In our last blog we looked at what a company vision statement and why it’s so important for every business to have one. This week we look at how your vision statement can inform your company mission and values.
What is a mission statement and how does it differ from your vision?
Where your company vision sets out what you aim to achieve long-term, your company mission describes how you intend to achieve this. It serves to define your company’s overall purpose; it’s an explanation of why the company exists.
Your company mission explains what it is your company does and establishes some standards for how you do it. For example, our client The Barista’s mission statement reads:
‘To provide the highest quality Mobile Barista Service to the exhibition and events industry across the UK and Europe whilst also promoting a friendly, fair and positive culture which values hard-work, diversity and progression.’
You can see from The Barista’s mission statement that their core purpose is serving mobile coffee at events, and they maintain high levels of quality and fairness while they do this. So, this is their ‘mission’ or overall purpose for existing.
What are your company values and what is their role?
Your company values are the values that your company needs to abide by in order to achieve your mission day-to-day. They are the core guiding principles that underpin your company’s culture, including what drives individuals’ priorities and how they behave on a daily basis.
For instance, two of The Barista’s company values are as follows:
- Consistency: Ensuring we follow all of our own steps will mean that the service we provide is consistent time and time again.
- Desire to Improve: Any new tools, processes or steps that are required need to be identified and discussed in order to improve what we deliver and the efficiency in which we deliver it.
These are practical statements that set the bar for all employees, establishing the behaviours and practices that the business needs to consistently meet in order to realise its mission and, ultimately, its vision.
What’s the importance of writing them down?
As with your vision statement, internally publishing your company mission and values commits you to delivering them. They are a constant reminder to your whole business of what it is here to do, and how it should be doing it.
By effectively communicating your vision, mission and values, everyone understands the common purpose, and each individual shares an equal responsibility for delivering their role to the specified standards.
If executed effectively, this process helps your employees remain engaged, focused and happy. And this, in turn, is how your business remains productive and profitable.
Want to produce your own company vision, mission and values, but not sure where to start? It can feel daunting but it often helps to work with a third party. They will be able to take an objective look at your business and guide you through the process.
For more information on creating a strategic plan that includes written vision, mission and values, contact us on 0113 394 4559 or enquiries@nextlevelbd.co.uk.