Sarah was working at home in the evening. A friend of her husband came by to visit. As he visited with her husband he looked over at Sarah who was intently focused on her work. The friend wondered what Sarah was doing that drew her complete attention and asked, “For heaven’s sake, what are you doing working so hard this late in the evening?” Sarah looked up, a bit annoyed, and said, “I’m trying to cure cancer!” Sarah is not a cell and molecular biologist, she is an HR executive--but she saw a clear connection between the work that she was doing and the strategy and vision of the company.
Are your employees like Sarah? Are they helping to cure cancer or are they doing meaningless busywork because they see no connection to their work and the vision of the company? Our research shows there is a substantial positive impact to an organization when employees can see how their work contributes to the company’s vision.
We studied the impact of having a meaningful vision on the engagement of employees. The graph below provides some interesting insights. Employees who don’t find their company’s vision meaningful at all have average engagement scores of only 16 percent. These are employees who do not care about the future success of the organization. They work primarily for a paycheck and are willing to do very little beyond what is absolutely required to keep their jobs. Those who find their organizations’ vision meaningful have engagement levels that are 18 percentile points above average.
We looked at data from over 50,000 employees to understand the key factors that made a vision more meaningful. In our research we found eight elements that are significant as follows:
1. The Vision is Inspiring and Motivating
Read any vision statement and ask yourself, “Is that inspiring to the employees?” It is not hard to tell. I believe the best vision statements will be inspiring to both investors and internal stakeholders. Effective vision statements tell a story of the benefit the organization creates, the impact the products and services have on others, and the kind of organization that is required to create that value.
2. Employees Engagement and Satisfaction is High
We found in our research that engaged employees are more likely to agree on the vision. We are not sure which comes first—the engagement or the agreement--but both sides create movement, we have found. Clearly, creating a vision that employees accept and value creates engagement, and engaged employees are more likely to resonate with the vision rather than fight against it.
3. The Vision is Communicated through Multiple Channels
In many organizations, the vision is not communicated often enough or through sufficient channels to stay present and familiar to employees. There appears to be a prevalent debate about who has the job of communicating the vision. Many believe it is the CEO’s job. But in the best organizations it clear that every leader and every function sees it as their responsibility to “own” and communicate the vision. When the communication comes from all leaders and from a variety of, the possibility of having the vision then embraced and executed increases substantially.
4. Innovation is used to Create Improvement
Excellent visions are aspirational and future-focused. When people feel the organization is stuck in the past and unable to marshal the fresh energy it requires to move into a new future they have a hard time taking the vision to heart. Employees need to see that the organization is capable of world-class innovation.
5. Managers’ Words Lead to Action
In organizations where words are rarely acted upon, vision statements become meaningless words with no reality attached. Employees need to have faith that the future reality described in the vision statement can be real.
6. Leaders are Open and Honest
When there is little trust in leaders and a feeling that leaders communicate only in sound bites designed to manipulate goodwill, the vision ends up being regarded as meaningless PR. Leaders need to be trustworthy and to demonstrate that they are willing to speak the truth. One of the key ways leaders can build this trust is by sharing the bad news along with the good when difficulties occur.
7. The Company is Quick to Respond
Because the vision is future-focused, employees need to feel the organization is agile, nimble and able to make changes quickly. If people doubt that desired change can come quickly, they are unlikely to embrace the vision.
8. People can see the “Greater Good” the Vision Creates
I think in our hearts we all want to be good guys. Employees want to be part of something that creates positive outcomes, that cares for the environment, that helps people succeed and that brings “Good things to Life.” In our vision, we need to highlight the positive “third tier” outcomes our organization creates. For example, a few years ago I worked for an organization that had a significant carbon footprint, but the company also made the effort to plant many trees. I found the employees tended to welcome the positive focus on a better future. The company’s effort to replenish the resources it had taken helped them to focus more of their attention on the trees than the carbon, which was highly beneficial in helping them to stay more fully engaged.
The Bottom Line
Does your company vision create highly motivated and strongly committed employees? The reality is that most of us could do more not only to improve our vision and but also to improve the way we communicate our vision to employees. And while some may say, “Yes, this is advice is important for the CEO,” I would maintain this is a focus that is important for all. When you go to lunch with your colleagues, can you describe the vision of your organization in a way that creates engagement for others? Can you translate your company’s vision into a corresponding vision for your immediate group that leaves them inspired? Your future success may depend on it.
To learn more about motivating employees attend my webinar, 7 Ways To Increase Employee Satisfaction Without Giving a Raise, tomorrow at 1pm EST. Join the discussion below or on my Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
