Company Values

Company Values are important. What does that even mean? To put it simply, company values fuel the culture you want in your business. Ok, what does culture mean? To put it simply, culture refers to ‘the way we do things around here’ and you want that to be positive.

Where do I start you ask?

As a Business Owner, CEO, Director, Manager…whatever your title might be - don’t brainstorm company values alone!

Bring your leaders into the process of developing values - set up a meeting and make sure they’re dedicated to coming out the other end with values that resonate with what your business does. The leaders involved in creating the values will champion them because they have been a part of developing them. They will then have a real passion for the values they helped to create!

Some simple starting steps are:

·         Don’t over complicate things – 3 to 5 company values are enough.

·         Consider what you want your values to be based around:

o   People

o   Safety

o   Clients

o   Community

o   Being ethical

o   Environment

·         These are just some ideas to get you started, you may have another value in mind – once you have selected 3 to 5 values. Write 1 to 2 sentences about how/why your business supports these values.

·         There are no right or wrong values, as long as they fuel the positive culture you want in your business.

·         Look at other company’s values for inspiration, but don’t plagiarise! As the kids are saying these days, “You do you”. As a leadership team, select values that truly resonate with what your business does.

My biggest piece of advice is to create values that are truly genuine that you can follow through with. Don’t use fluffy language if it’s not relatable, make them true to your business. Most importantly…advertise them! Promote them at a toolbox talks, at business meetings, put posters on the wall, scream them from the rooftop, lead by example and adhere to the values yourself.