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A culture is the way that everyone at your company thinks, feels and acts. The quality of your culture will determine how well your employees support one another, innovate and build products that resonate with your customers. Core values are the assumptions about who you are, what you stand for and how you want to operate as a company. They help individuals understand where they fit into the bigger picture, aligning actions and creating shared expectations. If you have a strong culture and great employees, it will be much easier to hire new talent. If you have a weak culture or no culture at all, it will be nearly impossible to find and keep top people. A good core values framework can help you build a strong company culture that resonates with everyone from the lowest-level employee to the CEO.
What are core values?
The importance of core values cannot be understated.
Core values are the guiding principles that your company lives by. They are the reasons you exist, who you want to be and how you want to do business.
For most companies, core values are a significant component of their culture; they are often the focus of company-wide celebrations and meaningful events. Employees are often expected to toe the company line when it comes to core values, but there is a way to go about it that is better for business.
With this in mind, here are some important things to keep in mind when building your company's core values framework:
- Think about what you want to stand for as a company and how you want to be perceived by both your employees and customers.
- Your core values should be reflected throughout your company culture, including policies, practices and procedures.
- Your core values should be flexible enough to evolve as your business needs and preferences change.
- You should be able to expand your core values to include other values that are important to your organization, if need be.
How to build a core values framework for your company
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to building a core values framework. Each company is different and will have different challenges, priorities and challenges in front of it.
That being said, there are some general best practices that can be followed.
- Start by listing your company's current core values.
- Next, write down at least 10 values that you believe would be beneficial to add to your framework.
- Next, start thinking about how you want your core values to be perceived by your employees and customers.
What do you want to be known for?
- Next, start thinking about how your core values should be reflected in your workplace policies, practices and procedures.
- Next, think about other values that are important to your organization and add them to your framework as needed.
Go over your company's current culture
First things first. Before building a foundation on which to build your new culture, it's important to go over the current one. You'll want to understand the norms and expectations that are currently in place at your company.
You may be surprised by the things you learn once you dig a little deeper.
- What is the company culture like right now? What is the vibe like around the office? How are people feeling? What are the key issues/challenges/fun things happening? Where are people spending their time? How are employees prioritizing issues outside of work?
- What would be some changes you would like to see? What would be some changes you would like to avoid? What are the major challenges/issues that need to be addressed but aren't right now? What do you think the company's culture could use?
- What were some core values mentioned in the survey? Were there any non-core values mentioned? What are the differences between non-core and core values for your company?
- What is the company's vision or purpose?
- What does the company's mission statement say?
- What does the company's tagline/ slogan say?
- What are some updated values that could be added to the framework if desired?
Establish your new core values and review with employees
Once you've gone over the current culture, you're ready to start building your new core values framework.
- Create a core values document that spells out the values that your company will operate under. Make sure that all employees are aware of this document and that they agree with it.
- Next, start having regular company-wide discussions about your new core values. In addition to company-wide events, try holding mini-discussions or in-office meet-ups on specific values.
- Next, make sure that your core values are reflected within your company's policies, practices and procedures.
- Next, start having regular company-wide discussions about your new core values. In addition to company-wide events, try holding mini-discussions or in-office meet-ups on specific values.
- Next, make sure that your core values are reflected within your company's policies, practices and procedures.
Conclusion
Core values are a critical component to building a culture and fostering an environment of trust and respect.
Like any other type of communication, they must be authentic and delivered with intention.
They can help your employees recognize when they're being treated unfairly, know when they're doing something unethical, and understand how their actions benefit the company.
When it comes down to it, a core values framework can help you identify the things that are most important to your company. From there, you can figure out how to prioritize them and how to create an environment where everyone feels valued and heard.
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