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 adopt 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 travel 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 short- and long-term implications.
Essentially, the corporation’s values are its very foundation.
Companies that have shared values that are modeled consistently 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 did not have the proper alignment around a value system and paid the price in the marketplace;
- worldcom
- 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 “elevated 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 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 client who was calling their call center and he was very abrasive and abusive to the staff that he was talking to. As a result, several staff members refused to speak to this customer when he called. On one occasion, this customer called for tech support and was so abusive on the phone that the customer service representative burst into tears.
My friend is the head of this customer service group and he told me that his company values its employees and that they declare it as one of the company’s 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 refunded his customer support contract and told him 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 declare. Many other companies would value income more than employees and would try to find ways to keep this abusive customer at the expense of their employees and at the expense of their own reputation.
Employees immediately take notice when the corporation’s positive actions align with the 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 with virtuosity, as much with what makes people tick {Individual Strength Zone} how much do they know cast …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 its best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to be left up to from the dead hand of business as usual. (The text in square brackets is my insert.)
John C. Maxwell takes this concept one step further and indicates that in today’s high-paced, high-stakes, high-stakes world, ONLY companies that are firmly grounded in a value system that is properly modeled and respected can succeed. He affirmed;
The only way to pick up speed and stay on course is for everyone to know and live the company values. John C Maxwell
So we can see that it is extremely important for the leadership in an organization to always model the values that they declare. Otherwise, employees will lose trust in the organization and its leadership. As Ralph Waldo Emerson says’Your actions speak so loud that I can’t hear what you say.“.
This alignment around the corporate values empowers the employees and the corporation as a whole to move towards the achievement of their objectives using an agreed and consistent vehicle for their progress: this vehicle is the corporate values.
Don’t forget to register at www.strengthzone.ca and take the free online Values Strength Zone® profile.