Mission statements carry substantial benefits and they’re essentially free.
Can you think of anything else that will keep adding value to your construction company forever in exchange for a couple of hours of your time?
In this article, you’ll find a cliff notes version of everything you need to create a mission statement for your construction company.
Let’s start from the beginning!
What is a mission statement and why do you need one?
Your mission statement is a reflection of your company’s aims, values, and capabilities.
Mission statements tend to sound very formal and highbrow.
Companies often include themselves, their employees, products, services, and customers into their mission statements.
There are no rules when it comes to what you should or shouldn’t mention in your mission statements, only guidelines and opinions.
I’m a fan of succinct customer-centric mission statements.
In my opinion, values and vision statements are more appropriate places to mention everything else.
Your construction company’s mission is to serve your customers with high-quality construction work, right?
There’s no reason why your mission statement shouldn’t say something simple like that.
Don’t worry, by the end of this article, I’ll provide you with templates, tools, and some concrete examples to help you craft your construction company mission statement.
As to why your company needs a mission statement…
Mission statements can help everyone who read it to immediately understand what the company is all about.
They have the power to inspire employees and evoke customer trust.
Companies driven by their mission statement have a clear purpose and more informed decision making.
When you commit to honoring your mission statement no matter what, it tends to become easier to make the right decisions.
Simply put, a lot of noise gets eliminated and you can focus on what’s truly important.
If you want to know more about mission statements in general, check out this article which is a part of my article series on how to create a working content marketing strategy.
Does my small construction business need a mission statement?
In my opinion, yes.
There’s no rule saying a construction company has to have “this much” employees or earn “that much” revenue to start benefiting from a mission statement.
Even if you’re a one-man-band, you can reap all the rewards of having a clear mission statement.
Mission statements can even help new businesses that just got off the ground.
A business that has a clear mission statement tends to sound more professional and “with it” than the business that doesn’t.
Of course, that might not be the case in reality, but that’s another matter.
Benefits of having a clear mission statement for large construction businesses
If your construction business has many different departments and teams within the company, you know how tough it can be to keep everyone on the same page and working towards the same goal.
A well-crafted mission statement can help with just that.
It can also help your people become more action-oriented and results-driven.
Without aim and purpose, it’s a lot harder to stay focused and perform actions that move the needle in the right direction.
Furthermore, great mission statements can do a lot to inform content marketing strategies and efforts.
They tend to eliminate the notions of self-importance and put forward the more important things like your customers and how best to please them.
All of a sudden, your content marketing will stop wasting time on creating content that talks on and on about your company and starts creating content that solves your customers’ problems.
How do you actually craft a mission statement for your construction company?
Now, let’s arm you with a few options that can help you craft a mission statement for your construction company.
What makes a construction company mission statement good?
This is subjective.
Like I mentioned earlier in this article, I’m a fan of simple, customer-centric mission statements no matter if the company is a Fortune 500 company or a small business with a handful of employees.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what might resonate with you, your company, and your customers.
However, there are some pointers worth keeping in mind.
Mission statement best practices
Regardless of all the possible differences between companies, which are numerous, some mission statement guidelines apply no matter what.
A mission statement should be:
- Simple to understand
- Succinct
- Rooted in the present
- Customer-centric
- Problem-centric
- Humble, ego-free
- Inspirational in its authenticity
Expanding on the last point, a mission statement should be inspirational because of its authenticity and truthfulness, not because it’s embellishing things and describing a better version of your company.
Mission statement best practices also include tips like:
- Describe what you can do for your customers
- Create more than one while brain-storming
- Get second, third, or however many other opinions you need
- It’s OK to change a mission statement, it’s not set in stone
Mission statement templates
Templates can be very helpful when coming up with your mission statement.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to any template 100%.
You can always add or take away any part and still keep the general tone and form of a template you like.
Here are a couple of templates that could be useful for creating a construction company mission statement:
1. To “desired result” through “your product or service” so that our customers can “a pleasant notion or action.”
Example: Our mission is to “build quality, eco-friendly” houses through innovative technologies and excellent craftsmanship so that our customers can “enjoy their lives in accordance with nature.”
2. To help “describe your customers” to “the desired result” by “doing your work.”
Example: Our mission is to help “the people of Youngstown” to “enhance their front yards” by “installing beautiful and durable brick driveways.”
Mission statement generator
Mission statement generators are tools that can help you create your mission statement.
There are four different types of mission statement generators:
- Ones that ask key questions and craft your mission statement based on the answers
- Ones that break down a mission statement and let you fill in the key components yourself
- Ones that break down a mission statement and provide you with a lot of options for each of the component so you can stitch them up and create your statement
- Ones that generate completely random mission statements and throw them at you in hope that something sticks
I wrote an article where I listed the top 5 free mission statement generators.
Feel free to check it out to find more about all of them or continue reading here for the winner and runner-up.
Here are the best two generators I found:
- HoneyBook mission statement generator – get your mission statement by answering questions
- Whole Whale mission statement generator – fill in key components to craft your mission statement
7 Construction company mission statement examples
Note: I will score each of these mission statements based on my personal preferences. Feel free to agree or disagree with the scores.
1. Fort Construction – We develop high performing people that deliver successful projects.
Score: 4.5/5 – an excellent mission statement that’s simple, customer-centric, and easy to understand.
2. Wenco Construction Services – To provide quality workmanship and customer service and maintain the highest level of professionalism, honesty and fairness in our relationships with our customers, employees and vendors. To grow by continually providing useful and significant products, services, and solutions to markets we already serve – and to expand into new areas that build on our competencies and customer interests.
Score: 3/5 – this is a mix of a mission and a vision statement. It should have ended after the first sentence for my liking.
3. Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Company – Our mission is to be a dynamic team, providing the highest quality construction services available.
Score: 4/5 – I would have omitted mentioning the company itself in this mission statement.
4. Petro-Construction – To design, build and deliver turnkey, high-quality and cost-effective construction projects on schedule for our clients while providing quality employment and career growth opportunities for Petro-Construction team members.
Score: 4.3/5 – there’s nothing particularly wrong with this mission statement.
5. Anchor Construction – Our mission is to form partnerships resulting in innovative, cost effective and quality construction, exceeding our customers’ expectations in a safe environment.
Score: 4.8/5 – a nearly perfect mission statement.
6. Clark Construction – We build on a foundation of trust.
Score: 3/5 – a bit too vague for my liking.
7. Lueder Construction – Lueder Construction, pure and simple wants to be your contractor of choice. We know anyone can build your project. It is much harder to build a relationship built on trust and service. This can only happen with a foundation of strong ideals and values which permeate a company.
Score: 2/5 – this mission statement needs improving. It lacks focus and feels more like a company values statement than a mission statement.
Conclusion
Businesses of all industries can benefit from well-crafted mission statements and your construction company is no exception.
A beautiful thing about a good mission statement is that it doesn’t take long to come up with one and when you do, it will keep working for you in perpetuity.
No downsides, only benefits.
I hope you found value in this article and if you need my help, feel free to comment below or send a message through the contact form.
I got a lot of inputs for my construction supplies store Mission..thank you