How to make your company’s core values meaningful

When I ran into a former client at the grocery store, and asked him how things were going, I expected some polite small talk. Instead, what he said blew my mind.

The guy (let’s call him Jim) was an employee of a company that our agency, Blueprint Creative, had worked with a few years back to improve their employee experience program. One of our main brand interventions included articulating and documenting the company’s core values: the nonnegotiable principles that would provide their employees with guidance on what on-the-job behaviors would be encouraged and rewarded, and what behaviors simply would not be tolerated.

During our conversation, I asked Jim how things were going at the company after our brand intervention. He said (and this is a direct quote), “Things are going well for the company, but they are going even better for me. I decided to adopt the company’s core values in my personal life and I feel like I’m now a better husband and a better father.”

Wait, what?

What we were aiming for during our brand intervention was for the organization to have core values that every employee could embrace and use as a compass to guide their actions in the workplace. But, clearly, by integrating his company’s core values into his outside-the-workplace routine, Jim had become not just his best version in his professional life, but also in his personal life.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case at many companies around the world. After all, one of the core values of Enron, the company at the center of one of the U.S.’s biggest fraud and accounting scandals, was “integrity”—a core value that employees had violated with impunity.

But, at Jim’s company, their core values were so “sticky” that they stuck with some employees even after they left the office to go home. This is pretty extraordinary, considering that research shows that just 23% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they can apply their organization’s values to their work every day. Presumably, even fewer people believe that they can apply their organization’s values to their personal lives.

So, how do some companies end up with compelling core values that, as in Jim’s case, transform lives, while at other companies, employees don’t even know what their organization’s core values are, or (like Enron), openly flout and disrespect their organization’s core values? Here are a few tips on how you can develop a set of “sticky” core values that are adopted and respected by your employees.

Avoid generalization and ambiguity

Avoid generalized core values like Teamwork, Integrity, and Trust. Whether we like it or not, words like these mean different things to different people. Take “integrity,” for instance. Some companies’ codes of ethics may prevent them from ever engaging in fraudulent behavior like Enron did, but the company may have no problem developing products that harm the environment, which some individuals may consider to be unethical behavior—making a core value of “integrity” ambiguous, open to interpretation, and, by extension, difficult to enforce.

When articulating your core values, avoid using words wrapped in language of generalization or ambiguity. Instead, be specific and unambiguous by getting to the very core of your core values. Read on to find out how. 

Get to the core of your core values

Identify the core element of the principles you want your employees to embrace. For instance, at Blueprint Creative, while we wanted our team members to embrace the principle of teamwork, we drilled down to the specific element of teamwork that we want all of our staff to embody—that of having each other’s backs.

That’s why one of our most treasured core values is “look out for each other.” This action-oriented core value has become one of our team members’ favorite principles and is extremely effective in maintaining a culture where each individual knows that their colleagues will go the extra mile to help and support them.

If you want your core values to be effective, be very specific about the core elements of each principle you want your staff to follow. For instance, if your definition of “integrity” involves environmental protection, your list of core values could include “minimize damage to the environment.”

Similarly, the core of the broad principle of “Innovation” could be “Be a Problem Solver” or “Solve Customers’ Most Burning Problems.” If you want to articulate a core value that emphasizes exceeding coworkers’ and customers’ expectations, your core value could be “Go the Extra Mile.”    

Be highly descriptive

In order for core values to be truly compelling, you must describe and document in no uncertain terms what it means to live your core values. Consider developing a Core Values Handbook, or an audio or video series that explains what each one of your core values means and how each individual can apply your core values to their roles.

Use real-world examples, stories and analogies that leave no room for misinterpretation. By being highly descriptive, you can provide the clarity employees need to live your core values the way they were intended to be lived.

Integrate core values into everyday conversation

If you want your core values to be lived every day, refer to them every day. That’s exactly what Tasty Catering does. At the beginning of every meeting of three or more employees, Tasty Catering employees repeat the company’s core values, leading to employees repeating core values multiple times per week—making it virtually impossible for employees to forget what their core values are. 

Staff members are also encouraged to use their core values to resolve disputes and make decisions. If you want your core values to be effective, find ways to integrate your core values into the daily lives of your employees.

Choose core values that extend beyond the workplace

People are more at peace when the principles that guide their personal and professional lives are aligned. No one wants to be guided by one set of principles at home and by another set of (oftentimes conflicting) principles at work. As Mahatma Gandhi is often quoted as having said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

What Jim did by adopting the company’s core values in his personal life led his thoughts, words, and actions to be in perfect alignment whether he was in the workplace with his colleagues or whether he was at home with his wife and kids. But, that only happened because the core values themselves were worthy of being adopted in his personal life—not just his professional life. Choose core values that add value to your employees’ professional and personal lives.

Enact accountability

Never allow your employees to disrespect your core values. If the infraction is minor, a transparent and direct conversation with the employee who has acted counter to your core values should be enough to get that employee back on the right track.

But serious (or repeated) infractions may require disciplinary action or even dismissal, especially if that infraction threatens the company’s future or puts employees at risk—for example, if an employee ignores safety procedures or acts in ways that put the company in legal jeopardy.

Having compelling core values can make it much easier to manage your employees and can lead to a competitive advantage in the market—but only if your employees embrace and live them every single day. The above tips can help transform your core values from being forgettable into powerful, “sticky” tools that help you to build a stronger brand and a stronger business.