Employment branding is necessary to help your caregiving business stand out from the competition and attract top talent. Another way to attract potential employees and clients is to have concise, specific, and inspiring mission and vision statements.
What Are Mission and Vision Statements?
A mission statement describes an organization, its function, objectives, and values, as well as the purpose it serves to its audience.
A vision statement describes the organization’s goals and plans for the future, what it plans to accomplish, and how that will affect its employees and customers.
In other words, the major difference between these two types of statements is that mission statements focus on the present, while vision statements focus on the future.
Why Are Mission and Vision Statements Important?
Mission and vision statements help create your organization’s brand and its narrative. They give potential employees and clients an idea of what your agency is about, why it does what it does, how and what it has accomplished, and the direction it is headed.
When it comes to caregiving business, mission and vision statements give a clearer view of your facility and its place within the caregiving industry. They tell a clear story, make your business more personal, and help attract prospective caregivers and clients by speaking directly to them.
Neither of these statements should be very long - one or two (no more than three) sentences are all you need. The main challenge may be to express these complex ideas in a clear, concise, and straightforward manner.
In the next sections, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to write mission and vision statements for your home care agency.
How to Write a Mission Statement
Think of your mission statement not only as a way to explain your caregiving business’ purpose but also as a way to foster a connection with potential caregivers and clients that will encourage them to stay loyal to your company in the future.
Here are some steps that will guide you in creating a mission statement that will help accomplish both of those goals:
Why Are You Running a Caregiving Business? A great way to get started is to consider what inspired you to open a caregiving business and why you continue to run it. Is it because you started as a caregiver and wanted to become a manager? Or perhaps because you cared for a family member and wanted to ensure other people received the same level of care as your loved one did? Answering these questions will help set you on the right path.
What Makes Your Caregiving Business Unique? What does your business pride itself on? Is it the level of care? The low cost? The experience and training levels of your caregivers? The client satisfaction?
The key here is to keep your target audience (potential caregivers and clients) in mind and to be as specific as possible.
How Do You Want Others to See Your Caregiving Business? This is where you focus on your caregiving business values. Of course, you don’t have the space to list them all, so pick those that best describe your business in a nutshell. Think of the bigger picture. Maybe you can find one word that encompasses all of your agency’s values. That could be “support” or “growth” or “hope” or “pride.” Whatever you choose, it should define what your business stands for. If you’re feeling stuck, go through online reviews and messages from your clients and caregivers. You might find certain qualities that they regularly point out that could lead you to the key word.
Once you have carefully considered these questions, you will have more than enough material to turn your thoughts into a short, direct, and specific mission statement.
An example of a mission statement might be, “Here at [Company Name], we pride ourselves on providing the highest-quality caregiving services that improve the quality of life of our clients above and beyond industry standards.”
How to Write a Vision Statement
A vision statement should be aspirational and forward-thinking. It should express your plan for the future, and help inspire your caregivers to want to stay with you long-term, which is one of the greatest challenges in the industry.
To accomplish both of these goals, check out the following steps to writing a vision statement:
What Are Your Goals for the Future of Your Home Care Agency?
Once again, it might help to remind yourself of why you started a home care agency in the first place. What exactly did you want to accomplish in the long run? What are you ultimately working towards? Perhaps that means expanding and keeping a team of highly-skilled, dedicated caregivers. Or opening multiple locations in different cities or states. Be bold and ambitious. What is the future you dream of for your home care agency?
What Are the Ways You Can Improve Your Caregiving Business?
First, you have to critically evaluate where your business is today. Be brutally honest.
Once you are aware of the areas where you may be lacking, come up with specific ideas for improving. And there is always room for improvement. Think of practical, measurable, realistic, and achievable goals.
How Do You Want Others to See Your Caregiving Business in the Future?
This question is closely tied to the values of your business. How do you visualize the future? How can it grow and change? What is your overarching vision for it?
Think of how you imagine your caregiving operation affecting your community, town, home state, and even the world itself. Consider what you could do to become a leader in your industry, something that other caregivers will strive to emulate.
An example of a vision statement might be, “[Company Name] strives to become the leading caregiving facility of our area, regionally recognized for our superior care, highly-trained staff, trust and open communication, and affordability.”
Once you are done with your mission and vision statements, it will be very easy to use them to craft the copy of your website. Your home page and your “About us” page definitely need to be aligned with your mission and vision, as well as the core values you represent.
Writing mission and vision statements may prove easier said than done, but it’s a great way to remind yourself of your values and goals and the steps you can take to reach your full potential. These statements will also serve to attract potential caregivers and clients and inspire your current caregivers to stick with the agency in the long run.
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