Let the mission drive your organisation

Every organisation, be it a for-profit or not-for-profit organisation, has a purpose why it’s in existence. The reason why an organisation is in existence is referred to as a mission. Some organisations display their mission statements where the public and employees can see. A mission is very important in determining the direction the organisation should take and in assessing its success. If an organisation is achieving its mission then we can regard it as being successful.

Henrietta Newton Martin said: “A visionary company is one which is seen growing in a consistent pattern by being goal oriented driven by a vision and a mission. Without a vision and a mission, your company can be termed as a ‘Bull’ set free in the busy streets of the corporate world.”  A company should be measuring frequently whether it’s meeting its mission. It’s therefore very critical that an organisation’s objectives, strategies and activities are aligned to the mission. Achievement of the objectives will mean achieving the mission.

Organisations should set targets that are in line with the mission and that should be monitored regularly by using performance indicators. H. James Harrington said: “Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.”

It’s very important that you know how your business is performing: whether you are meeting the organisation’s mission. Performance measurement is critical.
It’s defined as “the process of collecting, analyzing and/or reporting information regarding the performance of an individual, group, organization, system or component.
It can involve studying processes/strategies within organizations, to see whether output are in line with what was intended or should have been achieved.” All this will be geared towards achieving the mission of the entity.

Every business needs to be closely and carefully managed and monitored to ensure the success of new strategies or other investment decisions. Most business are run by professional managers on behalf of the owners.  In order therefore to keep track of the operations of the business it’s important to put a performance measurement system in place that can help in keeping track of the progress of the business towards its mission.

The performance measurement system will give vital information about the performance of the business. In today’s businesses, performance improvement and the role of performance measurement is a very important area that is attracting much attention.  There is so much pressure on businesses to do more with less in order to remain competitive, to become more effective and efficient while executing better on business strategy. Despite the importance of optimal performance there is however significant resistance from both managers and employees on how performance measurement systems can be implemented at a workplace.

Some of this resistance is a result of how the systems are implemented or because of the ignorance on the part of management and employees.
Performance measurement and target-setting are important if you have to check its progress towards its mission.
Many small businesses can run quite comfortably without much formal performance measurement, but for any growing or large business the control resulting from good performance measurement processes can be indispensable.

Having a good system will provide very valuable information on how the business is doing.  Each area of the business can be analysed to see how it’s performing and any deviation from the set targets will call for appropriate action. Managers can therefore be proactive in their decisions. An effective performance measurement process enables managers to evaluate and measure individual performance and optimise productivity by aligning individual employee’s day-to-day actions with strategic business objectives, track individual performance to support compensation and career planning, provide accountability related to performance expectations and establish training and skills development needs.

A good performance measurement system positively impacts job satisfaction, employee retention and loyalty.
This is achieved through setting and communicating clear performance expectations, giving regular relevant job feedback to an employee, linking performance to compensation, identifying organisational career paths for employees, evaluating performance and delivering incentives in a fair and consistent manner.

An effective performance measurement system will address issues of transparency for all stakeholders. The performance of a business against business objectives can clearly be monitored.
A properly functioning performance management process should ensure that there is a tight link between strategic business objectives and day-to-day activities.
This calls for effective goal setting, frequent tracking of performance and identifying obstacles which will contribute to success and healthy bottom line results.
Regularly tracking progress against goals and objectives also provides the opportunity to recognize and reward employees for performance and exceptional effort, contributing to job satisfaction and productivity.

Employees want to feel successful, to do well at their job, and to feel they are making a valuable contribution.  In order to ensure this happens, employees need a clear understanding of individual goals and how they fit into the larger organization.  Employees should therefore know the mission of the organisation they are working for so that their efforts are aimed at achieving the organisation’s mission.
Stewart Jakarasi is a business & financial strategist and a lecturer in business strategy and performance management.

He provides advisory and guidance on leadership, strategy and execution, preparation of business plans and on how to build and sustain high-performing organisations.
l For assistance in implementing some of the concepts discussed in these articles please contact him on the following contacts: sjakarasi@gmail.com or +266 58881062 or on WhatsApp +266 62110062