Organisational Pride Starts with Community Impact

We've all sat in strategy meetings where someone asks: "How do we make our people proud to work here?" The usual answers tumble out: better perks, leadership programs, pay bumps. All important. But let's be honest, none of those create the kind of deep, lasting pride that makes someone say: "This is the place I want to be".

True organisational pride starts outside your walls. It starts with how your business shows up for its community.

Employees and guests alike can sniff out performative corporate social responsibility. A token donation, a box-ticking sustainability report, a glossy campaign with no substance - it all rings hollow.

Pride is earned when people see their organisation using its resources - its time, its people, its assets - to create real-world change. That's when employees stop saying "I work for a hotel" and start saying "I work for a company that changes lives".

A Case in Point: ReLove

Take Michael Johnson, former CEO of Tourism Accommodation Australia. After steering the industry through COVID, he could have rested on his laurels. Instead, he's now an ambassador for ReLove, a charity that diverts hotel furniture from landfill to furnish homes for families escaping domestic violence.

Last year alone, ReLove transformed 784 houses into homes - giving beds, tables, and dignity to over 1,200 children.

Think about that for a moment.

A sofa that once held hotel guests now cradles a child reading their first bedtime story in safety.

A refurbished dining table becomes the anchor for a family piecing their lives back together.

That's impact. That's pride. And that ripple effect travels back to every staff member who lifted, cleaned, or delivered that furniture.

Why Leaders Need to Pay Attention

If you're serious about culture, you can't ignore community impact. It isn't a side hustle for HR or marketing, it's a leadership imperative.

It fuels retention. People stay where they feel their work matters.

It deepens loyalty. Guests want to support brands that live their values.

It strengthens resilience. In crises, purpose is what keeps teams going.

Three Questions for Leaders

Next time you're thinking about "organisational pride", ask yourself:

• What waste could we reimagine as community value?
• If someone asked our team what we stand for, would they have a clear answer?
• Would our people feel proud telling their family about our impact?

If the answers feel thin, it's time to look outward.

Organisational pride isn't built in the boardroom. It's built in the stories your team tells at dinner tables, in the quiet dignity restored to a family with a safe bed, in the ripple effect of a business that decided landfill wasn't the end of the story.

That's the kind of pride no pay rise can buy.

Watch + Listen to the full conversation HERE

If you're a hotel or hospitality leader, your next refurbishment could be more than an expense line. It could be someone's fresh start.

Partner with https://www.relove.org.au - and watch pride ripple through your organisation.