Research

• 76% of employees believe that well-defined business goals help cultivate a positive work culture.
• More than 50% of CEOs and CFOs say corporate culture influences productivity, creativity, profitability, firm value, and growth rates.
• Companies with highly aligned cultures and innovation strategies see 30% higher enterprise value growth and 17% higher profit growth.

Statement

Enhancers of this driver

• Clarity of organisational vision that each employee understands.
• Initiating conversations on values and the behaviours that underpin these values.
• Positive reinforcement and recognition of behaviours that reflect organisational values.

Detractors of this driver

• Employees not understanding the organisational values.
• Values that are fluffy and don't drill down to specific behaviours.
• Lack of congruence between organisational values and personal values.

Individual

• Know your company values and reflect on the types of behaviours that underpin each of those values. Values should guide all aspects of business, from the decisions we make, the talent we source, and how we interact with customers. But they can't be applied if they're not remembered.
• Do what you say you are going to do. On the other hand, don't make rash promises that you can't keep. People want to trust you, and your integrity matters.

Leaders

• Model the behaviour you want to see from others. There is nothing more powerful for employees than observing the "big bosses" do the actions or behaviours they request from others. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Become the change you wish to see in the world."
• Promote organisational values by rewarding behaviours that demonstrate them. For example, don't hesitate to publicly reward someone for exhibiting behaviours that align with the company's character. Although this makes the individual feel good, it also pushes the rest of the company to follow suit.
• For your values to continually align and stay on course, employees at every level must share feedback. Feedback keeps us headed in the right direction — for our careers and companies. Whether driving or flying, we rarely get to a destination in a completely straight line. Instead, we need to go through continuous course corrections to arrive at our destination.

Organisation

• The first step is to assess a behaviour-value baseline. The first step is to ask how employees specifically demonstrate your company's values. Whether you insert questions into a current employee engagement survey or create a new survey for this purpose, it's crucial to take the pulse on your organisation's current definitions and actions to get a direct peek into employees' thoughts and views. For instance, the value of "innovating with intention," we could ask: How do you as an employee innovate with intention? What specific behaviours are shown? Then, analyse whether the demonstrated behaviours genuinely serve the organisation's goals and objectives. These survey results can be shared with the executive team and other champions in the organisation.
• Hire based upon values. Develop a list of questions designed to assess a candidate's character and potential fit.
• Keep the company's moral code at the forefront of everyone's mind by making it prominent within the workplace. In addition to featuring it on the company website and in the employee handbook (neither of which employees look at daily), post it where employees often gather (conference rooms, snack rooms, etc.).
• Ask senior managers to police themselves. Senior managers must provide feedback to each other when they fail to walk their talk. It is not up to the second level managers and other employees to point out inconsistencies.