Do your employees know your companys mission statement? Do they know the reason you chose that particular statement? Do they know what their role is in helping the company accomplish the mission as stated? Recent reports have shown that less than half of all employees actually know what their companys mission statement is, and among them, less than half actually find the statement motivating. The same reports also indicate that only half of all employees are happy at work, and the other half will jump at an opportunity to leave their current job in order to work with a company that has better values and offers them a greater purpose.
Why your mission statement is vital
Many employers fail to ensure that their employees are fully engaged and that they understand the larger mission of their company and the role they have to play towards realizing it. This means that employees are often stuck performing routine duties without ever getting the bigger picture of what it is they are trying to accomplish. As a result, employees lack the enthusiasm and the commitment that they need to become high performers.
If employers take the time to make their employees understand and appreciate the origin of the company mission statement and the history that defines it, employees will realize that there is more to the company than daily humdrum tasks. Employers should also define the role that every single employee has to play in order to contribute to the collective mission of the company. Reports have shown that businesses that take the initiative to educate their employees on the importance of their mission statements are more likely to have committed employees, and this increases their chances of success.
How having a mission helps increase employee productivity
People love having jobs where they get to help other people and to make the world a better place in their own small way. In other words, people prefer jobs that are meaningful. A good mission statement has the effect of injecting meaning into the roles that employees have to play, thus making their jobs more fulfilling. If the companys mission statement contains a promise to make the world better, employees will draw motivation from that promise, and theyll work harder to deliver on it.
By stressing the importance of your mission statement, you will be instilling in your employees the conviction that their roles are key to the success of the company, and that they are cogs on a very important wheel. If there is anything that can make your employees feel disconnected from the company mission, you should address it before it takes root and irreversibly disenchants your workers. Its easier to teach your company mission to fresh and impressionable workers than it is to teach it to workers who have been around for a while without ever having seen it being implemented, so you are better off if you start telling your workers about the mission from their very first day on the job.
Good missions shouldnt place all the emphasis on making money and generating profits. Instead, they should convey the companys aspirations towards higher ideals, and they should make employees feel that they are valued and that their contributions are important. You can show your employees that your company values making a difference in peoples lives by taking up a charitable cause, or by initiating programs that are meant to help the community, to save the environment, or to make the world a better place.
How to live up to your mission statement
Every business needs to incorporate its company mission into its everyday work culture. Its easy to let your employees forget about the mission and carry on with their daily duties, but that is the wrong approach because then your mission will be underutilized. Instead, you should encourage your employees to ask themselves every day “What contribution am I making towards the company mission today?” This will keep them on their toes and remind them that the goal they are trying to accomplish is bigger than whatever tasks they have to perform that day. Set goals that are in line with your company mission for each of your employees, and allow them to do their part in realizing the mission of your organization.
