“Your organisation’s values set the tone for your company’s culture; they identify what your organisation cares about. When your employees’ values align with these, people understand one another, everyone does the right thing for the right reasons and people build great working relationships.”
Mind Tools (www.mindtools.com)
Values are:
“Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable. Values have a major influence on a person’s behaviour and attitude and serve as a broad guideline in all situations” (businessdictionary.com)
“Values in action” refers to how employees should act/behave to really embody these qualities.
Values are at the very core of your brand – they are what you stand for. These attributes shape your brand’s proposition, personality and purpose. If your values are more than just words on a page – if they are truly embedded into the heart of your organisation – they will help you connect with both your customers and your employees.
Employees whose attitude and behaviour are shaped by the company’s values will be more productive and engaged workers. They’ll create a positive working environment and culture. And they’ll deliver those values each and every day in the way they serve your customers.
We can make your brand values mean something to your employees. We’ll talk to your employees and your leaders and find out everything they know about your values. What do words like “customer commitment” or “integrity” mean to them in their day-to-day working lives?
Working with a cross-section of employees, we’ll produce your “Values in Action” – a one-page guide that will become your company’s most valuable document. We’ll assign succinct, meaningful and realistic interpretations of your values. We’ll work with our co-creators (your employees) to embed these active values into your organisation, incorporating your Values in Action into our bespoke training programmes. Teaching the values through training is one of the most effective ways of communicating them to employees, and showing that they matter.
Once your employees are trained up, take every opportunity to reinforce the values in all communication. Reference them in meetings, newsletters, performance reviews and recognition programmes. Every employee touchpoint should incorporate your values.