The Leader's Guide to Improving Company Culture
Here are our tips on how you can create an engaging and innovative environment for your team.
What do you think of when you think of company values?
Chances are, you think of the office wall they’re hanging on or that piece of paper you received during your induction. For many businesses, company values are often seen as a marketing buzzword, with their connection to the company culture minuscule.
It’s no surprise that only 23% of employees agree that they apply their organisation’s values to their work every day. What’s more concerning is that only 27% agree that they believe in their organisation’s values.
A refreshed set of company values might just be the thing to get your team feeling more engaged, inspired and aligned to your goals than ever before.
After all, 80% of employees feel more engaged when their work is consistent with the core values and mission of their organisation.
What’s in the company values guide?
This guide will take you through how you can create, implement and champion your core company values in your business every day.
It will show you everything you need to know on how to create company values that will help guide your business forward, including:
- What are company values?
- How to create workplace values
- How to put your new company values into action
- An overview of Employment Hero’s values
Download our guide on how to create company values now.
What are company values?
Company values matter because they are the ideals that shape your company’s identity. Though some may feel that values are merely marketing’s attempt to signal to potential clients, company values have the power to shape decision-making, attract and retain talent, and motivate your employees. These principles called core values are more than just words; they are the foundation of your business values.
The most common company values are integrity, boldness, honesty, fairness, and trustworthiness, but there’s no shortage of values to choose from. What’s important is that they’re clearly communicated, they’re embodied by leadership, and reinforced frequently.
A well-crafted corporate value statement can have a positive impact on both employees and customers, demonstrating what your company stands for. Customer centric values can also directly contribute to customer satisfaction, giving your business a competitive advantage. Regardless of how big or small your business is, every company should have clearly defined and accessible company values.
These values should align with the company’s mission and create a culture that fosters employee satisfaction. If you still consider values to be a marketing gimmick to acquire companies, then catch up; strong company core values are now considered essential to business success.
What are examples of a company’s core values?
At Employment Hero, our core company values are
- We serve
- We invent
- We are one team
- We are bold and ambitious
We use these core values to guide us on a daily basis. Each time we embark on a new project or identify new goals to aspire to, our values are at the forefront of our mind. ‘What value does this serve?’, we ask ourselves.
Our leadership team does an excellent job of embodying these values, which encourages employees to do the same. For values to have this effect, they have to be authentic. If not, they won’t have any impact.
What are the benefits of creating core company values?
A strong set of company values can help your team feel more unified when working towards goals. With a clearly defined mission statement, team members can use these core values as guiding principles to work towards the company’s vision of success.
Creating core values is also essential to the hiring process. By having clearly defined goals, HR managers can filter candidates based on how well they adhere to your company values.
Candidates that don’t fit the bill are unlikely to fit in the company’s culture and may struggle to be productive members of the team. In this way, company values can play a big part in developing your company culture, prioritising which virtues your employees should aspire to and helping them create a sense of belonging in the workplace.
Birds of a feather flock together, so by using your core values to guide you through the hiring process, you can not only reduce employee turnover but also build a work environment that potential candidates want to be part of.
Deciding on a company’s core values
When it comes to deciding on your own core values, consider your team first. The chances are that you already have some strong values that are inherent in your workplace (plus it’s a great opportunity to show your current employees that you value their input).
Conduct a survey of what core values they think best represent your company. Using their feedback, choose a handful of values to help guide and motivate both you and your employees.
How many core values should a company have?
Aim for four values that each represent completely different ideals. Keeping the number of values low will make it easier for your team to remember them and ensure they’re always front of mind.
These principles called core values should form the foundation of your business values. As for keeping them as unique as possible, it’s not very effective to have two core values that represent the same thing (i.e. teamwork and collaboration). Your examples of company values should be distinct and memorable.
Values should also be timeless, remaining as relevant today as they will be in 50 years, truly core values representing the enduring spirit of your organisation. Don’t forget that for values to have an impact, they need to be lived and breathed by the leadership team – if your values aren’t relevant to you, they won’t be relevant to your team. Strong company values are essential for building a thriving company culture.
Communicating company core values effectively is crucial for aligning your team with your business strategy and driving a successful business. When employees see that leadership embodies the corporate values, it boosts employee satisfaction and reinforces the importance of those values within the company core values.
How can you implement new company values?
Deciding on what core values you want to guide your company is the easy part; ensuring they’re absorbed, lived and breathed is the hard part.
We’ve already covered how to make this easier when you choose your values, but what else can you do to help your employees identify with them?
If you’re already using Employment Hero, our latest reward and recognition feature is the best way to not only recognise and reward employees for representing your core values but for highlighting and reinforcing those values to other employees.
The more often you reward behaviour that represents your core values, the more likely your staff is to perform their role in a way that emulates those values. And don’t forget the effect it will have on the person who was nominated!
By recognising and rewarding employees when they go above and beyond, you’re reinforcing a culture of high performance, making your company more productive and profitable. Everybody wins!
Other than recognising and rewarding performance that represents your company values, it’s also a good idea to keep your values front of mind. Name meeting rooms after your values, have them clearly displayed in your workplace and ensure they’re at the forefront of your mind when deciding on new objectives or goals for the year.
Ready to create meaningful company values? Download our guide now.
Want more?
If you want more information about company values, culture and how both of these things are the key to your business’s success – download our guide on creating company values now.
