Case Study: Creating a Shared Understanding of Purpose

Company

Midwest insurance and professional services company

Challenge

The organization had recently conducted strategic planning but felt there wasn’t a shared understanding of purpose among its employees. The organization had slogans that were used sparingly to describe the value they bring customers, but no documented purpose statements existed.

Intervention

Bâton Global (B|G) led exploration and development of corporate mission, vision, and values with the executive leadership team, management team, and other employees.

Results

All employees were involved in the development process which resulted in a shared vision of the purpose and desired future state of the organization. The recently crafted corporate strategy further aligned to the shared vision and resulted in the successful implementation of top initiatives.

The scope of this project includes four main areas of activity:

Insight

B|G assessed the current purpose statements articulated by members of the organization and delivered best practice to the group.

Employees were surveyed to identify common purpose statements used internally in the organization and externally with customers and other stakeholders.
B|G facilitated workshops with upper-level managers and the executive team to assess the current state of vision, mission, and value statements.
Examples of purpose statements and how they are carried out by other organization was shared with the group.

Innovation

B|G led the organization to develop meaningful mission, vision, and value statements that resonated with employees, customers, community members, and other stakeholders.

Workshops were facilitated with upper-level managers and the executive team to craft and vet purpose statements.
Employees were surveyed to prioritize the draft statements and refine them where needed.
B|G and the organization crafted statements with the intent to align with the recently developed strategic plan and the future direction of the organization.

Integration

B|G supported the organization in releasing newly drafted mission, vision, and values statements to employees and customers.

B|G delivered the new purpose statements and how they aligned to the five-year strategy of the organization to the board of directors.
B|G facilitated multiple all-employee town hall meetings to present the newly drafted purpose statements and collect additional feedback.
Employees were coached in how these statements could be more intentionally lived out in their roles and success stories were more regularly shared across the organization.

Impact

The organization’s mission, vision and values statements aligned to the future aspirations of all stakeholders.

Employees had a better understanding of why they were delivering service to customers and the value they provided to the community.
Customers had improved experiences with employees and felt a stronger bond with the organization due to a heightened awareness of its purpose.

Creating a Shared Understanding of Purpose

Company

Challenge

Intervention