Expert tips on creating a construction company mission statement [+Example]

“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
“To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”
“To refresh the world.”

Can you guess the big-name companies behind these inspiring mission statements? Summing up each business’ objectives, strategy and values, mission statements like these (Nike, Microsoft and Coca-Cola, respectively) say a lot with very little.

However, these aren’t just aspirational words strung together to make an organization look and feel good. They’re important, and every business – whether big, small or in between – needs one. That includes your construction company.

What is a mission statement?

A company mission statement is a brief declaration of the business purpose and approach to serving its target customers. A mission statement summarizes the company’s work, services and objectives, usually in no more than 100 words. It shouldn’t be confused with a vision statement that details the company’s vision for the future.

What’s the purpose of a mission statement?

The best mission statements go beyond stating what you do and dig deeper into the why. When written clearly and concisely, they can motivate your team members, promote teamwork, highlight your organizational values to the external community and guide the company forward.

A construction company’s mission statement shouldn’t just be whipped up and then left behind. It should be put to work. Writing it is only the beginning.

How do you write a mission statement for your construction company?

The first thing to consider when sitting down to write your construction company’s mission statement is how you will describe what your company does. Get down to the basics and convey your purpose to your audience.

Then, you’ll want to describe how you do that work. Do you have outstanding customer service? Are you known for offering unique or specialty services? High-quality craftsmanship? What makes you stand out and be someone’s contractor of choice?

Lastly, you need to uncover the why at the heart of your construction business. Put all those pieces together in a concise and snappy one-liner, and you’ve got your company mission statement.

This statement will act as your guiding light and give your construction team a central belief system to work around. It will also be a tool to show prospective clients what you’re all about. As you forecast and plan future construction projects, you can use your mission statement to focus on company goals and tactics.

But what does that look like in action for a construction company? What should a strong mission statement include? For more insights on a strong mission statement, we interviewed Matt Troyer, CEO of Indianapolis’ Emergent Construction, to answer these questions and see how one team has centered itself around their construction company principles.

Emergent: An example of a well-crafted construction company mission statement

Emergent is an area leader in construction and an industry leader in branding. What is the importance of a mission statement for your team?

Matt: A single individual can only go so far. To get a team all rowing in the right direction, there must be a foundational level agreement on how we must operate. This is what a mission statement provides:

• A lens to make all decisions through
• Non-negotiables for everyone to be a fit within that team
• The way we make decisions to hire and “un-hire”
• A process to interact with clients, vendors and each other

It also frees up the owner or leader of an organization from the pressure of feeling like the judge of everyone. These are the rules we’ve all agreed to and, if you’re acting outside those values, it’s an easier conversation.

We’ve structured our company with a few different tools, too. Our core purpose, along with our core values, gives a clear direction of where Emergent Construction is going.

What are the elements of a good mission statement?

Matt: I believe it must meet the requirements of a S.M.A.R.T. goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

Seeing a timeline, a number goal and clear measurables make it doable to review how you are trending toward that mission statement.

How should a construction company put their mission to work once it’s completed?

Matt: We created graphics of our core values and posted them on our website, in our office and now included in our sales process to go over with clients. Everyone that works here, or with us, should become knowledgeable of these.

What is Emergent Construction’s mission statement, and how has it helped guide your company?

Matt: By 2023, Emergent Construction will have facilitated 300 client experiences so they could become more connected with each other, make meaningful memories in their spaces and live their best lives.

This statement gives everyone here something to shoot for and a reference to check in annually, quarterly and weekly.

How does a business owner know if their company mission is working or not?

Matt: For us to know that our core purpose or core values are working, we tie them into customer and employee surveys. This allows us to measure the overall health of the work environment we are trying to build.

Why do you feel it’s important to connect employees to a construction company mission statement?

Matt: In a blue-collar world, this stuff used to feel like we didn’t need it, or it was only for large corporations. We recognize that in order to attract new people to our organization and clients to our growth plan, connecting with them on this level has been worth every minute spent.

We all want to be connected to something and to be part of something larger than ourselves. Since we spend so much of our lives at work, it needs to be a priority.

Here are a few things we’re doing to connect our team to these beliefs:

• Talking about them as much as possible
• Presenting regular highlights of an employee living out a core value
• Tying our bonus structure to this criterion in annual reviews

Want more construction marketing tips?

A strong construction company mission statement is only the beginning of masterful marketing in this industry. For the rest, Buildertrend has your back. Check out these budget-friendly tips or download your very own marketing campaign worksheet.

Be sure to also check out our online resource library for countless articles, customer stories and podcast episodes filled with tips to help promote your business like a pro.