by Richard Branson
I am passionate about running purpose-driven businesses. I get asked a lot, why? What’s it about and why bother? Here’s what I’ve learned. The purpose of business-purpose is to both run better companies, and to run companies better.
Richard Branson and Australian team members at the Virgin Way Co-Lab
Purpose-driven companies make a positive difference in the lives of their employees, their communities, and the world. At Virgin, we focus on diversity and inclusion, giving back to communities, and many important global environmental and social issues – from climate change to LGBT rights to ending the war on drugs.
But that is only half the story. Purpose-driven companies run better. How?
Employees are happier. We’ve found that many Virgin businesses have significantly higher rates of employee engagement and retention than industry averages. This is wonderful for moral – and productivity. Keeping a great team together is key to any businesses success. That’s not just my opinion, the experts back it up. Recent research at Harvard shows that companies with a ‘higher purpose’ are more than three times as likely to retain their employees.
