financially focused.’

Other tricky conversations related to a half-year loss, the cost-of-living crisis and redundancies. ‘We recognised that we had to link our announcements and our comms – internal and external - back to our purpose, and being crystal clear on how [the announcement] advances that. When we announced a cost-of-living payment, we utilised the Gazette to explain this decision, but equally how we balanced forgoing profits in terms of the business doing the right thing for happier people. People are losing their jobs; how do we link that back to happiness? It’s about being thoughtful and considerate,’ explains Wollam. ‘We’re not a year in, and I think we’ve made good progress. We’ve got a lot more to do, but the muscles are still developing.’

The former employee engagement survey has been transformed into a bi-annual Happiness Survey. Almost 48,000 eligible partners, representing 61 per cent of the workforce, completed the first survey, answering questions on what it feels like to be a partner, as well as 11 new questions and eight amended ones regarding the happiness of the partnership and actions that can be taken to further advance the refreshed purpose.

We have some really good insights but equally, we can see that by shop, or by unit, so we can understand if we have a particular challenge,’ she adds. For example, the most recent Happiness Survey revealed that the newest recruits are the most engaged around purpose. ‘We’ve refreshed all our recruitment stuff on LinkedIn, with purpose at its heart, and it’s having three times more cut through than previously,’ says Wollam.

‘We’re also reporting back to the Partnership Council every quarter in terms of progress, and they’re brilliant about giving us feedback around how it’s going and how it’s landing,’ she adds. ‘In terms of that word ‘happier’, that continual question, what can we do to make you happier? What could we do in terms of creating a happier business? It has been really powerful.’

‘Real change takes time. You need to think about hard-wiring purpose into decision making and that happens through governance and board papers. So board papers have been adapted to frame key decisions around purpose. Basically, you can’t make a big decision without considering whether it is advancing the purpose,’ explains Willan.

‘It keeps it on the agenda, literally, but then in all the other workstreams, it is about ensuring that people are upskilled and held to account, recognised and rewarded on the basis of moving things in the right direction.’ New internal recognition schemes, including the Chairman’s Award, related to purpose, have been launched.

The Partnership’s top 180 leaders, who each made personal Purpose Pledges, have been set an objective to use purpose to make decisions, but to then evidence that. ‘Decision making tends to be a default cost risk mindset in most organisations, but to actually disrupt that and get people to think consciously and deliberately about every decision and to what extent it is advancing an idea like happiness is hard,’ explains Willan.

‘There’s no silver bullet. Purpose won’t necessarily change every decision, but it changes the way that the decisions are made. We still need to make tough commercial decisions, but we’ll do so in a way that genuinely thinks about the impact on people rather than the impact on business, for example.’

One of the first major tests for the refreshed purpose was the John Lewis Christmas advertisement, which has become something of a national institution. The traditional format, which showcases products against a whimsical storyboard, was eschewed in favour of an advert that carried an important message.

Titled The Beginner, it told the story of a big-hearted man who takes up skateboarding later in life. After a rocky start, and multiple bumps and scrapes, he masters the act – just in time for Christmas Day, when the doorbell rings. It is Ellie, a skateboard-loving teenager, who has been living in care, but will now be fostered by the erstwhile skater and his partner. The advert promoted the partnership’s association with Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland.

‘It was a risk. Obviously, the Christmas advert is huge for us in the fourth quarter, in terms of what it drives financially, so it did take quite a bit of influencing and thinking around doing something different,’ explains Wollam. ‘But it started a conversation that needed to be had. The press coverage was incredible. Equally some people asked whether it was John Lewis’ place to have this conversation. And we said, yes it was, because we have a view.’

The advert particularly resonated with those partners who had been in care, and were pleased that the partnership was taking a stand. The advert also prompted an increase in interest from people looking to foster or adopt. ‘The idea that people who have experienced care feel seen, heard and represented, possibly for the first time in their lives, is incredibly powerful,’ says Willan.

She adds: ‘Even in a business that has always been purpose-led, building belief is such an important part of that. It doesn’t just come from a brilliant story, but from people seeing that the business is prioritising decisions. And that there are some real, bold commitments [such as the pledge that every category in the business will have a buyback or take back solution by 2025] that sit underneath our purpose. It is not fluffy words on a page. This is a meaningful direction for the business.’