Have you established and defined your core values? If you want to create a successful and motivating place for your employee’s core values are a critical element. Maybe your company has been established for a while and it might be a perfect time to revamp or articulate and rally your team with a discussion of core values.
Research is proving lately that values-driven companies achieve better brand and business performance. Most often start-up companies are identifying their values at an early stage of development. Sometimes that list of values becomes outdated when a business matures. That may be the right time to adjust and identify what shapes your current business. Re-vamping authentic current values is something that may take a little time and thoughts as a value defining project.
First Define Core Values
Defining core values helps an organization hire, secure valued customers, journey through a company crisis and remain accountable to company commitment. This is why values are front and center in every organization. That’s why before you can determine and build, you have to decide what exactly your core values are? It should be something that you personally believe should guide choices and actions, and then determine what is right and what is considered wrong. Defining this should unite employees and define your brand. Because of the importance of this, all core value processes should be communicated in writing to all of your employees.
The New Hire
During the hiring process values can be used as a tool to filter potential employees, as you emphasize the options available to them. This would be a values based hiring process. This relies on asking questions focused on value-based alignment during an interview possibly using a scorecard.
After hiring, new members of the team should be versed in how values drive the operation of the business. Team meetings also provide a forum to reflect and connect with the company’s defined position. This helps a group of people function together as a team towards a common goal. There also should be a plan in place for employee feedback that can adjust and align if necessary.
And, what about internal training? Training materials can be provided that supports the defined values. You can offer courses in support of the customer and customer service expectations. Provide a short power point outlining ethics in business and team first initiatives.
The Team As a Community
Large companies today are giving their employees unusual values, such as “be curious” and “think big”. These values are defined by giants like Amazon and Netflix and they support what is authentic for them in their quest for thinking out of the box. What works for them might not necessarily work for your company especially if you’re a profit-driven company. That is really OK, you might be influenced by the giants but all of that might not define who you specifically are and what your company expects.
You can craft a short bullet point list of what is unique to you and what you have determined will drive your business. This makes remembering what you expect from an employee easier to understand and align with. Essentially who understands the team, the brand, and the business more than the leader?