Values: We Need to Talk

A US study found that only 27% of employees believe in their company’s values. For those of us in the talent industry, this should give us serious pause for thought.

We live in a world where:

• Consumers regularly say they are willing to pay more to buy from companies whose values align with theirs.
• Over half of respondents to a recent Glassdoor survey said that “company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction”.
• 35% of jobseekers are willing to turn down a job offer if the company’s values don’t resonate with theirs.

1. Consumers regularly say they are willing to pay more to buy from companies whose values align with theirs.
2. Over half of respondents to a recent Glassdoor survey said that “company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction”.
3. 35% of jobseekers are willing to turn down a job offer if the company’s values don’t resonate with theirs.

The big disconnect

These results aren’t outliers. There are lots of findings that reflect this picture. it’s not that citizens in general and employees specifically don’t value values. There’s obviously a disconnect between employee expectations and what the organisations they work for do and say.

Over 80% of large companies have an official list of values on their website. The talking is happening, but the walking, not so much.

Like the politician pretending to be a football fan because they think it will make them popular, what stands out in the values battle is authenticity. The lack of it is obvious a mile off – candidates and employees are as sceptical as football fans. They know what it feels like to be promised the world.

This throws up a rather heretical question….

What are values for?

Established well they lend a wider meaning to the world of work beyond the push for productivity, growth and profit. When employees see positive values inform an organisation’s leadership style, celebrated behaviours, approach to reward and discipline, and so forth, that leads to better engagement, advocacy, performance and revenue.

The need for a North Star

Given that millions spend a dominant chunk of their waking hours at work, values can give people a north star. This is especially important in a world where people have increasingly lost faith in mainstream politics. Businesses are under pressure to lead the charge on subjects that matter to big swathes of the public: equality, social mobility, the environment among others.

According to vox.com, people expect organisations to take a stand on issues whether they agree with the particular stand or not. Which leads us to another question: does authenticity trump agreement?

The uniqueness deficit

Research from Lucidity found that the top ten most chosen corporate values are: teamwork, customer-focus, respect, integrity, passion, innovation, celebrating success, accountability, diversity and leadership. Nobody would find fault with any of them but, by definition, no organisation claiming any of these is asserting uniqueness.

So, in light of the lean towards sameyness, you could argue that what matters to employees, candidates and customers is less what a company’s values are but more that they sincerely live them – and are seen to do so. Take two of the above values: integrity and respect. Vox.com’s research states that they appear on roughly 30% of company value lists. They were also on Enron’s – not much ‘sincerely living’ going on there.

Keep it human

Clearly, substance behind values matters. But so does style in articulation. Another route to believability is presentation. Values are marketing tools.

Do you know what these are?

Accessibility
Inclusion
Environment
Education
Supplier Responsibility
Privacy

How about these?

We are going for it and we will set aggressive goals.
We are all on the adventure together.
We build products we believe in.
We are here to make a positive difference in society, as well as make a profit.
We are all in it together, win or lose.
We are creative; we set the pace.

The first set are Apple’s values today. The second set are Apple’s original values from 1981. The difference is stark. And while you can justifiably say that the change represents the organisation’s journey from punky start-up to global behemoth, part of you wishes they’d maintained a commitment to the more human language of 1981. Especially when the magic of their innovations continues to captivate billions across the planet.

And while Apple have no issue attracting candidates, the point remains. In the battle for sought-after talent, style, tone and warmth of language matter. Express your values as distinctive human phrases not just bloodless single words, and you’re less likely to have candidates’ and employees’ eyes glaze over because of what they perceive to be another exercise in employer brand bingo.

The debate about company values continues to grow, evolve and shift in shape. Nothing stays static for very long. But, for now, what rules should we set ourselves when creating them?

Meaningful, believable, liveable, inspirational, seem like as good a place to start as any.