Incorporating Corporate Values

Core values, or the deeply engrained beliefs which guide a company’s actions are the cornerstone of many of best and most productive companies. Having a set of core values, however, is useless unless they are obvious to the leadership, managers, employees and customers through the actions of all employees. How do they become obvious? It is through the day-to-day interactions of the leaders throughout a company and reinforced through their communication. Leading by example is the best communication tool any leader possesses.

All too often the values are words put together by the leadership team which leaves the leaders motivated only to find their way onto a shelf when day-to-day stresses overcome the team. Sometimes it is merely a publicity stunt and meaningless. Many years ago, while visiting a potential customer I inquired if their company had a vision, mission and values statement. He quickly stood up and started sorting through the papers on his desk. When I realized he was looking for their statement, I said, “No need to show me just let me know what they are, to which he responded, “I don’t know, it is something I made for our brochure!” True core values are not merely words but used to shape the vision and culture of the organization and are obvious though out the company. When done right, core values align all employees, help shape the culture and support the vision of the organization.

When done right, core values:

– Help leadership operate in a consistent manner

– Serve as a beacon to all employees helping them make decisions every day.

– They can educate potential clients regarding what they can expect when interacting with their company

– They can help as a recruiting tool when job seekers research organizations to find a good fit

A blog from 7 Gees stated, “A survey conducted by Deloitte has found that 70% of the employees who agreed that their companies had performed well financially said their executive management team speaks to them often about the core values associated with the culture of the company.”

So how does one bring the company values to life?

1. Leaders are the key to integrating the values into the fabric of the organization. Your people are watching how you behave and if it does not align with the company values it renders them useless.

2. Recruiting: Hire according to the values and make them part of the hiring process to help a potential client understand expectations. Selecting employees that align culturally is as important as their skills.

3. Onboarding: Teach the values during orientation as it shows a commitment to the values and offer ways to help them understand how the values are behaviorally defined.

4. Communication: Reinforce the values in all communication, at meetings and during as many touchpoints as possible

5. Performance: Tie the values into performance reviews to hold people accountable

6. Terminate employees who consistently engages in behaviors that contradict the core values as this sends a message to all regarding acceptable behavior.

When leaders talk the talk but fail to walk the talk it undermines the credibility of the values. When organization remain committed to the values, they reap the rewards as stress is reduced when employees are all aligned and it shows up in the bottom line!