Improving Your Mission
Many business owners struggle with complacent and apathetic employees who never seem to buy into their business’s mission statement.
In most cases, this dip in motivation is usually a result of poor communication from both the owner and their management team about the company’s mission and goals with their teams.
Worst yet, many employees fail to fully understand what’s expected of them, operating without clear goals and KPIs. This lack of communication resembles sailing a ship without a rudder into a storm (it’s not going to end well).
To take control, owners need to:
- Re-evaluate their mission, values, and company goals for clarity.
- Establish clear roles, goals, and KPIs for each member of their staff.
- Find creative ways to communicate these expectations with their teams and build trust.
Re-Evaluating Your Mission, Values, And Company Goals
If you’ve followed any of our past articles, you know that we at American Management Services are big fans of writing formal plans.
From the core fundamentals to individual department plans, having a documented “direction” you want the business to go in and establishing how you want to get there is imperative to success.
That being said, we are firm believers in following the K.I.S.S. principle with every plan we develop: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
As you start reevaluating your company mission and goals, imagine you are a complete stranger to your business, and you’ve randomly been given this document.
Does it make sense to you? Does it interest you enough to want to keep reading?
These are questions your employees will be asking themselves the moment you hand them this new plan.
If there is nothing that draws their attention or if it seems too elusive, they will only get about 5 pages into that 50-page document!
By keeping things simple, it allows your staff to digest information easier, and gives them the opportunity to understand how it affects them both as individuals, and as an organization.
Writing a Compelling Mission Statement
Throughout our nearly 40 years of consulting, most companies we’ve worked with do not have a mission statement.
For the ones that do, we often find their statements are wordy, unclear, and confusing to most who read it.
We aren’t suggesting that your mission statement has to be an earth-shattering masterpiece, but we do believe it should be one that inspires action.
A good mission statement should:
- Tell readers why the business exists in a clear, bold statement
- State the challenge, obstacle, or need that your company solves
- Reflect the long-term goals of the business
Once you have a working draft, we recommend sharing your new mission statement with trusted advisors before making it official. Gather their feedback, and adjust it accordingly.
Lastly, treat this mission statement as a living document. Don’t be afraid to make changes later down the road.
Establishing Company Values
Establishing core values provides your team with a set of guiding principles that define both your company’s culture and your company’s identity.
Refining your company values will help immensely with almost every aspect of the business, from recruiting to sales.
By being able to put everything that your company does and values into simple terms, it will transform the way your employees feel, and your clients view your business.
Company Goals & Objectives
Where business goals are usually general and long-term, objectives are more precise and short-term.
Instead of writing out every thought that comes to your head about the future, plan out the next 10 years going backward.
Pick 3 clear accomplishments you see for your company a decade from today’s date, and be sure that they are expressed clearly and can be understood by everyone.
Then, work your way backward to 5-year goals, 1-year goals, and 1-quarter goals. By doing so, the entire company will be able to focus on what needs to be done each day without losing sight of what’s next.
Establishing Roles, Goals, and KPIs For Employees
Establishing Clear Employee Roles
Nothing will ever be as expensive or costly as an employee that has no idea what is expected of them.
While it’s easy to assume your marketing department knows they are in charge of your business’s marketing, your employees need to know exactly what roles they play and how they contribute to the company as a whole.
Always be crystal clear about your staff’s individual duties, and prioritize what’s necessary, so they know how to do their jobs effectively.
Even though proper recruiting efforts and thorough onboarding techniques certainly help, it is crucial that management continues to communicate with employees regularly.
In doing so, you can keep your staff happy and see a bigger return on your investment in them!
Setting Goals and KPIs
When it comes to setting goals and expectations, you might find the S.M.A.R.T. acronym useful:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
Be transparent and specific when laying out your expectations for your staff. This is the time to spell out what you expect, from who, by what date and time, etc.
Every year, set a deadline and keep records of the company’s performance so that you can track the company’s (and your employee’s) progress.
It goes without saying that too much in a short amount of time can and will overwhelm your staff very quickly. Don’t be afraid to challenge them, but keep things realistic.
A team that works without timelines is a team that’s inefficient and unfocused.
When setting up KPIs for your employees, ensure they have the freedom necessary to do their jobs well, but don’t be afraid to be clear on what’s expected (and when).
Make it a priority that everyone in the company knows what is expected of them and that they understand why setting goals matters.
Creative Ways To Communicate Your Expectations
The best way to communicate your expectations is through exercises of memorization. The goal is to get your team to not only remember new changes but to “buy in” as well.
Organizing a communication campaign allows you to plan and implement these exercises in a simple but effective manner.
Whether you choose to give a company-wide speech, develop a new employee onboarding initiative, or create an incentive-based program that celebrates staff achievements that align with the company’s mission, you give your team opportunities to buy in and visualize what you see at the end of the tunnel.
If you aren’t sure how to reorganize your company’s mission, fill out the contact form below, and one of our professionals will take the time to see what your business needs.
