How to bring your company’s values to life

There’s a big difference for an employee between knowing the company’s values and understanding what it really means to live them.

A global study of 28,000 employees in 15 countries found that sharing company values is the most important factor in increasing employee engagement.

Employee engagement impacts everything from retention to overall business success. So engagement strategies shouldn’t be taken lightly. Once you have the best talent, you want to hold onto it!

A well-designed recognition program that reinforces your values is therefore essential for any organization concerned with having happy, motivated, productive and most importantly, engaged employees.

The more your employees can live your values and interact with them, the more likely they are to embrace them and truly live them day in and day out. And the best way to do this is to consistently share examples of people demonstrating your values as part of your recognition program, reinforcing the right behaviors.

Read on to discover 4 ways to bring your company values to life.

A recognition program based on your values

A values-based recognition program is about knowing exactly what your employees should be recognized for. It’s also about recognizing and reinforcing the behaviors that you want your employees to repeat. When employees associate living the company’s values with a positive emotion created through recognition, they become highly motivated to repeat those behaviors.

Looking for a tool to do this? Consider an employee recognition platform like Celebration to facilitate daily peer recognition. At Altrum, for example, peer recognition messages are associated with one of our values, which further anchors these values in our employees. Click here to discover Celebration.

Hire according to your values

A values-based approach to hiring increases engagement and performance, reduces turnover, and creates a stable culture.

Once you’ve identified key behaviors and associated them with your values, share them openly in your ads as part of your recruiting process.

When newly hired employees begin to invest in their work and see that the company’s values align with their principles and values, they are better encouraged to connect more deeply with those values. And for the recruiting process to work, the values used must be well embedded in the organization. Without this, there can be counterproductive results for the individuals and the organization.

Incorporate values into your performance reviews

Every employee is an ambassador for the company and is responsible for reflecting its values, mission and vision in their daily behaviors. If an employee goes against the company’s behavioral standards, it has an impact on both personal and company performance.

When appraisals focus on company values, it provides a good opportunity to examine these behaviors and the reasons for them in a positive and constructive way.

You can encourage your team to work in alignment with your values by explaining why they are important, setting expectations for how they can do so, and incorporating them into your recognition efforts.

Bring the values to life at all levels of the company

When managers adopt the company’s values on a daily basis, these values become an integral part of everyday life. This means that their behaviors must reflect the values they want to see lived in the company.

Many organizations have an excellent list of values. However, managers don’t always “walk the talk”.

In organizations where leaders act in accordance with the values, members of the organization feel more secure and confident. This feeling allows people to thrive and be more engaged.

Ultimately, a values-based recognition and engagement strategy helps bring those values to life for your employees and managers at all levels. By emphasizing your values through actions and highlighting positive behaviors, you will foster a culture that aligns with your company’s values, mission and goals…and everyone wins!