How can one set of words give direction, increase happiness levels, improve profitability, and unite teams? Let’s break it down and give you the answers.
So, what are Company Values?
Company values are a clear set of words/descriptions a.k.a. guidelines, that help coach, inform and inspire the ways things are done at your company. They communicate to the world what you care about most, and help teams stay on the right track to reach business goals.
Why values matter
Study after study shows that businesses with strong company values have better financial performance, higher customer and employee satisfaction and grow faster.
This is because their people have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, which leads to increased levels of empowerment, motivation, and fulfilment.
Values should be discovered, not designed
For company values to be authentic and organic, they must be discovered based on insight and input from the whole company. This is not a job for leadership, marketing, or branding teams to simply ‘tick’ off the list. Big mistake. Values are a strategic business exercise that must be based on the collective beliefs of the people within the company.
How values can be used
Company values can be ingrained into all areas of the business to help guide and influence day-to-day decisions, for example:
- Recruitment strategies (making sure you’re hiring the right people)
- Onboarding (setting new starters up for success)
- Performance appraisals (goal setting)
- Recognition (celebrating great examples of people living the values)
- Reward (linking bonuses and renumeration to values)
An inspiring example, Tony’s Chocolonely:
At Tony’s Chocolonely, all employees must believe wholeheartedly in the brand’s mission: to make chocolate 100% slave-free. To achieve this, their core values are their compass for everything they do.
These values have been integrated into all aspects of Tony’s Chocolonely. Did you know….
- Instead of job descriptions, people have impact profiles
- Instead of performance appraisals they hold ‘how you doin’?’ talks
- In their bi-annual Quest-cheer-naire, every team member is asked what’s great and what could be better about working at Tony’s
All hail, company values!
When companies are living their core values, they become their DNA, their north star. People refer to them daily. Teams hold them in high regard. They are used to guide decision-making and ensure behaviours are aligned.
Yes, they have been proven to lead to increased revenue, profit, and business success, but more importantly, they make teams happier, feel more aligned, and generate a greater sense of empowerment, clarity, and wellbeing.
How can HappyHQ help:
Through HappyHQ’s workshops, courses, culture mapping, consultation, and more, we’re here to guide companies on their people-first culture journey.
We feel honoured to have been able to help so many companies discover, define, and implement a set of authentic core values that have positively impacted their company and teams.
Let’s work together to create a better world of work.
