Aligning employees on their company’s overarching strategy, goals and vision for the future is often overlooked. Even when onboarding, many workers are taught their individual tasks without taking into account how this fits into the whole company. Employee orientation without sharing the company’s mission and objectives is a missed opportunity. Inclusive onboarding gives everyone a sense of purpose in their work and ensures each employee understands their role.
According to Achievers, an employee success platform, only 40 percent of employees know their company’s mission statement, and 57 percent of these employees are not motivated by their company’s mission. Making a memorable and authentic mission statement shows that the company has skilled leadership who understand the importance of sharing their strategy.
Patagonia, seller of outdoor clothing and gear, has a simple but memorable mission statement that succinctly sums up its purpose.
“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
Patagonia’s mission explains its overarching, internal goals for the company and employees. The statement also showcases Patagonia’s values for supporting the environment and the people around them. All of this is in one sentence, with clear language, that both employees and consumers can remember and appreciate.
Beyond making a mission statement that everyone can get behind, regularly visiting the strategy, vision and goals is a major component of a successful company. Leadership should take time to reevaluate the company strategy often, as it will likely change over time. Similarly, keeping the same vision and goals probably means that your company is not keeping up with industry trends and advances that affect your company.
If a company is not able to keep up with industry innovation and changes in the workplace, how can it expect employees to be able to effectively do their job in a way that benefits and improves the company? According to Harvard Business, many executives admit they are not competent at building alignment. Forty-nine percent of executives said, “… they should have spent more time communicating a change.” The first place leadership should make changes is to the company’s strategy and goals, and then immediately share these alterations with the entire team to ensure no misunderstandings or miscommunication.
By aligning employees on your company strategy and goals, you are ensuring they have a sense of purpose at work. Making this a recurring priority means everyone on your team knows how his or her role contributes to the whole.
