Getting your values to work

A number of recent conversations with clients has prompted this article as it seems to be a common situation organisations are finding themselves in. They have a good, solid, well-thought through values framework in place. But it hasn’t quite got off the ground. 

• Bring in the CEO, MD, Chair to set the example. Ask him or her to pick a value and talk through what he or she has done recently that was in line with this – and how he or she intends to put this into practice in the coming week.
• Highlight those seen to be living the values.
• Get senior executives to talk about the framework.  Make sure they know what the framework will do for the business, for all employees staff and for customers, and giving them the right words and messages that you want them to use.  Ask them to share how they are personally using it and then filtering the framework down.
• Have the top team go through a 360 degree feedback process using the new framework.
• Get the senior managers to use the competency framework in performance discussions with their own teams.
• Invest in producing supporting resources. We’ve seen daily tear-off calendars work well or with each day reminding employees of one of the values, behaviours, or specific indicators. It can encourage people to think about what they can personally do to demonstrate that value on that day. A less costly idea is an online pop up message that can be posted onto log-in pages.
• Make the link clear between the strategy and the values. Expand your intranet pages or company documents on the strategy to include the behavioural elements so that the word read, “In order to achieve this we will need to be more…... we will need to demonstrate…., etc.  “

What ideas do you have to make your values work for your organisation? 

You may be also interested in our thoughts on how to bring to life a broader competency framework.