Develop and implement a corporate mission statement

Many companies today are under great pressure from competition and change. They can only cope with this with employees who show a high level of commitment, initiative and responsibility at work. This presupposes that employees identify with the company and their tasks - among other things, because they

- themselves experience the desired appreciation,

- know what the goals of the company are, and

- consider their actions to be meaningful.

This is not the case in many companies. This leads to dissatisfaction among the employees and their superiors, but also among the management, because the organization does not show the desired performance. The working atmosphere is correspondingly: the employees grumble at "those up there" and "those up there" grumble at "those down there". And between these two fronts, the operational managers are worn down. Because they have to keep the business running on a day-to-day basis. A central cause for this is: Many companies lack a common corporate vision that is supported across hierarchies and departments, and a mission statement derived from this for day-to-day actions. Therefore, employees can neither understand why management makes certain decisions, nor do they know which goals and maxims should guide their actions. Therefore, they have to be led largely by instructions, which causes frustration among the employees and their superiors - but also among the management, because the organization does not develop the desired or necessary dynamics.

Where do we want to go from here?
The development of the corporate vision is the task of the company management. Based on its knowledge of the market, the corporate environment, the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and the opportunities and risks that arise from this, it must decide where the company should develop. Although employees can be integrated into this opinion-forming and decision-making process, it is ultimately the management that must decide, for example:

- "We want to become the market leader for [....] in German-speaking countries (or in region XY)." Or:

- "We want to be the most innovative company in our industry." Or:

- "We want to evolve from a parts supplier to a problem-solving partner for our customers."

The company management must communicate this vision to the employees. This is because the overriding goals that need to be achieved in everyday work are derived from it.

What "values" determine our behavior?
The corporate mission statement is a different matter. It describes the maxims of action by which the members of the organization are guided in their work; in addition, the values that should characterize the interaction with colleagues, employees and stakeholders such as customers and suppliers, but also investors. The employees should be integrated into the process of formulating the corporate mission statement, because they have to live the common values in their everyday work.

A corporate mission statement derived from the corporate vision offers employees orientation and security, because it defines the framework within which their actions should take place. Consequently, it is also a central basis for employees to show more initiative and commitment. This, in turn, leads to a situation in which managers have less need to guide their employees by instructions, since they know the goals to be achieved and the maxims that should guide their actions. Thus, the existence of a corporate vision and a corporate mission statement is also the basis for a cooperation in the organization characterized by trust, mutual appreciation and open communication, which in turn leads to higher performance and willingness.

Shaping the development process
The first step in developing a corporate mission statement, once the corporate vision has been established, is usually an analysis of the values as well as the patterns of thought and action that currently characterize the organization. From this, it can be deduced to what extent these should change so that the overriding goals such as "satisfied employees", "... customers" and "... investors" can be achieved. A target-performance comparison can then be used to determine where action is needed in relation to the overall organization as well as the divisions and teams, so that an action plan can be drawn up for the development of the company in the direction of the corporate vision.

When developing the mission statement, companies usually follow one of the following two paths:

Path 1: Development of a mission statement with (almost) all employees.
At the start of the mission statement development process, an event is held with (almost) all employees. As a rule, after the management has presented the project, the suggestions and ideas of the employees are collected. These are then worked on in small groups and the results of the group work are then presented in the plenary session.

The advantage of this approach is that the process of developing a mission statement starts with a high level of employee participation; the resulting energy for change is correspondingly high with professional planning and implementation.

After the event, there is usually a large pool of possible elements of the mission statement. From this, a project group can develop a first draft of the corporate mission statement, which is then discussed with the employees in a second event.

Path 2: Development of a mission statement with representative participation.

Larger companies in particular (with several locations) often choose the following procedure: Neutral moderators work out the possible elements of the mission statement with project managers - after they have dealt with the following questions, for example:

- How is the market for our company changing? -- What opportunities and risks does this present?

- What challenges does the company have to overcome?

- What resources can the company rely on? What strengths/weaknesses does it have?

The answers are collected centrally and flow into the development of the concrete mission statement by the project group. They also serve as a basis for defining areas of learning, development and action within the company.

The effort is worth it
The formulation and introduction of a corporate mission statement is a time-consuming process that ties up some resources - not only because of the large number of people involved, but also because it often raises questions and dilemmas which

- previously no one had on the agenda or

- for which, for example, the company management or project group was not aware of the high significance they have for the employees.

Precisely because this process creates clarity with regard to many questions that (latently) concern numerous participants, it is worth the energy invested. After all, it ultimately results in higher motivation and identification as well as in the entire organization "moving closer together", which also increases its effectiveness.