Company Values: More than a pretty poster

It still surprises me to this day when I hear of businesses that are reticent to building, and espousing a set of Company Values.

The reasons behind the reluctance vary, but are often verbalised as “we don’t have the time for that”, or “we have other priorities right now”. I suspect it’s a mix of misunderstanding what a set of Values can bring to a business, or not knowing how to best harness them.

The truth is they can and should be more than a ticked box and poster on the kitchen wall; or a set of words that appear at performance review time.

Let me start with a question; If you were asked today, “What makes your business special” – what would your answer be?

The answer could be your product, or a strong conversion, client retention, profitability, or for some it will be the team. A business leader is challenged with a need create revenue whilst achieving his/her goals. It creates real tension, particularly in early or challenging phases of a business.

There’s a chance the “special” attribute that you answered above will be the area where most of your focus is going. But is that focal point enough, if you consider the challenges you may be experiencing?

Are your focal points driving you to your goals? Finally, consider that any business, regardless of the product, structure or location, involves humans.

Humans need more than just numbers

Humans are social beings. By nature, there is a need for belonging, to feel part of something and to self-actualise based on individual belief systems.

Now in any business, there are cohorts of humans involved. There’s you, or a group of owners or management; the ones driving the strategy and charting the path. Then, there are workers who handle execution of said strategy, coming to work to be a part of something and take home a reward in the form of pay and hopefully, job satisfaction. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the customer cohort. These humans are the ones who choose to take on your offering, regardless of whether it’s a good or a service.

As mentioned earlier, every one of these cohorts possess a belief (or Value!) system, along with a desire to achieve their goals to actualise and feel part of something bigger than just their day-to-day.

Values as a guide

Ultimately an individual’s Values guide their way through life, in the same way that Values should guide a business.

When you’re doing it right, all three cohorts can perceive your Values as an experience.

The earlier observation around prioritisation and time spent setting and implementing a Value set are not incorrect. It adds an extra layer of time and thought, but this is the point. To guide a business, the Values must play an active part in every facet of what we do.

So how do you ensure Values don’t just end up as a pretty poster?

Link them to your Strategy and Vision

Think about those 3 cohorts and your strategy.

It’s likely that as a leader or leadership team you possess an acceptable “way” of doing things. These “way”'s manifest in observable attributes and behaviours every day.

There’s a good chance that you have some insights from your market segmentation work, which outlines demographics and behavioural expectations in the customer cohort. You will likely also have job descriptions for your internal cohort. Much like the external cohort, there will be favoured behaviours you’re looking for in the individual. These are a great place to start when considering your “ways” that lead to your Values – you’ve already started, I guarantee it!

I caution a guess that documents like market segmentation packs and job descriptions link back to your strategic goals, and therein lies your strategic link.

Then there is your vision. Chances are you have one in mind, but articulation is critical! Your Values, along with much of what you do within your business, must align to an end state that goes beyond a number.

Determining a set of Values shouldn’t be hard, unless of course you’re implementing Values in a business that is struggling with behavioural challenges, and sub-optimal performance. In these cases, there’s an extra layer or two of work that go into identifying risks.

Make it simple

Your Values shouldn’t be hard to build or to understand, it’s not about looking for red herrings or fancy words. The key to success is the ease with which people understand, recall and deploy these Values in their day-to-day work.

Keeping things simple is your best chance at getting them truly embedded in your business.

Keep it real and lead by example

Simple yes, but it makes the biggest difference. When you’ve implemented Values appropriately, they become the soul of your business, playing out in every single facet. From the way meetings are run, to the way people are managed, to the way you make decisions on products and customers, right down to the way you market outwards.

The worst thing that can happen is where any one of the human cohorts observe behaviour in dichotomy to the Values. If it does happen, it’s not the end of the world, but it needs to be picked up quickly and called out for what it is.

If you’ve stuck to keeping it real and simple, espousing them daily shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do. But, you must commit to it in the same way you expect others to.

So, what does it look like when it’s done well?

It means more time spent on the business of kicking goals. A common Value set that everyone espouses from the top down, means we are all beating the drum in the same, expected, way.

There is no time wasted bringing people on a journey that is unclear. Performance expectations and measurement become clear year-round, not just at performance review time, which reduces leakage and time wastage. ?

Where behaviours are aligned you have a proposition that is aligned to your customer’s expectation. Remember, we considered them in this too?

Finally, you have a team of people who, by virtue of attraction and affinity with your Values, are itching to achieve your Vision. They WANT to be there! Being involved in the business helps them contribute to something they believe in, something that aligns with their Value set, leading to better engagement and hence, performance.

Sometimes the immeasurable things make the biggest differences to business, don’t ignore them!

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If you would like any assistance with setting your Vision or Values, please feel free to reach out for a no-obligation discussion on how I may be able to help.

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