Giving your company and employees something to live by when at work will put everyone in the best possible position to thrive. A robust set of core values is what your company needs to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.
What are company values?
Company values are the core values or standards that guide your business. They should sum up what your business stands for, influence culture and be the driving force in achieving key missions and targets.
Business plans and strategies may change over the years, but the core values typically remain the same. Clearly defined company values can help businesses grow and evolve without losing focus on what’s important.
Here at Mo, we live by these values:
Why are company values important?
Your company’s values are essential in helping your employees understand what you stand for and why. They also offer guidance around how to behave and succeed at work, as well as helping to create a sense of security for everyone, which can greatly impact employee engagement and satisfaction.
In many ways, your company values are closely tied to your company culture, and when you have strong values, there’s a good chance you’ll have a vibrant culture. Having clearly defined values makes it easier to find candidates who are a good culture fit too.
Core values have a significant impact on how your employees feel about your company and can be influential in employee attraction and retention. In fact, Qualtrics research discovered that 54% of employees would be willing to take a pay cut to work at a company with better values.
Gallup’s Perspective Paper on designing employee experience also found that a third of global employees strongly agree that the mission and purpose of an organisation make them feel their job is important.
Elements of effective company values
Here are just a few things worth considering as you choose your core company values.
Keep them unique
While many values resonate with a wide swathe of companies, thinking about what makes your organisation unique can help differentiate you and make you a more attractive workplace.
Link them back to your mission statement
The values should be closely tied to your mission statement so the message is consistent across the company. It might be worth rethinking if you’re struggling to link them back.
Keep them simple and easy to understand
When values become too complicated or difficult to understand, they are less than useless. A strong value can be communicated quickly and clearly.
Update them as your company grows
As your company grows and evolves, its mission and values may change. Be sure to check in on your values on an annual basis so that you can be certain that they stay relevant and useful.
Examples of company values
As we mentioned, you ideally want your values to be as unique as possible, but a little bit of help getting started is always handy. Here are some examples of effective company values.
Core values around integrity
- Trustworthy
- Genuine
- Honest
- Respectful
- Responsible
Core values around growth
- Innovative
- Committed
- Driven
- Determined
- Empowered
Core values around ethics
- Sustainable
- Empathetic
- Fair
- Accessible
- Compassionate
Core values around teams
- Community
- Communication
- Equity
- Curious
- Belonging
Core values around inspiration
- Passionate
- Courageous
- Impactful
- Vision
- Bold
How to choose your core company values
One crucial thing to remember when choosing your core values is that they should reflect the company that you currently are. Some companies fall into the trap of selecting values around where they want to be, and while aspirational values are a good thing, they’re not the same – so be very careful not to dilute your core message.
The Harvard Business Review explains that aspirational values must be carefully managed and shouldn’t take away from the cores, which should serve as cultural cornerstones for the company.
How to communicate your company’s core values
Once you have decided on your core values, the next big step is working out how to communicate them with your team accurately. You may find it helpful to think about how you describe your company culture first and then think about the various communication tools you have at your disposal.
The best approach is a multi-pronged one. There’s no point in choosing your core values and sticking them in a folder that no one reads. Incorporate them into company updates, put them on your website, and integrate them with regular employee check-ins and KPIs.
You can also use them as part of your employee recognition programme, rewarding and spotlighting employees who exemplify your core values.
Transform your culture with Mo
- Improve employee engagement scores
- Reduce employee churn
- Build a collaborative culture
Mo is an employee recognition and engagement platform that can help leaders improve collaboration and morale, reduce employee churn and drive change.
Our platform creates a vibrant culture by developing team habits, encouraging people to celebrate success, recognise results and appreciate colleagues.
Your complete toolkit for connecting and motivating teams in the new world of work. Book a demo with our team today!
