In order to create a successful business, it is essential to have a clear set of core values. These core values will guide your company culture and help you attract the right employees.
When setting core values, it is important to consider what is most important to you and your team. For example, if you prioritize customer service, one of your core values could be “always putting the customer first.” It is important to make sure that your core values correspond to your company’s mission and vision.
Once you have determined your core values, communicate them to your employees and customers. By living and breathing your core values, you will create a strong foundation for your business.
Your company’s core values also provide a roadmap for your employees and set the tone for how you interact with customers, partners, and other businesses. So it’s essential to get them right!
Check out these tips on setting the right core values for your company.
1. Define What a Core Value is and Why it’s Important for Your Company
Company’s core values are the beliefs that guide its decision-making and shape its culture. They are important because they help to ensure that everyone in the company is working towards the same goals.
The right company core values can make a big difference in terms of how successful a company is, both in its ability to attract and retain talent and in terms of its bottom line.
When choosing company core values, it’s important to consider what those values should be. Some companies choose values that are based on their industry or their country of origin. Оthers choose values that reflect their company’s mission or philosophy.
Regardless of how you choose your company’s core values, the most important thing is to make sure that they are authentic and that everyone in the company is committed to living them out.
2. Brainstorm a List of Values That Reflect Your Business and its Culture
Brainstorming a list of core values that reflect your business and its culture is an important step in creating a strong foundation for your company. Your core values should should guide everything from your marketing strategy to the way you treat your employees.
While it can be tempting to just choose a few buzzwords that you think represent your business, it’s important to take the time to really think about what your company stands for.
What are the core principles that you want to uphold? What is the culture you aspire to? Once you have a clear idea of your company’s core values, you can begin to create policies and procedures that reflect those values.
By making sure that your core values are evident in everything you do, you can help to create a strong, cohesive culture within your company.
3. Narrow Down the List to the Top Five or Six Values
Every company has values that they uphold, whether they are written down or not. These values guide the decisions that employees make on a daily basis. When company core values are clearly defined, it can help to create a positive work environment and improve communication between employees.
As your company grows, it is important to periodically review your core values to make sure that they still align with your company’s goals. When narrowing down the list to the top five or six core values, consider what is most important to you and your company.
Also, think about what kind of culture you want to create for your employees. Choose values that will guide them in making the right decisions for your company. With the right core values in place, you can help to create a positive and productive work environment.
4. Flesh Out Each Value, Giving Specific Examples of How it’s Been Put Into Practice
Every company has core values that guide its decision-making and shape its culture. But not all company core values are created equal. The right core values can be the difference between a thriving business and one that just gets by. So what makes for good company core values?
First and foremost, they should be closely aligned with the company’s mission. They should also be aspirational, meaning that they should represent the company’s ideal state rather than its current reality. And finally, they should be actionable, giving employees concrete guidelines for how to put them into practice.
With these criteria in mind, let’s take a closer look at a company with successful core values:
This is Amazon, whose company core value of “Customer Obsession” has helped them become one of the world’s most successful businesses. This core value manifests itself in a number of ways, but perhaps the most important is Amazon’s focus on customer satisfaction. They obsess over every detail of the customer experience, from the convenience of their online ordering system to the timely delivery of their products. This focus on the customer has paid off handsomely for Amazon, as evidenced by their high customer retention rates and net promoter scores.
5. Assign One Core Value to Each Member of Your Team
As a leader, one of your most important tasks is to ensure that your team functions like a well-oiled machine. Part of this involves clearly defining roles and responsibilities, but it also requires instilling a shared set of values. This can be a challenge, particularly if your team is large or diverse. However, by taking the time to assign each member to a core value, you can help to create a cohesive and purposeful team.
Think about the values that are most important to your company or organization. These could include things like innovation, customer service, or teamwork. Once you have a list of values, pair each member of your team with one that you think they embody. This doesn’t mean that they need to be perfect examples of the value, but rather that they should be strong advocates for it.
By aligning team members with core values, you can help to create a shared sense of purpose and identity. This can be especially helpful when times are tough or when goals seem out of reach.
When everyone is working towards the same goal, it can help to keep the team united and focused on what’s important.
6. Revisit and Revise Your Core Values as Needed
As your business grows and changes, it’s important to revisit your core values on a regular basis. Are they still aligned with the direction your company is moving in? Do they continue to reflect the culture you’re trying to create? If your answer is no, maybe, it is time to make some changes.
Of course, revising your core values is not a decision that should be taken lightly. These values are the foundation of your company, so any changes should be made thoughtfully and with careful consideration.
However, if you find that your values are no longer serving you well, don’t be afraid to make some changes. By aligning your core values with your company’s current needs, you can ensure that your business always remains true to its core.
3 Examples of Companies With Amazing Core Values
Discover
Discover’s principles are succinct, elegant, and effective. The values, frequently in the form of an acrostic poem, showcase Discover’s commitment to honesty, innovation, and collaboration.
Discover genuinely believes in these principles and considers giving back to be a vital part of its community’s improvement as well as a successful business.
Discover even offers a matching donations program for employees, allowing them to contribute to the organization of their choosing.
Discover implemented a recognition solution that allowed employees to congratulate each other for living their values as part of its continuing effort to encourage positive behaviors and show respect for its team. Recognition encourages Discover personnel to assist their clients in making educated financial decisions, whether they are discussing how to improve a client’s credit rating or explaining the method a loan is organized.
“Don’t be evil” has been one of Google’s core values but the phrase has been considered as too negative. That’s why the company has reworded it to “do the right thing” which is pretty well known.
Google’s priorities as a technology firm are somewhat different. For example, you won’t find anything similar to “democracy on the web works” on a list of important things to Adidas, and Google isn’t concerned about athletic performance.
The tone of their words, along with the values themselves, show how they reflect the sector (and company) in their attitude. “You can make money without causing harm” is just as effective an extract from a TED Talk as it is a corporate core value.
Salesforce
Salesforce’s goal is to “unite companies and consumers”. They have a strong team of over 55,000 workers. Salesforce has been consistently rated among the best employers in the world, and it might be due to its compelling set of fundamental principles.
Here is a list of Salesforce’s main core values:
- We act as trusted advisors for our clients.
- When our clients succeed, we succeed.
- We collaborate to innovate.
- Everyone deserves the same opportunities.
- Sustainability is a priority.
Wrapping Up
It’s not easy to set your company’s core values, but it’s worth the effort. By taking the time to think about what you stand for and what you want your company culture to be like, you can create a foundation that will help guide your business decisions now and in the future.