Are your company culture and values at odds with your HR policies? And do your employees even know what your company culture and values are?
Values-driven policies are one of the best ways to build a workplace culture where both your people and your business can thrive.
Let’s start with a few key questions.
- Do you have clear company values?
- Are they reflected in your policies?
- Do the policies align with your company culture?
- Do you have a strong sense of workplace culture?
- And, perhaps most importantly, would your employees agree?
Company Culture
Company culture is the character and personality of your organisation. It’s much, MUCH more than just policies, it’s the entire employee experience.
A positive workplace culture can boost morale, productivity and wellbeing. It helps create an inclusive environment where people feel valued and supported, while also strengthening your organisation’s reputation and helping with recruitment and retention.
A strong sense of culture and clear company values are super-important for a successful business. Without them, it can be difficult to create a cohesive team working towards shared goals.
Strong company culture + clear values = happy employees + thriving business.
But you know what? It doesn’t just happen. Culture needs to be built, nurtured and maintained.
How can you create a positive workplace culture?
Focus on some of the most important elements:
- Open and honest communication
- Strong employee relationships
- Clear and transparent policies
- Opportunities to do good work
- Recognition and appreciation
- A sense of belonging
- Good leadership
- Trust and flexibility
And of course… people who actively promote your workplace values!
One of the key ways to create and maintain a positive company culture is to ensure your organisation’s values are visible, understood, respected and, most importantly, put into practice.
Company Values
Company values are the principles that guide how your organisation operates, makes decisions and treats people. They should help shape your HR policies and influence the overall workplace culture.
Values can be based on behaviours, beliefs or business goals, but ultimately, they give everyone direction and help define how your people interact with each other, as well as with clients and customers.
A quick Google search will show you some great examples of company values. Some are single words, others are statements, and there’s a huge variety.
Take a look at well-known brands such as Disney, Apple or Patagonia. Their published values might inspire you when developing your own, or reviewing the ones you already have.
Could yours do with a refresh to ensure they truly reflect what is important to you and the company? Do your current stated values make it clear what working in alignment with them actually looks like – can your team confidently state what it means to demonstrate those values?
Why are company values important?
Clear company values can:
- Guide decision-making
- Create shared goals
- Help attract and recruit the right people
- Improve employee engagement and retention
- Shape your business strategy
- Build trust with customers
- Differentiate your business from competitors
But remember, values only make a real difference when they’re reflected and reinforced in everyday behaviours, not just displayed on your website or office walls!
How to identify your company values
If you don’t already have clearly defined values, here are three tips to get you started.
1. Ask your team!
There’s no point creating a set of values that don’t reflect your people. Involving employees in the process can help identify shared behaviours, beliefs and priorities that already exist within your organisation.
Perhaps share a few examples from other businesses to kickstart the conversation.
What resonates with your team? One-word wonders or meaningful statements? Which values would they be proud to stand behind?
2. Think about your company
What was your vision when the business started, or when you joined the senior team? What is it now? Has it changed, and why?
Your business goals, purpose and direction should all help shape your values…and vice versa!
3. Think about your customers
How do your customers perceive your business? Are you happy with that perception?
If you are, consider what makes that relationship work. If not, think about how your company values and the behaviours behind them could help change things for the better.
How to build values into your company culture
What we say is what we do.
Your company values should be reflected in how your organisation operates, not just what it says.
So, how can you make that happen? How do you successfully embed them across all aspects of the business so they are simply “how it is around here”?
- Write them down: Publish your values, include them in employee handbooks and make them easy for everyone to access.
- Lead by example: Managers and leaders should demonstrate company values through their actions and decisions. Nobody likes one rule for management and another for everyone else!
- Review everyday practices: Do your processes, decisions and behaviours reflect your values? If not, what needs to change?
- Run workshops: Give employees opportunities to discuss what the values mean and how they apply to their roles.
- Recruit purposefully: Look for candidates who can demonstrate behaviours that support your values, while recognising the importance of different perspectives and experiences.
- Recognise positive behaviours: Acknowledge employees when they demonstrate your company values in action.
- Communicate regularly: Keep values part of everyday conversations, team meetings and performance discussions.
The important bit! Building values into your HR policies
If you really want to develop strong company values and embed them into your workplace culture, your HR policies need to reflect them.
This helps make your values an integral part of how the business operates, rather than something that only gets mentioned during recruitment or annual reviews.
For example, if your organisation values trust and flexibility, do your flexible working policies reflect that? If you promote fairness and respect, are these principles evident in your recruitment, performance management and grievance procedures?
By weaving your values into your policies, you’re demonstrating to existing and potential employees that they’re taken seriously.
They’re not just lip service, a new-fangled idea or another box-ticking exercise.
You want everyone to embody them, for the air to buzz with them, for the walls to seep with them, and for a choir of angels to sing them in harmony.
OK, maybe that’s going a bit too far…
But ultimately, when employees understand your values and see them reflected in everyday working practices, they’re more likely to feel engaged, supported and connected to the business.
And that can have a hugely positive impact on your organisation’s success.
One important reminder: Writing your values into policies is a great start, but writing alone isn’t enough. The doing has to follow!
Keep your values fresh and relevant. Review them regularly, seek honest employee feedback and consider whether they’re making a difference.
Are your employees happier? Is communication improving? Are your policies supporting the culture you want to create?
Mean what you say, encourage your people to champion your values and give everyone the opportunity to contribute to a positive workplace culture.
After all, it’s a TEAM EFFORT, and everyone should benefit.
At vivoHR we can review your policies (or create new ones) to ensure they are value-driven and purposeful – we are here to help. Contact us on 01252 757359 or drop us an email at hello@vivohr.co.uk.
