Mission Statement
Your Mission Statement describes what business you’re in and who your customer is. As such, it
captures the very essence of your enterprise - its relationship with its customer.
Developing your mission statement is the step which moves your strategic planning process from
the present to the future. That’s why, in the figure, the arrow depicting the mission statement
connects “today” with the “future.” Your mission statement must “work” not only today but for
the intended life of your strategic plan of which your mission statement is a part. If you’re
developing a five year strategic plan, for example, you develop a mission statement which you
believe will “work” for the next five years.
Focus is a primary benefit of your mission statement. It should be broad enough to allow for the
diversity (new products, new services, new markets) you require of your business. And it will
also be specific enough to provide the focus necessary to the success of your business.
Here’s an example of a mission statement:
“Clayton Instruments Company designs and manufactures highly reliable monitoring equipment
for use in harsh or unusual environments within the process industries.”
Note that this mission statement has both an internal and an external dimension. Internally, it
describes the products which the company offers: “highly reliable monitoring equipment.” And it
also lists the functions the company performs: “design and manufacturing.” The mission
statement also includes the necessary external dimension. It identifies the customer: “the process
industries.” And it cites the company’s “market position” - the reason why customers would
prefer to buy products and services from the company. Specifically, the company’s products are
“for use in harsh or unusual environments.”
Vision Statement
Note the arrow (in the figure) which depicts the vision statement. This arrow begins not at
“today” but at some point in the future. That’s because a vision is not true in the present, but only
in the future.
Your strategy team will need to develop a compelling vision of the future. A vision which your
employees will enthusiastically embrace - because the vision is worthy, and because it challenges
them to grow. Let’s consider an example: that of a drive-up window at a fast food restaurant. The
vision might be one of “Saving time for busy people.” See? A big vision! Providing direction for
employees. Some years ago, a client of ours remarked, “Our employees are eager to feel a sense
of passion; it’s up to us to tell them what to feel passionate about.” That’s what the vision is all
about.
In order for you to get your employees passionate about your vision, it has to be compelling. It
has to matter… not just to your management team, but also to your employees. “To triple sales
revenue next year,” doesn’t do it. For, who cares? Only a few. To make a difference to
customers, to the community, to the world. To improve the lives of human beings. That matters.
Your vision should project a compelling story about the future. When Steve Jobs said, “An
Apple on every desk,” well there wasn’t then an Apple on every desk. In fact, there won’t ever
be an Apple on every desk. That’s OK. The vision can be figurative, rather than literal.
It’s also important for management not just to speak the vision, but also to live the vision. Apple
Computer did this. Did you know that the signatures of the entire design team of the original
128K Macintosh were molded into the computer case? Now that’s making employees part of
your living the vision.
Your team needs to decide how it will communicate its vision to your employees. How to
continue to nurture and support that vision every day, in every way. How to empower employees
to fulfill that vision.
What are the effective steps the leader takes to motivate and retain to avoid attrition rate?
The toughest job of the employer is retaining the employee. With the attrition rate high,
employees are job hopping for greener pastures. Most times money is not the criteria, but human
beings require positive strokes for functioning. It is very important to touch the areas of
personality while selecting an employee. A person with a high educational qualification and
seniority in experience expects a lot from the organization. Most employee wish lists fall in the
intangible benefits.
Human resource management has to have an absenteeism plan. Job allocation is very important
and it is always better to train the employee with two different sets of expertise. In times of
absenteeism, the employee can offer to extend his services to proxy the absent person. This again
is a critical issue as adequate staffing is necessary so the pressure does not develop on an
experienced person.
The key to employee motivation lies in recognizing and training a leader. Empowering the
individual is important. Rewards and compensatory services for such worth is required to be
looked at. Annual increments are based on performance appraisal. Many times it is a rude shock
to the employee when the performance appraisal points are not projected as per his expectation.
Bridging the gap between employer and employee is vital. The management at regular intervals
conduct group discussions and also gently corrects the employee, to avoid uncomfortable issues
at the end of the year appraisal.
Seniority has to be regarded and the job profile must include areas that are of capability to the
person. At the same time rewarding an employee for his exponential talent or hard work is
necessary. Setting up an ideal team and lateral thinking is the main motive of a manager. Failing
to not hear an employee grievance or uncomfortable working conditions have a slow but
negative impact on the employee morale.
The management on the whole benefits from motivating an employee. Many offices have a gym
or an in-house game area to lower the stress of the employee. Bonding in office automatically
erases the grapevine gossip and the group on the whole contributes to the profit of the company.
Profit again is a ratio which is highly affected by the human resource. Offering educational
programmes and upgrading the knowledge level of the employee is enriching which is conducive
to the better health of the organization.
If you can understand the significance of motivation and if you learn how to motivate employees,
the status, name and credibility of your company will definitely improve. Therefore, it is very
essential to understand and use measurable steps for motivating your employees.
The first and most effective way of motivating your employees is to take interest in them. Take
out some time to know their family background, financial status, job experiences and other
essential aspects of their past. If possible, try to know their likes and dislikes. All this will help to
satisfy the inner spirit of your employees and make them more productive.
Giving your employees lucrative opportunities and rewarding them for their accomplishments
will also help you motivate them. Lucrative opportunities will make them feel more responsible
and they will try to put in assiduous efforts to shoulder the responsibilities well. Rewarding your
employees or acknowledging them for their special efforts will also inspire them to do something
outstanding. Even other employees will work harder and harder to accomplish the same
recognition. Awards in the form of performance certificates, trophies and medals will add a spark
to your act of motivating your employees.