Successful companies start with a strong office culture. However, some companies prioritize the wrong aspects of a thriving business environment or forget about it altogether.
Thousands of business professionals have scrutinized what is reflected in company culture, but the root of the problem is often lost. Many companies try to introduce flashy incentives into the workplace, like office ping pong tables or Google bike meetings, to create a positive environment. While these services may seem good on the surface, they have not been proven to retain and engage employees.
A successful company culture starts with a defined and specific mission. If employees don't understand where they fit into the process and what the company is working on, your organization will be in trouble.
“Creating the right atmosphere in your work environment is fundamental,” says Jasmine Terrany, a psychotherapist and life coach who supports professionals. “Employees these days aren't motivated as much by paychecks alone. If you want employees to fight with you and for you, they need to feel connected to a deeper purpose and mission. .”
We'll explore the idea of a company's mission and why it's important. Next, learn how to create and define your organization's mission.
To keep employees happy without raises, prioritize work-life balance, make employees part of the company's bigger picture, and encourage communication.
What is the company's mission?
A company's mission is its reason for existence. Although all commercial enterprises aim to make a profit, the mission specifies the founder's most important priorities beyond financial gain.
A mission typically addresses what a company does, how and why it does it. It may also include a statement of values and ethics. A mission ideally identifies a common overarching goal that all employees can achieve and use as a guideline for motivation and behavior.
A company's founder typically creates a mission, but a company may change its mission as time passes and the company evolves. A company's mission is summarized in a mission statement, which can range from one sentence to a short paragraph.
Large companies can spend years and millions of dollars developing a concise and compelling mission statement. Fortunately, for small and medium-sized businesses, this process isn't too difficult. Business owners, and perhaps a close group of executives and stakeholders, can create a small business mission statement within a few weeks.
A company's mission requires it to do three things:
- Please state what the company does.
- List its top values.
- Presents the main goals that will be achieved when the company successfully achieves its mission.
Corporate mission example
To get an idea of what your own mission might be, it can be helpful to consider mission examples from well-known companies. Many of these missions focus on corporate social responsibility.
- Tesla: Accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.
- Nike: To bring inspiration and innovation to all athletes* around the world. (*If you have a body, you are an athlete.)
- Walmart: We save money so people can live a better life.
- Jet Blue: To inspire humanity both in the air and on the ground.
- LinkedIn: To connect professionals around the world to make them more productive and successful.
- PayPal: Building the most convenient, secure, and cost-effective payment solutions on the web.
- Amazon: We strive to be the most customer-centric company on the planet, helping our customers find and find whatever they want to buy online, and offering it to them at the lowest possible prices.
- Patagonia: We build the best products, do no unnecessary harm, and use business to lead and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
Greenwashing is when a brand spends more time, money, and effort promoting itself as environmentally friendly than living up to its sustainability claims. Patagonia is one of the companies that is transparent about its current level of sustainability and its efforts to improve.
Why is the mission important?
Employee engagement and retention are essential to the success of small businesses. Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new employees is expensive, and changing work environments have made it common for professionals to change jobs regularly.
Hiring employees should be an investment. Small businesses need to build sustainable organizations that can withstand the pressures of recruitment.
However, many workers still do not feel engaged at work. A 2021 Gallup poll found that only 36% of U.S. workers feel fulfilled at work. This lack of engagement is a nightmare for small business owners. When employees are not engaged, productivity suffers and companies can end up spending more time looking for the right talent rather than focusing on their existing workforce.
Creating a company mission also allows organizations to define their philosophy, which leads to growth.
“Having a clearly defined mission not only helps you get employee buy-in, but it also helps clarify what the company will and won't do,” Terrany says. “It's easy to get caught up in information overload and get distracted from our plans. Having a well-thought-out mission helps me and my employees stay focused.”
Additionally, a strong mission statement can help move a company forward even after the founder dies or retires.
Your mission statement should be strong and compelling, motivating your employees beyond money.
How to find your company's mission
Creating a corporate mission begins with defining specific values. Most importantly, approach with honesty and integrity.
Phillip Cohen, president and founder of Cohen Architectural Woodworking, built a commercial woodworking business from the ground up. He began woodworking in 1975 as a recovering addict, and as the business grew, so did the organization's mission. Cohen received the 2017 SBA Missouri Small Business of the Year Award.
“The mission we have set is to change the lives of all we touch by the way we live, the way we treat others, and the beautiful work we create,” he said.
Cohen said developing the right kind of mission requires business owners to be honest with themselves and look beyond profits to tangible values. These values or worldviews attract the right kind of employees and provide the organization with a framework for success.
“If you're a senior leader, everything that goes on in your mind is going to happen in the business, whether you like it or not,” Cohen said.
Tips for clarifying your company's mission
- Focus on the big picture. Leave room for inspiration by discussing big-picture concepts rather than business details.
- Show your personality. Each company has its own unique personality (trustworthy, playful, ambitious, etc.), and your mission needs to emanate from a living organization.
- Keep it simple. Avoid meaningless buzzwords and jargon.
Display your mission in your office, include it in recruiting and onboarding materials, write it in your company handbook, and discuss it in company meetings. An example of a visible mission is the “Believe” sign in the Apple show locker room. ted lasso.
Putting the company's mission into practice
To act as a true leader, you need to be an example of your company's mission. This will take your mission from words taped to a break room wall to a living goal.
“Leaders go first,” Cohen said. “If you want a culture where people are honest and admit their mistakes, you need to be a part of it first.”
Mr. Cohen described a situation in which he had to fire several toxic employees from a woodworking company. They may have had excellent results, but they did not align with Cohen's mission and goals as a manager. He said the decision to confront some employees was difficult, but he has proven his integrity to other employees and potential employees.
Being a role model for your employees helps align your ideas about company culture with everyday reality. Otherwise, the mission becomes just an abstract concept that doesn't reflect what the company actually is.
Remember that the mission does not end with management alone, but is shared by all employees. In addition to discussing your mission and posting it on your wall, your company's mission should also be clearly stated in your company policies. For example, if treating customers with respect is part of your mission, your company may want to reward you when customers give your service representatives great feedback or mention them in positive reviews online. Service personnel should be rewarded and recognized.
If honesty and integrity are part of your mission, you shouldn't compensate your salespeople if they obtain a sale through fraudulent or sneaky means.
The importance of being honest and sincere
Defining your company's mission gives your organization direction and helps engage and retain your employees. As you approach your mission, be honest and sincere about your ideals as a business owner and think critically about the impact you want your business to have on the world.
Once you have decided on the idea and mission of your business, you must follow that philosophy first. It's also important to surround yourself with employees who buy into your mission and live it every day.
“If you're a senior leader, you trust the mission that's burning in your heart,” Cohen said. “And you surround yourself with mentors who call you out, tell you the truth, and tell you when you’re off course, so you [get] Be responsible for people. ”
Matt D'Angelo contributed to the writing and reporting of this article. Interviews with sources were conducted for a previous version of this article.
