Mission Statements and Core Values: Why they are important

Creating a mission statement and a set of core values for your company is often dismissed as a routine PR task, something to cut and paste from when issuing a press release with little practical significance. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Without cohesion in your business and a framework to place an employee’s contribution within, your business and employees will lack focus.

An organisation comprises people, and people respond to tangible values and a sense of purpose. You may not think your business has any unique values. Still, the chances are that if you’re trying to differentiate yourself from your competitors, that difference probably hinges on a value judgement made somewhere along the way.

Take the time to discern what your company’s values are or should be and craft a mission statement accordingly. The implications for your organisation could be profound. If you need more persuasion, here are the most important reasons your business needs a mission statement and a set of core values.

When employees within a company don’t possess a set of commonly held beliefs, they have nothing to guide them except their job description. A job description can’t adequately encompass the broader implications of a person’s role within an organisation. It’s essential that everyone working for a business feels part of the bigger picture. Value statements become deeply ingrained in employee behaviour and act as a measuring stick for what is acceptable versus what is exceptional. Although we are all human, people often think they are motivated by money and success, but this isn’t the case. Money and success are ways we exhibit our need for self-respect and a sense of purpose. If your company provides employees with a sense of purpose that they can invest in, they will have greater job satisfaction and be more productive.

Setting out your vision and core values helps attract potential employees who share the company’s aims and objectives. Nowadays, many workers choose a career consistent with their own ethical beliefs. While your business may not pay as competitive a rate as your competitors, you may be able to distinguish your business because the brand has more integrity and holds itself accountable to a set of core values despite market challenges.

There is also the likelihood that your business will be able to attract a higher calibre of employees because they hold the same values.

Clearly defining an organisation’s values can eliminate many decision-making challenges in businesses. Mission statements and core values empower your staff to make decisions because they have a set of principles to inform their choices, rather than having to keep referring to someone higher up the chain before an outcome can be arrived at. For example, if a company’s core value is always to uphold the quality of its product, anything that jeopardises quality can be easily identified, and effective action can be taken.

In a competitive marketplace, it may not be immediately apparent to your potential customers what makes your business different from your competitors. Core values allow you to describe what makes your business unique. The potential customers shouldn’t struggle to decide why they should choose your business over another. A mission statement lets you explain in plain language what makes your business unique.

Core values allow businesses to take responsibility for their actions, products/services, policies, and decisions. Creating a set of core values empowers an organisation and its individuals to perform to the best of their ability. If you don’t create and communicate standards of behaviour and conduct, you and your people can’t strive to exceed them.

Your core values are the DNA of your business; without them, your business is lifeless. If you haven’t done so, take the time to create a set of authentic values, it will pay off in the long run.

If you want to develop your mission and values with your team, contact us to discuss how we can support you.