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 employees know what their company stands for and those that do know the mission less than 50% feel connected to it.
What’s the downside? If employees don’t know where they and the company is going, they become aimless, disengaged, and less productive than those that know and buy into a company’s mission.
According to a recent 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 line with their “Purpose” they’ll pursue working there.
What does a good mission statant 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 in your organization. After defining your mission help your employees align with it by showing them how their work contribute 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 by your “actions” and the actions of everyone in the company. 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 contributed to the mission can expect higher retention rates, improved productivity, and increased customer satisfaction ratings. 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 never have a hiring/talent issue.
How do you know when your employees know and are contributing to the company’s mission statement? Through both observation and by asking them. Do not assume you know what they are thinking or feeling.
You probably noticed that I point out that you need to ask your employees for their input. Maybe a survey would help? You might be making some assumptions that are just not correct! Get your employees involved! Become known as a company that lives and breathes your mission statement. Employees that do not know or are not performing according to the mission statement need to be informed and possibly trained.
You may want our help.
At Mobius’ Employee Experience – EX Consulting Employee Experience – Mobius Vendor Partners (mobiusvp.com) – we have the software to survey your employees so you can make the best decisions for your company and respond to your employees’ needs. Contact us to get started.
Mike’s book: Measuring to Manage is available on Amazon.
