I had a conversation with a smart guy today and he mentioned the long held adage that the purpose of an HR department was to keep a company out of court. This person didn’t subscribe to this belief but it raises an interesting point: What exactly should be the core purpose of an HR department? If there were an HR mission statement, what would it look like? Let’s try.

Here’s an example I found in a Google search for HR Mission statements that includes some good ideas but they seem very vague and sorta feel-good .  Here are the key excerpts:

… promoting the concept that our employees are our most valuable resource and will be treated as such.  

… act as catalysts enabling all employees to contribute at optimum levels towards the success of the college. 

That same institution has an overall mission that promotes the following ambitions towards it’s students in their general Mission Statement (I’ve made some additions to make a point):

… affords opportunities for individual growth and expression and promotes the development of the total person through scholarly and creative activity and the application of knowledge for the good of society. 

… lay a foundation for lifelong learning and involved citizenship and encourage the pursuit of knowledge, innovation, experimentation, and excellence in human endeavor. 

…It prepares students [employees] for entry-level positions, for advancement in various occupations and professions, for a broad understanding of the liberal arts and sciences, and for transfer to baccalaureate- granting institutions.

…emphasizes personal attention to students [employees], innovation and flexibility in its credit and noncredit offerings, and responsiveness to the diversity of communities it serves. 

…dedicated to providing an educational [work] environment that recognizes individuality, stresses the importance of human relationships, and reflects the democratic values of our society.

So how about it? Why can’t the same forces that drive an organization to serve its external customers at the highest level be aimed internally as well? 

I worked for this company for a number of years and I carry their mission with me to this day:

We empower people to maximize their independence

I was the Training Administrator at this organization for about a year (among other positions I held over the years) so I was responsible for introducing this mission to all newly hired employees. I felt then, and continue to believe, that unless the employees understood how to maximize their own independence, they could not help the people served by the organization to reach for their own piece of autonomy. 

Let’s try another mission that might be pointed internally as well as externally:

The WCSU Childcare Center exists to provide a safe, developmentally appropriate environment for preschool and school age children. Our focus is to provide a stimulating early care and education experience which promotes each child’s social/emotional, physical and cognitive development. Our goal is to support children’s desire to be life-long learners.

Obviously the employees of this organization aren’t preschool or school aged children, but how powerful to say that your organization supports and encourages the lifelong learning aspirations of it’s employee as well as the people served by the program? I can guarantee if truly implemented across the organization, the employees would drive astounding customer service and a life changing experience for the students in the program. There is also a lot of space left to address the social/emotional, physical and cognitive development of the employees but I think you get the point. 

Here’s another mission with a more corporate feel:

We are in the business of helping clients achieve financial success throughout their economic life. We do so by focusing on the broad range of their financial needs and delivering quality services that truly fulfill those needs.

We believe that only if each of us, those dealing directly with clients as well as those who support client contact people, assumes personal responsibility for the financial success of every client we come in contact with, will their success be assured.

We further believe that in fulfilling clients’ financial needs we are creating significant value for them while at the same time creating value for ourselves and the company.

The financial success of our clients, thusly, will define our success as well as the company.

If this corporate mission were pointed inward we would have a company dedicated to:

- Helping their employees achieve personal financial success (how better to sell the concept to external customers) 
- Promoted the idea that all levels of the organization have a responsibility to everyone else’s success (a pretty good prescription for stellar customer service)
- Strove to create relationships based on mutual value (the key ingredient to any sales training)

That doesn’t sound half bad.