By Jek Wong, HR Auditor, Top Employers Institute
If your employees had to explain your organisation’s purpose in their own words, what would they say?
In 2026, bold statements and broad commitments will give way to a more rigorous test — one that demands purpose be felt, not just communicated. Across the world of work, the expectations placed on organisational purpose are shifting fundamentally. It is a shift our World of Work Trends 2026 identifies as one of the defining challenges for HR leaders this year.
And in Asia Pacific, this shift carries particular weight. Here, organisations operate at the intersection of rapid economic growth, demographic transformation, digital acceleration, and complex social change. Employees are no longer satisfied with purpose framed as a slogan on a careers page or a line in an annual report. They want to see it reflected in leadership decisions, people practices, and everyday experiences at work.
What the Data Tells Us: Purpose in Practice Across Asia Pacific Top Employers
The data among our 460 Certified Top Employers across Asia Pacific reflects exactly this:
- 96% communicate purpose stories — through customer impact, employee voices, and leadership messages — to bring their organisation’s mission to life
- 80% provide structured opportunities for employees to reflect on their own purpose and connect it to the organisation’s
- 54% use scorecards or similar mechanisms to track alignment and intervene early if purpose begins to slip
This is precisely the challenge that Global Top Employer Boehringer Ingelheim chose to confront head on. Rather than relying on top-down messaging to carry their purpose, the company asked a more fundamental question:
How do you help employees not just understand a purpose statement, but genuinely feel it as their own?
From Statement to Experience: How Boehringer Ingelheim Brings Purpose to Life
Boehringer Ingelheim sought to deepen employee connection to its purpose, Transforming Lives for Generations, recognising that purpose must be lived, not stated. To achieve this, the company created an experiential approach that helps employees internalise the meaning of their work beyond compensation and benefits.
This is just a snapshot of Boehringer Ingelheim’s innovative best practice; you can find the entire practice in our HR Best Practices database, which is exclusively available to Top Employers. Get inspiration and insight into the approach, challenges and learnings experienced by certified Top Employers. Access it now via the Top Employers Programme if you are Certified or learn more about it here!
Why the practice was needed
Boehringer Ingelheim aimed to help employees genuinely live the company purpose, Transforming Lives for Generations. They recognised that purpose cannot be adopted through words and slogans alone. It requires intentional, sustained experiences that help employees internalise the meaning.
How the practice was implemented
A core element is the annual Value Through Innovation (VTI) Day, which has been rebranded to Our FOCUS Day in 2025, which is an initiative involving all colleagues regardless of their role. In 2022, the company invited an artist, Red Hong Yi, to share how she uses her purpose to send a message through her artwork.
During the event, Boehringer Ingelheim asked their employees the following questions: what is their why? Why do they choose to work for Boehringer Ingelheim?
Teams then created art to showcase how they exemplify the company’s purpose. The organisation facilitated an exercise to help surface personal stories and emotions. Some employees shared how Boehringer Ingelheim’s medicines helped their loved ones or pets, while others expressed pride in contributing to work that improves lives across generations. When employees see their own purpose reflected in the organisation’s, it builds a deeper level of connection that goes beyond traditional employment drivers.
The company also links its purpose to sustainability. They monitor purpose through dashboards and leaders are held accountable for KPIs tied to the 3 pillars below:
- More potential
- More green
- More health
Beyond metrics, the organisation also emphasises that purpose is also about personal impact, but also giving employees a feeling of pride in contributing to their communities, whether it be by helping 17 million patients in the region or seeing their friend’s dog live a better life thanks to the company’s products.
Although not measurable, Kelly Tay, Head of the Talent Leadership Organisation, Southeast Asia, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, stresses that this is an equally important part of the company’s purpose. Out of these efforts, Boehringer Ingelheim has also started doing more with purpose messaging to strengthen employer branding, encouraging employees to share how they live the company purpose online.
Results of the practice
Integrating purpose into how the company communicates and operates has strengthened the EVP and generated strong engagement. Employees shared deeply personal and meaningful stories where one colleague highlighted that she was already transforming lives through a mentoring initiative. These responses showed how the purpose statement resonates differently with each person and can inspire a wide range of meaningful contributions.
“I remember an employee telling us that she was already transforming lives through a mentoring project. It was not something we expected, but really shows how a purpose statement can resonate with different people differently.”
Kelly Tay, Head of Talent Leadership Organisation, Southeast Asia, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand
What HR Leaders can learn from this
Our World of Work Trends research reinforces the same lessons surfaced by BI’s approach
- Make purpose experiential. Clarify what purpose means in practice, e.g., use simple language, define the behaviours that embed purpose through everyday actions, create intentional moments (rituals, reflection, storytelling) where employees connect their personal “why” to the organisation’s purpose.
- Treat purpose as an operating system and not a campaign. Embed purpose into core systems, e.g., align purpose with strategy, leadership expectations, performance reviews and recognition.
- Track progress through tangible outcomes and intervene early. Use scorecards, feedback loops, and regular reviews to see whether purpose is being lived, then course‑correct quickly when gaps appear.
- Amplify impact through enablers. Co‑create with employees to ensure authenticity; equip managers with toolkits and stories to make purpose part of team routines; and extend purpose into employer branding so the candidate experience mirrors the employee experience.
When purpose is experienced, embedded, and measured — as our research and BI’s example both show — it becomes credible, compelling and culture‑shaping.
