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Have you seen the Mission Impossible movies? Tom Cruise’s mission, should he choose to accept it, is usually high risk, high stakes, and crystal clear. Everyone involved knows the objective, the boundaries, and what success looks like.
Just like those movies, organizations have missions, too. While many focus on making money for owners, stockholders, and employees, many companies also have mission statements that go beyond revenue gain. For example, mission statements might focus on environmental responsibility, community partnership, or helping employees secure a better retirement income.
Training departments should also have mission statements. In our workshop, The Successful Training Manager, we teach training managers how to incorporate a department mission statement into their strategic planning. A top-notch mission statement should align directly with the corporate mission statement. Our goal in training should be to help employees work towards achieving the organization’s goals.
So, how do we write a mission statement? There are three components of a well-written mission statement: the product, the market, and the function. The mission statement answers the following questions:
1. What do we do? (product)
2. Who do we do it for? (market)
3. Why do we do it? (function)
Here’s an example of a well written mission statement:
The mission of the Training Department is to provide the most effective and high-quality training programs to all levels of employees in a manner that is consistent with, and supports, the business goals of the organization.
Not convinced yet? Here are three key reasons your training department should have a mission statement:
Focus
Your mission statement gives people outside of your department an idea of what you do, and it also gives your training staff a purpose and a goal behind what they do every day.
Focus is important because people outside of training expect us to be doing more than we can do. Example: just about every trainer I know tells me their business leaders ask them to train people who are not performing up to company expectations. Training is designed to teach people new tasks they need to know how to do in their current position. Managers are the ones who need to motivate and coach employees to increase their performance level. A clear mission statement gives you the language to say: “This request may not be a training issue, but here’s what we can help with.”
Policies
When you have a clear mission statement, it allows you to write aligned training department policies and helps eliminate unnecessary distractions.
Training department policies provide:
- Direction to the training department.
- Day-to-day reference for decision-making.
- Guidance for taking action.
- A definition of the authority given to the training department.
Policies for the training department are important for the people who interact with us and for our own staff to interact correctly with others. People outside of the training function often ask our staff to provide services that don’t really come under the training function. Example: we are often asked to provide documentation and communication type services. Our staff isn’t here to write memos or standard operating procedures. If we have policies in place for what we do and don’t do, then we can provide services that are truly aligned with training and nothing more.
Connection
An aligned mission statement allows you to connect your department’s training goals and objectives to the company goals and mission statement, resulting in the design and delivery of relevant courses. Offering relevant courses will help validate your training department’s existence.
Alignment is the key word here. Sometimes training managers might think that more is best when it comes to their training curriculum. Let’s offer the most training courses possible so we can justify our existence and prove our value. This may be true, but this way of thinking can also be to your detriment. Example: if you have courses that do not align with business goals then you might be viewed as offering “fluff” courses versus ones that help the bottom-line goals of the organization. Quality beats quantity every time. Executives may debate methods, but they rarely challenge their own goals.
Make Your Mission Visible
Once you’ve created your mission statement, don’t hide it in a planning document.
- Post it on your LMS.
- Display it in training rooms and virtual classrooms.
- Include it in your email signature.
- Reference it in course introductions and training materials.
Visibility reinforces credibility and reminds stakeholders why you exist and how you add value.
A clear mission statement helps your training department stay focused, aligned, and relevant in a rapidly changing workplace. It sets expectations, guides decisions, and strengthens your role as a strategic partner.
How has your training department benefited by having a mission statement? Or what struggles have you experienced because your department doesn’t have a mission statement? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
This article was first published October 10, 2016.