What are workplace values and why are they important?
To answer this we need to start with a definition of corporate values. Corporate values can be defined in the same way that we define individual values:
A corporate value is an abstract concept that a corporation is willing to embrace at the expense of corporate comfort.
Essentially, corporations establish their values with the expectation that their leaders model the values and their employees buy into the value system and use the values as a vehicle to journey toward the company’s mission and vision. In doing so, they must ensure that the values they choose are actually the values that will be modeled in each circumstance. Any deviation from these values by leadership in the company can have serious implications in the short and long term.
Essentially, the corporation’s values are its very foundation.
Companies that have shared values that are consistently modeled within the organization result in:
- Employees focused on what is important to the organization.
- Less stress on people.
- Less tension between individuals and departments.
- enthusiasm in the workplace
- pride in work
- workplace management
- less bureaucracy
- positive attitudes
- positive momentum
One does not have to look far to find examples of companies that were not properly aligned around a value system and paid the price in the marketplace;
- mundocom
- Enron
- Bre-X
Fortunately, there are many examples of companies that have been built around their values;
- Disney
- house deposit
- Walmart
- starbucks
According to William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre in their book Mavericks at Work, companies should use values to help define a corporate purpose because “high values can drive cutting-edge corporate performance“.
They went on to say that “Great companies are built on genuine passion, plus a daily commitment to great execution. Employees won’t feel the passion, and they won’t be able to maintain operational discipline, unless they feel good about what the company sells and the values it stands for..”
I recently heard of a great example of this from a friend of mine. He told me that they had a customer calling their customer service center and he was very abrasive and abusive to the staff he was talking to. As a result, several staff members refused to speak to this customer when he called. On one occasion, this customer asked for tech support and was so abusive over the phone that the customer service representative broke down in tears.
My friend is the head of this customer support group and he told me that his company values its employees and they state it as one of the company values. When he found out about this situation and the fact that it had been going on for some time, he scheduled a meeting with this abusive customer and paid him back for his customer service contract and told him that he didn’t want it. as a customer for longer.
This is a great example of a company and its leadership modeling the values they state. Many other companies would value revenue more than employees and would try to find ways to keep this predatory customer at the expense of their employees and at the expense of his own reputation.
Employees immediately take note when the corporation’s positive actions align with stated corporate values. This provides positive energy and motivation for the employees.
William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre go on to say that …But they {big enterprises} understand that what it means to be great has as much to do with values as it does virtuosity, as much to do with what makes people tick {Individual’s zone of strength} how much do they know and so? …the most powerful way to create economic value is to embrace a set of values that goes beyond simply accumulating power, and that business, at best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to leave it up to. from the dead hand of business as usual. (The text in brackets is my insertion.)
John C. Maxwell takes this concept one step further, stating that in today’s high-paced, stressful, high-stakes world, ONLY companies that are firmly founded on a value system that is properly modeled and respected can succeed. He affirmed;
The only way to pick up speed and stay the course is for everyone to know and live the company values. John C Maxwell
So we can see that it is extremely important for leadership in an organization to always model the values they declare. Otherwise, employees will lose confidence in the organization and its leadership. As Ralph Waldo Emerson saysYour actions speak so loud that I can’t hear what you say.“.
This alignment around corporate values empowers employees and the corporation as a whole to move towards the achievement of its objectives using an agreed and consistent vehicle for their progress: this vehicle is corporate values.
Don’t forget to register at www.strengthzone.ca and take the free online Values Strength Zone® profile.