Our new Customer Care Center is working on a mission, vision and/or value statements. Does anyone have some examples they can send me of what they've done. It would be great to see what others are doing....Thx.

Michael

I take it you mean specifically for the Call Centre… If so how about:

“Your Schneider Logistics Solution is built upon our helping you deliver. The relationship we have with you is just as important as it forms the foundation of our future.

The (Call Centre Name) exists not simply as a reactive support resource 24/7. Our people are continually working on your behalf; examining, and resolving, issues you may not yet have faced.

In re-active mode, we promise to be honest and open in our findings and to work with you to resolve issues as speedily and completely as we are able always keeping you updated.

In pro-active mode, we promise to communicate both our findings and consequences as soon as we can so that ‘surprises’ are reduced to incidents beyond anyone’s control.

As partners, we require you to be open, honest and realistic in your expectations of us and to keep us continually informed where appropriate.

By operating in this manner, both our relationships and profitability will blossom.“

HTH

David

Hi Michael and David,

Call me a jaded old cynic, but I have to question the overall value of mission statements versus the cost and effort that many organisations expend in creating them. I'm always amazed at what seems to me to be a bit of a 'silver bullet' in management terms. After all, all companies seek to be as good as they can be, etc., so why state the obvious?

Having worked for the management consultancy and also the big accountant, I've seen ridiculous amounts of energy wasted on such things, and as the old saying goes...

A camel is a horse designed by committee.

...which is so true of mission statements - they always end up as awkward of unneccessary nuggets of verbose twaddle, IMHO...

Anyone care to defend the mission statement ethos?

John

Hi John,

You said "ALL COMPANIES SEEK TO BE AS GOOD AS THEY CAN BE, SO WHY STATE THE OBVIOUS"

Unless you believe in what you say or say what you believe in, people will not take you seriously.I agree when you say many organizations spend millions on slogans and hype rather than deliver what they state. Blowing one's own trumpet is not harmful (as long as you deliver) as no one else blows the trumpet for you in this competitive world.

I do anticipate a reply post from David on my last statement.



Vedula

Guys you are both right… I’ll let you decide what about!!!

Of course, you’re right John that some of it is simply rhetoric - aka “a load of twaddle”.

That said, a mission statement, in the right hands, has great value. It provides genuine focus for every person in the organisation. A fully developed mission statement (frankly the only type that adds any value) outlines the who, how, what and when in a manner that delivers focus for every individual in that business.

Having been privileged enough to have worked in such an organisation, I can tell you it took us one single afternoon (albeit a well lubricated afternoon) to develop ours. We were in control though; we knew what we wanted, how we were going to achieve it and by when, and who was involved.

From that statement we developed strategy and tactics and cascaded common goals to every person in the organisation. Our thought was that every single activity or thought that existed in that business should linkvery simply back to the statement. If it couldn’t stop doing it!

Your cynicism is well founded. If a company cannot do it themselves, IMHO, they lack what it takes to deliver. Of course that is not to say they will fail – far from it – it just means they will not be as successful as they could be and they’ll never really be in control.

You essentially said, “why state the obvious“.

Try this. Next time you do something, anything, ask yourself in what way it links back to your, CCV, strategic objectives. If you have to think hard about it or it is a convoluted route then stop doing it because it is not appropriately focused …

That’s why a proper mission statement has value. As Vedula says, it demonstrates that you believe by going further than simple rhetoric by providing a hook upon which to hang the corporate hat.

David

Just to let you know that in a matter of several hours, we did come up with a Vision and Mission statement tied to our Core Values. The exercise involved the entire Customer Care team and it created an opportunity to bond and to make a statement of who we are and what we want to be. In any organization that I have been a part of, mission statements and core values indicate "who you are" and lets others know that you are holding yourself, your department and others accountable for commitment to the external and internal customer. Thanks to everyone for giving me your feedback. Take Care!

What were they Michael?

David

Per your request, here is how it turned out!

CUSTOMER CARE CENTER

VISION STATEMENT
Build enduring value and relationships by providing timely solutions for the customer.

MISSION STATEMENT
Customer Care is dedicated to providing "world class" customer service through problem ownership, actions and accountability to the continuous improvement process.

CORE VALUES
- WE treat each other with respect and dignity
- WE seize opportunities through creativity, innovation and intellignet risk taking.
- WE encourage finding a better way to exceed the customer's expectations.
- WE challenge ourselves and others by questioning boundaries and continually advancing to meet the customer's needs.
- WE believe that remaining positive and looking ahead are essential parts of achieving our goals.
- WE create a healthy work environment through open communication and the exchange of ideas.
- WE hold each other accountable for our contributions to the team.

Let me know what you think as my TEAM feels this is a true representation of who we are and what we want to be. Thx. Mike C.

Here's a good example for you to use

Customer Service Mission Statement

· As the Customer Service Telephone Facility for Starpower Communications, we are committed to:
· Assuring the highest standards of Quality through the deliveryof accurate and professional customer service within a Reasonable Cost and Timely manner to all of our clients (both internal and external)
· Constantly seeking new methods and challenges to enhance our Performance Standards by providing our employees with the best Training programs, possible, the proper Tools and Equipment needed to get the job done, Recognition and Reward for outstanding performance, and Input into development and implementation of Performance Standards.
· Fostering Teamwork and Cooperation throughout the entire department by creating and maintaining an Open Environment in which all of our employees have an Opportunity to express their ideas and voice opinions

We just took the word "customer" out of our mission statement - we no longer say we are going to provide "complete customer and client satisfaction" - because the clients won't let us satisfy the customer, and the call center is certainly not going to pick up the tab for satisfying the customer, so UM decided to take the customer out of the picture altogether - we just provide "complete client satisfaction."
Pretty sad, huh???

Having played the "Let's build a mission statement!" game more times than I like to think about with a variety of clients, I take a fairly direct approach.

If your mission statement is not directly supported by your metrics suite, if it isn't the basis for your performance reviews, then at best it's a "Dr. Feelgood" exercise. Most often, it's a way of burning some substantial amounts of time in the production of a pretty picture to hang on the wall -- which no one will ever look at more than once.

--mikael
Alameda, CA, USA