A New Mission Statement: The Same Commitment to Clients and Employees

30 June, 2021

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New Language Reflects Who We Are: Who We Aspire to Be

By Scott Newman, CEO

Culture is important at Transparent BPO. 

It governs how we conduct ourselves daily. It dictates our commitment to our clients and to our colleagues around the world. A lot of companies talk about their culture. They have statements on their websites, in their recruiting and marketing collateral and on lunchroom posters, but frequently that’s where their commitment to their culture ends.

At Transparent BPO, our culture is reflected in our deeds. We’re obsessed with our clients and the service we provide their customers. This is mirrored in thousands of customer interactions we have daily – on the phone, in chat or emails. If we don’t improve the life of our customers, then we haven’t done our jobs.

Our culture is also seen in the work we do in our communities. Our employees are involved in various causes – from their local schools, or Red Cross or for those less fortunate in their communities. The impact of our employees can be felt throughout their communities.

A big part of any culture, from a national, regional or corporate is language. How you talk about yourselves, how you talk about your preferences, or your work reflects who you are. By being selective in the language we use, we have a clear perception of ourselves. That why we took a hard look at ourselves recently and decided our Mission and Vision statements didn’t reflect who we are. They mirrored who we were when we wrote them in 2009 when we began operations, but they didn’t speak to who we are today.

So, we got to work.

We retained Jeff Toister, a respected author and commentator in the customer care industry to help facilitate our process. He explained how he wanted to approach this, who had to be involved and then he went to work. One of the first things he did was to survey our employees and he asked them a simple question: “What would you like clients to think of when they think about the service we provide?”

The response he received was phenomenal.  More than 600 people sent him replies. He compiled the data and turned it over to a small working group of employees representing a cross section of roles and geographies. Jeff marshaled their energy and helped focus their efforts to write a succinct Mission statement that was clear and concise. It’s only eight words long but it resonated with me right away.

They wrote: “Our passion is the success of your brand.”

Three words in the statement stuck with me immediately.

Passion.  This word captures our enthusiasm and our deep sense of commitment to our clients. I’ve seen this in our agents in particular. They are passionate about the brands they support and care profoundly for their customers.

Success. We help our clients succeed at their core business by serving their customers. And we collaborate closely with them to develop new offerings or solve a business challenge.

Brand. We become our client’s brand by using their language and their style. We become the voice of our clients – we stay on-brand when serving their customers during every interaction.

The term “brand” also has a complementary meaning in our Mission – it also captures an employee’s personal trademark. Individual brands are important to Transparent BPO. We care about the values of our employees, how they conduct themselves  daily – on the job and in the community. We’re committed to their professional advancement and want them to advance their career with us by developing new skills and leadership qualities. Brand, be it corporate or personal, is important to us and the work we do.

What vs. How

Our Mission statement describes WHAT we do. Our core values – the principles of how we behave and serve – remain unchanged, however – they describe HOW we do it.   

Quality: We deliver quality work. Everything we do is to be of the highest quality. It will not just be about service delivery. The business practices we employ, the people we hire, the facilities we operate, and the technology we use will be innovative and best-in-class. We insist on having the highest standards.

Clients: We keep the clients’ needs first by fulfilling their needs and helping them to reach their goals. It’s the essence of our business. Our business was created from a client’s perspective; we understand that our clients’ goals must be foremost in our actions.

Community: We are committed to making a difference in the lives of our employees and our community. Our business decisions demonstrate social responsibility because we’re about more than profit; it’s also about positive influence.

Transparency: We are open, honest, and ethical in everything we do. We seek to create strong, long-lasting partnerships through straightforward business practices.

As we introduced our new Mission statement throughout Transparent BPO, we asked each employee “How do you personally contribute to the mission?”

I suspect everyone recognized this Mission within themselves because its already part of our culture.