Most executives “assume” that their employees know their organization’s mission, but the research shows otherwise. In a blog by Juliette Denny, founder of Growth Engineering, she sites research that shows only 4 in 10 people know what their company stands for and less than 50 percent feel connected to their organization’s mission.

What’s the downside? If employees don’t know where they and the company are going, they become aimless, disengaged, and less productive than those who know and buy into a company’s mission.

According to a 2016 Society for Human Resource Management report, 76 percent of working adults need to feel their job is meaningful to engage with their company. Many millennials will research a company’s mission and if it is in line with their “purpose,” they’ll pursue working there.

What does a good mission statement look like? It defines the “Why” of the organization. There’s a link between the work being done and the end result, or the “Why.” If this statement doesn’t inspire the workforce, either take a deep look at your statement or take a deep look at the employees you have working at your organization. After defining your mission, help your employees align with it by showing them how their work contributes to the mission. When possible, have salespeople share success stories from their customer base that shows how your product(s) or service(s) have contributed to the success of the customer. Want to really get buy-in? Invite a customer to come in and explain how your company has helped them.

Once your employees have buy-in and you are reinforcing that buy-in, keep it up! Your statement must be reinforced every day in “your” actions and in the company’s actions. If you and your organization are truly living the mission statement this will not be hard work. With buy-in and on-going reinforcement you’ll turn into an organization with a strong company culture centered around the mission statement.

Businesses that show employees how their work contributes to the mission can expect higher retention rates, improved productivity and customer satisfaction. The final plus to aligning the mission with the work being done is that you will have an easier time acquiring and keeping top talent. Great places to work have fewer hiring/talent issues.

You may want our help.

At Mobius’ Employee Experience – EX Consulting Employee Experience – Mobius Vendor Partners (mobiusvp.com)– we have the software to measure  whether your employees are aware of your organization’s mission. After measuring, we can help you ingrain the mission statement into your organization. Contact usto learn more!