What a vision statement is
A vision statement (بيان الرؤية) is a sentence that describes the state an organisation is working to reach over a distant horizon. Put another way, it says what will be different if the organisation succeeds.
Three elements of the definition carry its meaning. A vision statement is a single sentence, not a document. It describes a state, a condition of affairs at a point in the future, rather than an activity the organisation performs. And its horizon is distant, so the state it describes lies beyond what the organisation expects to reach in the near term. The closing words of the definition, what will be different if the organisation succeeds, give the statement its practical content: a reader of a vision statement should be able to tell what the organisation expects to have changed by the time it arrives.
How a vision statement differs from a mission statement
A mission statement (بيان المهمة) describes what the organisation does today and for whom. A vision statement describes what the organisation wants to become. The first is about the present, and the second is about the future.
The difference between them is not one of style. It would be a matter of style if the two statements said the same thing in different words, so that either could stand in for the other. They cannot stand in for each other, because the two statements are used in different places. A mission statement is the reference against which current decisions are weighed: when a choice arises in the ordinary run of work, the question is whether it serves what the organisation does today and the people it does it for. A vision statement is the reference against which a major decision is tested: the question then is whether that decision brings the organisation closer to the state it has described, or takes it further away.
What makes a vision statement usable
Four conditions decide whether a vision statement can do the work described above.
- Distant, but not impossible. It requires the state described to lie far enough ahead that it cannot be reached quickly, yet close enough to reality for people to believe it can be reached. A goal that can be reached within a year is not a vision. At the other extreme, a vision that nobody believes guides nobody, since a state that people consider out of reach gives them nothing to steer their work by.
- A state, not an activity. It asks that the sentence name the condition that will hold once the vision is reached, not the work the organisation does along the way. A statement of the form “that every accountant in the organisation is able to…” describes a state. A statement such as “to provide outstanding services” describes an activity, and it names no point at which the activity will have succeeded.
- Progress towards it can be measured, even if only approximately. It is met when the organisation can tell whether it stands closer to the vision than it did before. The condition asks for a direction that can be checked, not for a precise figure.
- There is only one. It limits the organisation to a single vision. Several visions amount to having none, because a major decision tested against more than one destination can move the organisation closer to one and further from another, and the test then gives no answer.
The mistake that empties a vision statement
The mistake is to write a vision statement in language that would suit any organisation, such as “to be the leaders in our field”. A sentence of that kind could be adopted by any other organisation without a word being changed, so it says nothing about the one that wrote it.
The wording is not ruled out because it is ambitious. A vision describes a distant state by definition, so ambition in itself is no fault. It is ruled out because it is not testable: nobody can say that a decision went against it. Whatever the organisation decides, it can still claim to be pursuing leadership in its field, so no decision can be shown to have contradicted the statement.
That is where the emptiness lies. A statement that cannot be contradicted cannot guide a decision, because guiding a decision means favouring some choices over others, and a statement that is compatible with every choice favours none. This is the same criterion by which a mission statement is tested: a statement of either kind earns its place by being something a decision could breach.
How a vision statement relates to HR
A vision statement sets out the kind of capabilities the organisation will need before it needs them. If the state the organisation is working towards differs from where it stands today, the people who will do the work in that state may need knowledge, skills and behaviours that differ from those held today, which are the elements that competencies describe in observable terms. Because the vision names the destination in advance, those capabilities can be planned for ahead of the need. The word “before” carries weight here, as it does in succession planning, which prepares ready replacements for critical roles before they fall vacant.
For that reason a vision statement is the natural starting point for a people strategy (استراتيجية الموارد البشرية). The vision states where the organisation is heading, and the people strategy takes that direction as its starting input.
There is a second side to the relationship. The vision is what a candidate is looking for when asking “where is this organisation heading?” during the hiring process. A clear answer describes a destination. A vague answer is itself a signal, and a candidate may take it into account in the impression of the organisation that candidate experience describes, formed across the whole hiring journey.
What a vision statement cannot do on its own
A vision statement does not put itself into effect. Between the vision and the daily work stand a plan, priorities and a budget. The vision describes the destination, and these three are what connect it to the work that people do each day.
An organisation that is content to hang its vision on the wall, and then takes decisions that contradict it, has taught its employees that documents are one thing and work is another. That is a lesson employees may learn once and carry with them long afterwards.
This is an explanation of the concept, not legal advice.
A standalone Saudi HR system
One employee file holding the contract, the documents and their expiry dates, the attendance record, leave, salary and end-of-service entitlements. End-of-service, overtime and leave-balance calculations are built into the system.
A standalone system on its own subscription. The connection to Qoyod Accounting is now available.