Last week we ran a seminar on being authentic to your brand values. Once you have defined your values the challenge firstly becomes embedding them in your culture. The more successful you are at this, the easier it becomes to be authentic in your marketing and customer experience . So how do you achieve this? It is the “repeating” of and living “consistent” with the company’s values that is the most difficult. It goes beyond posting the values on the wall and handing out plastic laminated cards. Here are eight ways to keep these values alive:
Recruitment and Selection – Design your interview questions and assessments to test a candidate’s alignment with your core values. Then rate the person in terms of their perceived alignment with each core value. Your objective, after all, is to make sure your new hires fit in.
Induction – Once recruited, it’s time to immerse the individual into the culture. The induction process is when you can further emphasise and teach the company’s values.
Performance Appraisals – Values should provide the framework on which you complete your performance appraisal system. Arguably, any performance measure can be made to link with a core value.
Rewards – Provide a reward and recognition system linked to your values. You also gain a new source of corporate stories each time a reward or recognition is given that highlights a core value.
Newsletters – Why struggle to come up with a catchy title for a newsletter when some word or phrase from your core values will do just as well? Highlight a core value with each issue, incorporating stories about people who are exemplars of these values.
Quarterly Themes – Use your values to focus attention on your quarterly strategic initiatives. Establish a ‘rhythm’ that keeps the core values top of mind in a repetitive fashion.
Everyday Management – Senior Managers and CEOs can repeat core values endlessly without it seeming ridiculous so long as the core values they’re using truly are relevant and meaningful to their employees. When you make a decision, relate it to a value. When you reprimand or praise, refer to a value. When customer issues arise, by all means, compare the situation to the ideal represented by the value. Small as these actions may sound, they probably do more than any of the previously highlighted strategies for bringing core values alive in your organisation.
Storytelling – Everybody enjoys a good story and most great leaders have taught through parable or storytelling. Identify some past and current stories that represent each value and share them
A final thought. As a leader of your organisation the team will look to you. The values of your company must be ‘lived and breathed’ by you daily. This is your most important role – be the guardian and exemplar of your culture.
