By Lisa Yackel, CVPM, PHR, SHRP-CP
Recently, Carol Hurst wrote a blog, “Mission Possible: Mission Statements and Core Values”. Her blog resonated with me as her advice mirrored the thought process that went on at my own hospital several years ago. She stated that the Mission and Core Values should be the guiding principles for how the clinic operates and interacts with clients. She went on to state that they should surface in everything from the job descriptions, policies and procedures and performance management.
Implementing a Mission Statement
I was the administrator of a 4th generation family owned practice. In their own way, each of the generations had been very visionary and progressive. They had a Mission Statement before they were the standard. Several years ago, we began to realize that the Mission Statement was not a living document and had become outdated and not part of the current culture of the hospital. Here again, I identified with Carol’s statement that “too often practices generate mission statements that are too generic and don’t accurately represent intent. They can be fluffy, novel statements about helping pets and serving clients that could apply to any clinic.”
We went on to carve out a new Mission Statement and Core Values. The hard work came, however, when we identified culture changes that needed to be made to ensure that we were actually holding ourselves accountable to the mission and our core values (of course, accountability was one of our core values!).
Decision-Making
One exercise that I remember as an aha moment was when we were trying to make the decision of whether to open on Sunday for appointments. Our Mission Statement read:
“We are committed to enhancing lives of families, caring for one pet at a time.”
We had dissected “families” to have a four- pronged meaning:
- The families of our patients
- The families of our team
- The hospital family we had all become
- The owner family who had made the hospital their legacy for over 100 years and whose reputation in town reflected generations of caring for pets.
When trying to weigh the pros and cons of opening on Sunday, we initially directed the conversation as to what was good for the business financially. When we decided to bring the Mission Statement into the equation, the whole dynamics of the conversation shifted. In regard to the patient families, we considered Sunday appointments a plus, that was not the case when we considered the families of our team and all of us as a hospital family. Our reputation as described in number 4 was also considered. Our hospital was in the Bible Belt and Sunday was a day for church and family.
By using our Mission Statement, we were able to navigate through emotions and remember “Why” we were there. The end result of opening up for just three hours on Sunday afternoon was how we stayed true to our Mission Statement. Our team could attend church with their families and the shorter hours allowed rotation so that no team member had to work more than once a month. As a result, our reputation in town remained positive as we did not succumb to choosing financial gain over attending church and, our patient’s families were happy that we were available to help them if their pet needed us on the weekend.
Embrace Your Mission Statement
Every time leaders make decisions, they signal what is important to the organization. They make clear what the core values are. Culture isn’t determined by what we say, but by what we do. The behaviors and actions that are allowed, encouraged, and rewarded determine, and reflect, the culture. The above scenario could have had serious consequences to the moral of the team. The ripples could have been felt every day, on every shift. Although the whole team was not included in the strategic planning of our new operating hours, they were not kept in the dark. Once the decision was made, we brought the team together to show them how we had embraced our Mission Statement, our Why. The outcome was received as a positive and any concerns were openly heard. In this instance, the mission statement was a moral compass that helped us make the right decision and feel connected to a greater purpose than to increase our revenue.
I was proud at that moment when I realized that we had a Mission Statement that was credible, specific, and something we could execute on. It telegraphed what our hospital stood for and cared about and served as a rallying point that the team could stand behind.
Ultimately, your mission statement can – and should — be the prism through which you view your strategic business plan, your marketing, and your everyday initiatives. Ask yourself, ‘Does this relate to the mission of the company?’ ‘Is it in accord with our values?’ If the answer is no, then why are you doing it?