Are Your Company Values More Than Just Posters on the Wall?
Values help companies succeed. If you can build a strong culture where your values are lived every single day, research shows that you’re likely to outperform your competitors by a wide margin. But how can you create that elusive corporate culture that drives performance and profitability? One thing is certain: It’s not by printing those values on posters and hanging them on your walls. Over time, those posters will probably just gather dust.
The secret lies in following these three steps:
1. Make your values behavior-oriented
At the end of the day, your values and the associated culture are the sum of the behaviors of your employees. Let’s face it, values that solely consist of vague buzzwords such as “integrity” and “excellence” are doomed to fail. Why? Because there is very little meaning behind those words. Do you expect “Excellence” from your employees? Surely you do. But what really is an excellent performance? That leads us to step 2.
2. Convert values from vague ideals into actionable parameters
Have you heard of SMART goals — goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely? The same criteria can and should be used to create SMART values. In fact, only when your values fulfill these criteria can your employees convert them from a cute mission statement into concrete actions.
The secret lies in turning simple words into words that move employees to take positive action. But your work is not finished there. The next step is about actually living your company’s values through ongoing feedback.
3. Develop those behaviors through continuous feedback
Now that employees know what specific behaviors reflect your desired values, they can apply them in their daily work and develop them through frequent, real-time feedback from their boss and co-workers.
Therefore, you must make it easy for your employees to provide and receive timely and specific feedback to continue their growth. This allows for the repetition that is critical in mastering a behavior. If you do this, you will be well on your way to developing the company culture that you’ve always wanted.
In summary, it all comes down to this:
- Remember that values are reflected by behaviors
- Clarify your values and make them as specific and actionable as possible
- Embed them into everyday actions through continuous feedback
Would you like to learn more about how you can make your company values come alive? Contact us. We’re a lightweight solution enabling ongoing, real-time feedback among employees and frequent conversations between managers and employees. The result is a culture that engages, empowers and aligns your employees to deliver on your organization’s top priorities.
