Based on my experience consulting to organisations on employee engagement, I sometimes find that executive management believe that the organisation’s vision and strategy is more important to the employees than it actually is. The reality is that employees often do not care as much about the vision and strategy as we would like.
Every company needs a solid vision (where they are going) and strategy (how they are going to get there). Whilst these are extremely important for executive and senior management to make the right medium to long-term decisions, they are often too far removed from the employees every-day reality.
The company’s purpose, on the other hand, is a different story all together. Great companies are purpose-driven and have a clear sense of “why” they exist – beyond making a profit. This sense of purpose needs to resonate throughout the organisation.
Not only should there be a clear corporate sense of purpose, but each business unit and department should have their own sense of purpose that aligns to the corporate purpose. Your employees will be more keen to get out of bed every morning and give your customers a great service experience when they have a strong sense of why they exist in the organisation and how their activities add value to the company’s purpose.