Mission critical refers to any factor of a system (equipment, process, procedure, software, etc.) whose failure will result in the failure of business operations. That is, it is critical to the organization's 'mission'.
As a rule in crisis management, if a triage-type decision is made in which certain components must be eliminated or delayed, e.g. because of resource or personnel constraints, the mission critical ones must not be among them.
According to Tandehill Human Capital, in the human resources field, there is a category of jobs called mission critical. Mission-critical jobs are those jobs that help the organization maintain or develop its distinct competitive advantage. Because of the importance of these jobs, they are typically paid a premium to market. When determining mission-critical jobs, organizations consider:
- A job’s expected contribution to long-term organizational success
- The criticality and/or unique contribution of a job to achieving ongoing long-term objectives
- The difference in contribution level between having an average performer and a high performer in the job.
Because of the pay premium available to mission critical jobs, the group is typically very limited (no more than 5% of all jobs) and the entire leadership team must be in agreement as to which jobs are mission critical.
Famous quotes containing the words mission and/or critical:
“We never can tell how our lives may work to the account of the general good, and we are not wise enough to know if we have fulfilled our mission or not.”
—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)
“A third variety of drama ... begins as tragedy with scraps of fun in it ... and ends in comedy without mirth in it, the place of mirth being taken by a more or less bitter and critical irony.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)