When a company espouses a philosophy as simple as "we take care of our people", a healthy working environment is a means to give that philosophy substance.

Consider: How can we best honor our employees and customers? By what means can we create a working environment that supports all?

 ~ holistically mirrors a firm's values, mission and corporate philosophy. As a company plans for workplace changes, a commitment is owed to creating an environment that speaks directly to that business' philosophy.

A company cannot simply post a mission statement for all to see and consider this enough (although a look around many workplaces would lead one to think this). Rather, true commitment develops a working environment that supports all user groups and reminds those users, at every turn, of what the business is about. Clearly defined traffic patterns, user-friendly workstations, strategically placed points of contact, common sense signing, mission-related graphics, effective lighting and critical systems that are within easy reach are all methods for supporting this goal. Used alone, none of these features is enough; used together they become effective elements within the congruent environment.

Consider: What kind of business are we? What are we really about? (Hint: try thinking in terms of value and solutions, rather than about a specific product or service!)

  ~ enhances a business' marketplace image. As markets become more clearly defined, and more and more firms seek to specialize within their industries, congruency of marketplace image becomes more critical than ever.

For example, an independent bank located in a small, agricultural community will necessarily extend to customers an image that looks much different than a commercial bank operating in a metropolitan center. These two very different banks, although part of the same industry, will also likely have dissimilar mission statements.

Photo: An Independent Bank in a Downtown Metropolitan Area Mission in Practice: a bank that portrays a professional edge and a primary focus on the commercial customer