Core values create a cohesive message about what your company stands for. These collective values are a part of what you strive to achieve. Companies hope their employees embody this through their actions and work. This is a large part of the company culture. These values need to be decisively chosen with the purpose. The set values are the foundation that the company is built on. In times of struggle or change leadership and employees should be able to fall on these values and use them as guiding principles.
Choosing the right values:
Choosing core values is not an easy task. It goes far beyond a random choice of a few keywords. The values that you choose have to have meaning and purpose. They should align with the goals of the company. These are words that a company sets as guidelines for how each employee will act, what the company stands for, and what customers and partners can expect. After choosing the values each organization has to define the ways that they apply to the company’s purpose.
New consumer preferences
“Today, 62 percent of consumers say their purchasing consideration is driven by a company’s ethical values and authenticity.” according to Businesswire 2018 “Majority of Consumers Buying From Companies That Take A Stand on Issues They Care About and Ditching Those That Don’t, Accenture Study Finds”.
Core values and purpose are not something to be taken lightly. Studies have shown that companies that are focused on values and company culture are experiencing a growth in brand value and consumer loyalty. Company culture and ties to community or green causes have become a priority for consumers. The importance of taking the time to choose, define, and incorporate values cannot be understated. Ethics and purpose is a key marketing tool that has been ignored in the past but is now at the forefront of company messaging.
“Companies experienced a brand valuation increase of 175% over the past 12 years. With the median growth rate of 86% and the 70% growth rate for brands with a low sense of purpose” – Kantar Consulting’s new Purpose 2020 report “Inspiring Purpose-Led Growth”. (See Figure 1.)
This turn in focus is due to a growing number of Gen Z consumers having increasing financial power and flexibility. This is a growing customer segment that has different views and preferences for the companies that they buy from. Figure 2. shows one of the driving factors behind this demographics buying preference. They look for companies that stand for something. Organizations that have set purposes and values are seeing sales growth.
Our core values:
Our leadership sat down with employees to develop sets of personal values and goals. Together the team worked on setting expectations and values that represented the company. After a larger list was compiled the leadership team sat down and narrowed the values to a list with the ones that best fit the company. They set a definition of goals and expectations for how each value would be carried out.
The values below are designed as guidelines for employees and leadership. These are what our company culture centers around. These values are posted on our webpage so consumers know what to expect. We strive to uphold the values in every aspect of the work and interactions we engage in. Our values directly align with our goals for company culture and the future growth of the company.
Accountability
Accountability is a value that reflects the willingness to take responsibility for your decisions and actions. This is a value that each employee must take upon themselves. This involves a sense of ownership in the quality of work you do and pride in the interactions our team has with customers and other team members. It is a value that must be modeled by everyone and adds not only to the quality of work but is what ties an employee’s sense of fulfillment to the success of the company. The defined expectations are listed below:
- Take ownership of your actions
- Have pride in a job well done
- Embrace responsibility for mistakes and successes
- Do not make excuses
Discipline
Discipline centers around each individual dedicated to the tasks and daily duties. For McMahan Industrial Services this value ties closely with determination. Giving the proper time for quality work can be hard but is expected. Staying on task and working to meet deadlines is an important part of the day-to-day duties of our team. The defined expectations are listed below:
- Be punctual
- Stay focused on safety and quality
- Never leave until the job is complete
Determination
Determination is a foundational value, especially in times of difficulty or change. For our team, this means staying focused on the long-term goals and always finishing a project while maintaining high quality. Determination also includes stepping up and taking initiative beyond the stated duties to get the work done. The defined expectations are listed below:
- Always be prepared and motivated to provide quality results
- Adopt a sense of urgency to make things happen
- Take the lead and be a model for others
Gratitude
While quality work is an important factor for projects gratitude is needed to create a friendly and productive workplace. Gratitude centers around the company culture that we strive to achieve. Being positive about the work and other team members helps to foster a healthy workplace. Respect for each other and customers is the focus of this value. The defined expectations are listed below:
- Have a positive attitude
- Always be respectful
- Stay optimistic in the face of challenges or difficulties
Integrity
Integrity is needed for all of the above values. Quality work requires honesty about mistakes and challenges. This value incorporated our company’s focus on open communication. This also ties into accountability in taking responsibility for actions and commitments that you have. The team is asked to be honest in making tough calls and stand by the decisions that are made. Expectations are defined below:
- Fulfill commitments
- Be truthful
- Do the right thing even when it is hard
