They’re written all over the office, on coffee mugs, and sometimes they’re even the Wi-Fi password. Sometimes it seems that they are more important for human resources people than for the rest of the workers, but their function for the business goes far beyond being decoration on the walls. To clarify everything and find the balance, in this article we will tell you what are company values and why do they matter so much.
What are company values?
The values of a company are the set of principles and beliefs that guide an organization so that it can achieve a specific objective. One way to see and understand values is as a series of parameters that your company will take into account to act in the best possible way on its way to success, and that also distinguishes it from its competitors.
As an intangible asset, a company’s values (also known as corporate values or a company’s core values) are not locked away in a vault or on the CEO’s computer. The values along with the mission and vision, form part of the foundations of the organizational culture or company philosophywhich is all that thought which encompasses the reason for being and acting of an organization.
To make it clearer, let’s see the values of a company that you surely know, rappi:
These values allow Rappi to communicate the principles and beliefs (value diversity, have fun working together, think about the common good) that guide the organization (executing fast, prioritizing, thinking like owners, acting optimistically, dreaming big) towards your specific goal (serve your customers).
What are company values for?
The values of a company guide the purpose of your organization when seeking to fulfill an objective. Having well-defined values allows you to transmit in the best way what are the guidelines that everyone must follow to achieve said objective.
The objective of the values within a company can be related to:
- The evolution of the organization
If the goal of the company has to do with positioning itself as an innovative, historical reference or simply, it wants to transcend its business vertical. - The achievement of growth milestones (economic, infrastructure or personnel)
When the achievement is related to a capital investment that allows growth, opening a new factory in a foreign country or reaching the first thousand employees. - Strengthening the organizational culture
Align the values and philosophy of the company with the thoughts and actions of each and every one of the employees. - The relationship with customers and users
This is when the goal considers some indicator of satisfaction for those who acquire their goods or services or the constant improvement of the interaction with consumers. - or all of the above
Which is basically the combo of hamburger, fries and soda that all companies that want to define their principles very well look for. It is going for everything and in a big way. 🍔🍟🥤
Why are values important in a company?
The values in a company matter because they serve as a compass for the way an organization actsallowing you to always have an action guide on which they should be based so as not to deviate from the purpose for which it was created.
In addition to this, having well-defined values allows them to be communicated effectively to employees so that they, by understanding them, can also guide their actions and decisions in line with the company’s thinking. of Officevibe revealed that the 33% of employees believe that their company values do not align with their personal values. This is a critical point for strengthening the organizational culture.
We’re fans of how Roy, who was long on the board of directors of his uncle Walt’s small business, once put it:
It is not difficult to make decisions when you know well which ones
are your values” –Roy E Disney (1930-2009).
Aha, that little business.
What are the values of a company?
A company’s values typically and ideally stem from its purpose., their reason for existing and must be aligned with the values that govern society as a whole. In other words: the values of a company must coincide with the moral values of the society of which it is a part, if it is to prosper.
Then, the values of a company they don’t come out of a magic trunk in the human resources department; they are actually a reflection of the values that already exist in society, but adapted to the function that each company fulfills within that community. For example, if the value of ‘honesty’ exists in society, a company that charges you for a product and never delivers it to you has no place in it.
Moral values
The values of a company come, in essence, from the moral values that structure healthy coexistence and good customs within a society. Depending on how old the source of your query is, the list of moral values can range from 10 to 200. And it’s not like every day a new value is discovered on a virgin island in the South Pacific. No, more specific versions are simply derived from the more general ones and adapted to the current reality.
In alphabetical order and in case you were curious, here is the list of the , according to psychology-online:
- Honesty
- Tolerance
- Freedom
- Compassion
- Equity
- Comprehension
- Discipline
- Patience
- Prudence
- Gratitude
- Abnegation
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Loyalty
- Harmony
- Ambition
- Altruism.
- Confidence.
- Courage
- Courage
- Modesty
- Perseverance
- Solidarity
- Will
- Self-control
- Overcoming
- industriousness
- Magnanimity
- Objectivity
- Puntuality
- To learn
- Fidelity
- Generosity
- Honor
- Honesty
- Fortress
- Discernment
- Empathy
- Courtesy
- Collaboration
The values most used by companies
according to a by MITSloan Management Review In 2020, in which the corporate values of nearly 700 organizations were analyzed, the 40 values most used by companies are:
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Client
- Respect
- Innovation
- Responsibility
- Social responsability
- Excellence
- Diversity
- People
- Performance
- Confidence
- Learning
- Quality
- Passion
- Transparency
- Watch out
- The others (as people)
- continuous improvement
- Creativity
- Honesty
- Security
- alliances
- financial gains
- Gain
- Ambition/Audacity
- Agility
- Fun
- Leadership
- Speed
- Courage
- Service
- Execution
- Justice
- Modesty
- Perseverance
- Increase
- Entrepreneur
- Change
- Efficiency
What if one of the values that my company already has, or that I would like to use, does not appear in any of the lists? nothing, does not exist Law & Order: Corporate Values or something like that. Remember that values arise in response to the needs of the reality that society lives, in addition to identifying you and distinguishing you from your competitors. So stepping out of the mold a bit, in this case, can be a good thing for your business.
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Examples of company values
To give you examples of a company’s values, we can group them into two segments, according to the way they use to convey their messages. It is important to point out that one of the ways is not better than the other, they are simply different ways of communicating the elements that guide the company.
values of a word
This is perhaps the most traditional and effective way of transmitting the principles that guide your organization, since it simply uses a short list of values, each one represented by a word (or a couple of words, maximum). Although it might be thought that this practice is more common in companies that have been around for more years, the reality is that organizations of all ages use this format.
Spotify
- innovators
- sincere
- passionate
- Collaborative
- playful
💥 The data: the company calls its corporate identity The Band Manifestobecause there are no soloists, everyone is part of a group that plays in sync.
microsoft
- Respect
- Integrity
- Responsibility
💥 The data: With the arrival of the pandemic, this technology company added to its traditional values on its global site, a new one that involves fighting against COVID-19.
slack
- 💁🏿♀️ Courtesy
- 🌻 Spirit of overcoming
- 🔨 Occupation
- 🙆🏼♂️ Joviality
- 🙌🏼 Solidarity
- 💗 Empathy
💥 The data: that’s right, as part of its ‘jovial’ value, Slack’s values include an emoji to distinguish itself from the competition.
Samsung
- People
- Excellence
- Change
- Integrity
- joint prosperity
💥 The data: this is one of many examples in which people are considered a fundamental value within the structure of the company.
Netflix
- Criterion
- Communication
- Curiosity
- Courage
- Passion
- Generosity
- Innovation
- Inclusion
- Integrity
- Impact
💥 The data: If there is a company that has been in charge of adding values to its list over time, that is Netflix. Remember that it emerged in 1997, as a DVD rental service.
Values with storytelling
As part of an exercise to generate empathy and align beliefs with employees, investors and users in general, many companies resort to , a method that consists of turning values into a narrative exercise with a story, anecdote or story as a base, which becomes into a common thread to explain the organization’s reason for existence.
storecloud
- We put the customer at the center of our decisions
- We take the reins; we are deeply committed
- We say what we think; we debate; we advance
- we think big
- We execute with excellence: we prioritize, test, measure, iterate
- We stay humble; we learn and build trust
- We work as a team; we empower each other
💥 The data: Thinking about our purpose and how we managed to transform dreams of entrepreneurs into stories that transcend, in 2021 we developed our tagline:
Show the world what you’re capable of.”
Cougar
- Be brave
- Trust yourself
- do it with determination
- Enjoy it
💥 The data: The values of this company are based on the characteristics that any athlete must have to be successful.
RiotGames
- Player experience comes first
- dare to dream
- Grow up together
- aspire to excellence
- ambitious but humble
💥 The data: the company asked a group of employees to renew their values, thinking not about what they are today, but about what they want to be tomorrow.
clips
- we obsessed
- We learn
- We share
- we adapt
- Our services are
- we are reliable
💥 The data: the values written in English are based on the same construction, putting the ‘we’ (‘us’) before each concept to reflect team thinking.
ByteDance (TikTok)
- always like day 1
- Keep your feet on the ground and be brave
- aim for the highest
- be candid and clear
- Be open and humble
💥 The data: The first value speaks of how the company always works as if it were the first day of this startup, so the effort is constant in all its actions.
airbnb
- Fight for the mission
- be a host
- embrace the adventure
- Be a…
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