There's a lot of satisfaction in finding the truth and committing it to paper.
Unfortunately, that's often where the commitment ends.
Values might get shared with the team, turned into office artwork or even referenced in employee performance reviews. But after that, there's an expectation that everyone can interpret and apply them without further instruction.
This talking point came up during a live LinkedIn chat I was part of last week, hosted by the always awesome Female Founders Rise.
I was joined by Keith Price, our fractional culture director, who helps our clients (and his own) to clarify, communicate and commit to their values.
What we've found over the course of our careers is that teams need more help in being able to use company values.
Without that guidance, the consistency the company is striving for doesn't happen. The values become little more than marketing messaging rather than a way to align their team.
But what does that guidance look like?
In recruitment, hiring managers benefit from knowing what desirable, values-aligned behaviours and actions they're looking for. Having set questions for each behaviour/action is also helpful.
Beyond hiring, producing guidelines and designing processes informed by company values can be a great way to empower teams to achieve consistency.
It can ensure product development, customer service, communication and employee experience are all reflective of the values the company holds.
In short, for your values to be valuable, they need to be useful. And that means going further than writing them down.
ps. If you're considering articulating your values (or you already have and you're not sure how to use them) we're offering a free, no obligation consultation call to discuss the role of values in your company, including the hiring process. Drop us a note to get started.
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