If you’ve developed core company values that encapsulate what your business is about, it’s time to use them! The most effective core values tell the world what your company believes in, set out your organization’s priorities, and guide your current and future activities.
An important way to put core values to good use is to make sure employees know and understand them. When your core values inspire and guide how your team behaves, not only does the organization reap the benefits, employees do too.
Before we dive into what the benefits are, let’s take a quick look at how to make sure your core values are effective. Your core values should be:
Relevant and Inspiring
Employees need to understand how values relate to their roles and the company’s success, so avoid overly generic or wishy-washy words.
Communicated Clearly to Employees
Not just through literature, but through training, reward programmes, and other initiatives.
Embraced by Managers
Employees might reject core values as a double standard if they see their superiors ignoring or flouting them.
Core Values Improve Employee Performance
When employees live the values that are most important to your business, performance can improve as a result. Employees who understand and believe in your core values can…
- Have a clearer understanding of their own role
- Know what the company is trying to achieve, and how they can contribute
- Know the values and attitudes they need to adopt to perform at their best
Use your core values to guide their actions in new or difficult situations.
Core Values Improve Employee Engagement
Engagement is a measure of how committed, energetic, and focused employees are in their approach to work. Disengaged employees are likely to put in less effort and want to leave your organization. Engagement generally increases alongside job satisfaction and workplace morale.
Effective core values can increase engagement by creating a workplace culture built on principles that employees believe in.
Engagement benefits may be even greater where you involve employees in defining your core values, such as through consultation or surveys.
Attractive Core Values Attract Top Talent
Your core company values can also help you compete for the best talent, in three significant ways.
Firstly, when potential employees find your core values inspiring, they’re more likely to apply for a position. This could give you a wider candidate pool to select from. Inspiring core values might include things like ‘innovative’, ‘humble’, or ‘creative’.
Secondly, when your workplace is known for a strong culture built on real values, word can travel fast. Your reputation as an employer expands, enticing more people to work for you.
And finally, core values don’t just help you recruit better-quality employees — they help you attract people who are a better fit, too. When you include them in recruitment materials, such as job ads, you can attract people who already share your core values. These new hires are likely to fit well with your organizational culture.
About Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the Global Authority on Workplace Culture. We make it easy to survey your employees, uncover actionable insights and get recognized for your great company culture. Learn more about Great Place to Work Certification.
