Mission Critical: Team Alignment

Your company has the perfect mission statement. It clearly conveys why your company exists, and the benefits your business offers to your clients.

So, do your employees even know what your mission statement is?

Everyone on your payroll has to embrace the company’s mission statement in order for it to work. Recent Gallup research concluded that employees who fully comprehend their company’s mission are more productive, are more engaged with customers, and stay at the company longer. *

Internal communication is integral to make sure everyone on your team is in alignment with the company’s mission, vision, and goals.  If you want your employees to be more committed to the mission, start with these suggestions:

Craft a concise, simple statement. It’s easy to get caught up in lofty goals and buzzword-heavy verbiage. Make your mission statement easy for everyone working there to understand.

Get your employees on board from Day One. Every new hire should be introduced to your mission statement on the first day of their employment.

Emphasize the greater good. Employees will become more invested in their work when they understand the bigger purpose of who they are helping, and why. Your company may not be involved in curing cancer, but you are providing needed goods and/or services to someone!

Get management on board. Employees should be learning about the mission statement from many different sources; not just the human resources staff. It means even more to hear it—and see examples of it in practice—from management; from the CEO down to their immediate supervisor.

Strive for frequency. You can’t expect your staff to stick with a message they only hear once a year at a company retreat. Keep the mission top of mind by reiterating it – in employee newsletters, signage at the workplace, and at performance reviews.

Reward mission adoption. Incentivize staffers by rewarding them for reaching pre-set goals, or in random instances when their actions have clearly demonstrated or represented the company’s mission statement.

*Source:  http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/167633/why-company-mission-driven.aspx