Employer brand

How to Create a Powerful Mission and Vision Statement For Your Company

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In this tight labor market, where selective employees are the “buyers” about where they work and why, they want to know that the companies they are considering have something worth their time. And the right selling points increasingly include a compelling purpose. 

To make sure that purpose is crystal clear, organizations need a dynamic mission or vision statement. A mission can be described as a statement that summarizes an organization’s purpose or objectives. Meanwhile, a vision states what a company aspires to be. 

“The buying patterns of a candidate are shifting away from just compensation,” says Rob Allen, VP of talent and engagement at GitLab, “and moving into what is the mission and vision of the company as it pertains to the values of that individual and why do they want to join.” 

Some companies use “mission,” “vision,” or “purpose” interchangeably. But whatever an organization chooses, their words communicate values to candidates and employees. In fact, one recent McKinsey survey found that almost two-thirds of employees said that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life. And 70% of employees said that their sense of purpose is defined by their work. 

To engage and retain employees, organizations should provide a beacon that can guide them. Read on for a collection of best practices when it comes to establishing either a mission or vision statement.  

1. Be bold

A mission or vision statement should inspire everyone who reads it, whether it’s customers, candidates, or employees. Ideally, the statement should demonstrate a wider impact than just hitting sales targets. 

Are your workers inspired by knowing their work is helping to make a difference? Employees are five times more likely to be excited to work at a company that spends time reflecting on the impact it makes in the world, according to McKinsey

For a company to make an impact and inspire its workforce, it may need a bold mission that’s bigger than what it makes or sells. Research conducted by EY found that among the most common characteristics of organizations that had a clear purpose were creating value for the customer and positively impacting the wider community. And organizations with a clearly articulated and understood purpose reported better employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and revenue.

When people spend so much of their lives at work, it should be a place where people actually want to spend their time, says Jen Fisher, chief well-being officer at Deloitte

Jen says the workforce needs purpose and meaning so it can move beyond the idea that it’s just there “to make money” for the organization. Instead, she says, people want to feel “the work that I do is valued and there's a broader impact societally around the work that I do.”

Patagonia’s mission, “We’re in business to save our home planet,” cuts directly to its core of activism and preservation. 

Meanwhile, Unilever is shaping its culture as a “purpose-led” organization by reinventing everything from work flexibility to sustainable operations and products. Its mission is to “make sustainable living commonplace,” says Patrick “Paddy” Hull, VP of global learning and future of work at Unilever. And he says that mission is built on the belief that brands with purpose grow, companies with purpose last, and people with purpose thrive.

“When we help people discover their purpose,” Paddy says, “or find ways in which they can live their purpose at work, then you’ve answered the big million-dollar question: ‘Why do I turn up for work?’”

2. Be brief

After interviewing an organization’s leaders and surveying employees and customers, a long list of bullet points may emerge that seem relevant to the company’s mission or vision. But leaders need to narrow down the list, Fond Technologies advises

The employee rewards software company says most mission statements are between one and three sentences and under 100 words. Also, a mission statement shouldn’t read like a fact sheet or contain industry jargon. It should be conversational and memorable. 

Take Ikea’s nine-word vision statement: “Create a better everyday life for the many people.” Or Alibaba Group’s impactful seven words: “Make it easy to do business anywhere.” Some statements are notable with only two words: Nokia has landed on “Connecting people” and TED on “Spread ideas.”  

Mary Alice Vuicic, chief people officer at Thomson Reuters, says it’s key that an organization’s leaders and people understand the company’s purpose “and have a simple way of articulating it.” 

“Our purpose is ‘Inform the way forward,’” Mary Alice says, “and that links to the professionals whom we serve across all of our businesses, whether that’s lawyers, tax and accounting professionals, corporate leaders, or government leaders. We’re helping to provide answers and insight on the challenges or questions that they face.”

3. Be aligned

A mission or vision statement won’t be useful if it’s not meaningful to employees or they can’t connect their job to it. When employees do feel that their purpose is aligned with the organization’s purpose, the benefits include stronger employee engagement, more loyalty and a greater willingness to recommend the company to others, according to another McKinsey study

For example, financial services firm Robinhood has a mission to “democratize finance for all.” And that purpose is critical to its recruitment process, says brand strategist Desiree Caballero

“Beyond just sort of the skill requisites and responsibilities,” Desiree says, “what we really do look for are people that resonate with that [mission].”

Managers should regularly communicate and teams should explicitly discuss how projects and even day-to-day work connects to the company mission or vision.  

When it comes to what people are looking for in a workplace, Judy Jackson, WPP’s global head of culture and engagement, says her daughter’s generation is looking for more than what she sought back in the day.  

“They’re looking for purpose,” Judy says. “They’re looking for meaning. I was looking for a job. So the questions they ask are very different.”

Final thoughts: Support an employee’s purpose in a disconnected world

Data shows that many employees are interested in a mission- or purpose-driven organization. And that will remain true even if an organization updates its mission or vision statement — a possibility in this disruptive era where organizations are frequently evolving. 

With the move to hybrid or remote work, many people long for the social connections that provided meaning in their pre-remote work life. Without those relationships there’s often not much holding them back from jumping ship, as the Great Reshuffle reminds us. 

People want to be with mission-driven companies, says Danielle McMahan, chief people and business operations officer at Wiley, whose mission is to unlock human potential for clients and colleagues. Danielle says along with its brand and flexible policies, Wiley’s “powerful mission” is one of the chief reasons people join the organization. 

“People are very drawn to that,” she says. 

Companies that help employees understand the purpose of their work and their organization will have more loyal and engaged employees. What’s more, when people feel that their work matters, they feel that they themselves matter. 

Disclaimer: WPP is the parent company of SJR, the agency for which writer Susanna Kim works.

*Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

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