Should your company have a mission?

Paul Miller, a data analyst and team leader for Better World Books, just returned from two weeks in Uganda and South Africa -- on the company’s dime.

In Uganda, he rode a dirt bike deep into the bush to visit children who have grown up with years of internal warfare. For the first time, they are in school and doing well, thanks to a local mentoring system and scholarships made possible by the Invisible Children organization, which received a grant from Better World Books.

“It was really great to see firsthand the fruits of the work we’re doing. Even though you know that your company has a mission, when you work in a warehouse all day managing sales and financial data, you feel disconnected from that mission,” said Miller. “This trip reinvigorated my commitment to work.”

Now when he tells people that he works for an online bookseller that donates a portion of its profits to support literacy and education initiatives around the world, he has real stories to share.

“It feels good at the end of the day to know that what you’re doing is contributing to something bigger than you or the company you work for,” he said.

A mission was part of the company long before there were any profits, said Xavier Helgesen, who co-founded Better World Books in 2002. When he and his college buddies discovered that there was a market for selling their used textbooks online, they organized a fundraising book drive at Notre Dame University to benefit a community center in South Bend, Ind.

As the idea for a company grew, the mission became more international in scope. “To fund literacy by selling books was part of the original business model,” said Helgesen. A side benefit is recycling books keeps them out of landfills.

Headquartered in Atlanta, the company has grown to almost 300 employees and gives $2 million to $3 million a year to five literacy partners, including Books for Africa, Room to Read, and Invisible Children.

After Helgesen traveled with Books for Africa to see the impact of its work, he decided that his employees would benefit from similar experiences.

“We began taking six or seven people a year in 2004-2005,” said Helgesen. “At first we just selected people, but now there’s a lottery within the different departments.” Employees from accounting, shipping, customer service or warehousing have traveled to about 10 countries in all, including Brazil, Mexico, Zambia, Ghana and Vietnam.

“When we visit schools that now have libraries, there’s quite a reception with tribal dancing, singing and students reading essays or poetry,” said Helgesen. “It reminds everyone of the ‘why’ behind what we do.”

While costly, the trips build relationships among employees. “It creates a much tighter culture and better collaboration between departments,” he said. “You have to be willing to trade off short-term expense for the long-term benefit of a more engaged and loyal employee base.”

Helgesen believes having a mission is good business.

“A lot of people want their job to mean more than just a paycheck,” he said. “As companies battle for top talent, a mission can give you a competitive edge. You attract a larger and better pool of applicants.” A recent executive posting by the company drew 300 applicants.

“A lot of people want to work for nonprofits, but they don’t like the pace or the pay,” said Helgesen. “Companies with a mission offer the best of the profit and nonprofit worlds, the competition and fun of business, with meaning.”

He said he believes that in 20 years, being dedicated to a mission will be one of the ways companies compete, in part because of transparency.

“It’s never been easier to find out what companies are doing, and when people find out you have great prices, customer service and provide value to society, they want to support that,” he said.