Company Core Values

Company core values:
From words to practice
Business leaders often spend a lot of time and effort creating

their mission, vision and company core values.
But what tends to happen next? Business leaders type these

words up and send them out to employees – but then they fail to
put those values into practice, people forget about the values
over time and all that work goes to waste.
If you’re not going to back up words with action, your company

core values may become meaningless jargon that no one pays
attention to.
Letting this happen could cost your organization in significant

ways.
What happens if there’s no clarity among your stakeholders about

what your company believes in?
• There’s no shared consensus about what it means to be a

part of your company, the preferred way to interact with
others and how to complete tasks. This can influence
your workplace culture and employee retention.
• Managers and employees may start operating according to
their own values and priorities, which may not align with
yours. This could impact your reputation, productivity and
overall quality of work.
• You may have a difficult time recruiting the caliber of
employees you want. It’s important for many job candidates,
especially younger Millennials and Generation Z workers,
that their company exhibits values that align with theirs.
• As your company grows, it may be more challenging to
assimilate new team members and establish consistency
across the organization.
Getting started
Now, you might be wondering:
• What are company core values?

• How do I select company core values in the first place?
First, ponder the mission and vision of your organization – your

purpose and the goals you’re trying to accomplish.
Then consider your company core values, which are:
• A set of ethics and principles that govern every action your

company takes and every decision your company makes
• The behaviors you and your team exhibit as you work
toward your mission and vision
• The character traits by which external parties know your
company
• The cornerstones of your company’s foundation and the
guideposts that keep you on track – especially when your
company is under pressure and facing challenges
Everything you do is tied back to your values.
As you consider what your values are, ask yourself:

• What you believe in
• Which values seem to be most commonly shared and
expressed across your company
• The type of people you want to work with now and in the
future
• The sort of environment you want to spend time in for the
long term
The values you select should be consistent across your entire

company, whether it’s the finance department, sales, customer
service or operations.
Additionally, values should be carefully thought out in advance

and chosen with intention. They shouldn’t be a knee-jerk reaction
to current events. They should be steadfast and unyielding.
Essential company core values to consider

Here’s a list of values that any company can use as a starting
point:
1. Safety. This is a basic promise to everyone that hey’ll work

in a secure, supportive environment.
2. Respect. Every individual is important and priceless. People
can disagree, but there’s no reason to judge or condemn.
3. Pursuit of excellence. Perfectionism may be unrealistic
and therefore unattainable, but you can still strive to go
above and beyond in all you do and deliver high-quality
products or services.
4. Integrity. Be honest about your work and align your words
with your actions.
5. Creativity. Do your best to stay innovative and look for
opportunities to make a difference.
6. Servant leadership. This means that you, and all of your
managers, seek to understand employees’ perspectives and
consider how you can help them succeed so they can
accomplish company goals. Build a culture of positive
influence in which you ascertain employees’ strengths and
develop them – not a culture of power, which is really more
about instilling fear and anxiety in people.
7. Responsibility. Your ability to respond to issues or
challenges and decide how to best serve customers starts
with you. Resist the it’s-someone-else’s-fault mindset.
8. Determination. You and your team should have a resilient,
never-give-up attitude.
9. Community service. Consider the unique ways in which
your organization impacts and benefits the larger community
around you. Are there any special areas of interest to you?
Which community causes are most relevant to your
organization and its mission?
How to put your company core values into action

1. Choose values that you and your leaders not only believe
in, but are willing to personally live by.
Model these values from the top of your organization. One of the
great things about running a business is that you can choose to
create a culture that you believe in and look forward to
experiencing. It’s essential to choose values that are realistic,
achievable and that you can exhibit on a daily basis.
This way, you can be more consistent in demonstrating these

values. The more consistent you are, the more your employees
and the people around you will recognize what matters most and
will model your behavior.
After all, great leaders don’t just tell people what they value –
they demonstrate it through their actions. Some leaders make the
mistake of thinking their employees don’t know what they’re doing
most of the time. The reality: Employees know what their leaders
are doing all the time.
So, if you’re not careful and become lax in exhibiting your values,
your values will say one thing – but your employees will see
something completely different coming from leadership.
2. Hire employees who share and embody your values.

Your values pave the way for your company to become a best
place to work. In turn, this helps your company to grow, attract
top talent and expand into new markets.
One of the greatest attributes of having your core values

embedded into your day-to-day operations is bestowing a sense
of security onto your employees. For them, it’s much easier to
refer someone to your workplace when your employees know
exactly what the company values and how those values are put
into action.
And don’t forget that like-minded people tend to attract others like
themselves. When you create a best-place-to-work culture, those
people will look for others who will continue to carry on those
values.
A workplace that emphasizes certain values, such as integrity

and respect, is going to attract a higher-caliber employee –
people who care about these values, too.
3. Emphasize values from day one of each employee’s

tenure.
Don’t miss the crucial opportunity during employee onboarding to

introduce new hires to your company core values and set
expectations for their workplace conduct. Their first weeks on the
job can get them aligned with your values and set them up for
success.
4. Incorporate your values into employee rewards and

recognition.
Align employee rewards and recognition with the values you most
want to see in your team members. For example, if you want your
employees to show respect for others or a capacity for
innovation, periodically recognize individuals who demonstrate
this quality at an outstanding level.
Promote these rewards and recognitions within your company so
that people understand their expectations and know what to work
toward.
Use both peer-to-peer and leader recognition.
5. Incorporate values into performance evaluations.
As you review employees’ performance, grade them on how well

they demonstrate your company core values. This not only
reinforces how seriously your company takes adherence to
values, but ties it to important incentives such as:
• Salary increases
• Expansion of responsibilities
• Promotions or movements into new roles
6. Use values as a tool for handling interpersonal conflict.
One of the great things about values is that they help employees
arrive at a consensus on how to treat one another. If there’s
a dispute between employees, you can always point them back to
the core value instead of putting yourself in the undesirable
position of being a judge or mediator.
For example, let’s say two of your employees both feel as though
they’ve been treated unfairly by the other. Communication has
broken down and trust is at an all-time low, but both want to be
heard. Simply point them back to your company core values and
have them explain to their colleague what it would be like if those
values were put into action in their interactions with each other.
You can ask each of them:
• How would they like to be treated?

• What does teamwork look like to them?
• How would they like to be communicated with?
This helps to create a more positive environment, and it gives

employees a plan of action to which you can hold them
accountable.
7. Discuss company values with your team on an ongoing
basis.
Two-way communication is essential to avoid misalignment

between what you envision and what employees actually
experience.
For example, you may believe that respect for the individual is a
core value, but how people perceive the value in practice is vital.
As part of a group exercise or discussion, take any of your

company core values and ask employees:
• What does the value look like to them?

• What does the value sound like?
• What does the value feel like?
This gives everyone an opportunity to understand each value

according to a common definition, and alert you to potential
issues you may have overlooked.
8. Lean on your values during challenges.
The real test for your company values happens when things
aren’t going well. Do you stick to your company core values even
when you’re not getting the results you want? Even when
external pressures weigh you down?
Or do you fall prey to this type of thinking: “This is what we have

to do to get ahead. I don’t care how you do it – I want to see
these specific results.”
Prioritizing results (the ends) over values (the means) sends a

clear message to employees that values don’t matter as long as
you’re getting the results you want. If your employees aren’t clear
about what you value, and if you prize results over the manner in
which people achieve those results, that’s when you’ve
compromised the foundation you’ve built.
Questions for leaders to consider during tough times:

• What causes a company to lose sight of its values?
• What can we do when that happens?
• How can we simultaneously meet goals and live by our
values?
9. Make your people feel valued.
Treating people well is the foundation of so many basic company

values. If you do this, many good results will follow.
Over the long term, people go – and stay – where they feel
understood and prioritized. Each person has a set of strengths
and gifts that benefit your company. There is nothing worse than
an employee doing a job that doesn’t leverage their greatest
attributes or having a manager who doesn’t support them.
Summing it all up
Don’t become lax about your company core values, assuming
employees will absorb them and take the desired actions on their
own. You need to show your people how important values are.
To recap, here’s how to actively put values into practice:
• Set the example and be consistent.

• Surround yourself with people who share your values.
• Treat people well.
• Engage in two-way dialogue with employees to keep
everyone on the same page.
• Don’t ditch your values at the first sign of a challenge.
• Incentivize employees to consistently exhibit values.
• Leverage values to resolve conflicts and challenges.
Author - Bonnie Monych

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Company core values:

From words to practice

Business leaders often spend a lot of time and effort creating

But what tends to happen next? Business leaders type these

If you’re not going to back up words with action, your company

Letting this happen could cost your organization in significant

What happens if there’s no clarity among your stakeholders about

• There’s no shared consensus about what it means to be a

• What are company core values?

First, ponder the mission and vision of your organization – your

Then consider your company core values, which are:

• A set of ethics and principles that govern every action your

Everything you do is tied back to your values.

As you consider what your values are, ask yourself:

The values you select should be consistent across your entire

Additionally, values should be carefully thought out in advance

Essential company core values to consider

1. Safety. This is a basic promise to everyone that hey’ll work

How to put your company core values into action

This way, you can be more consistent in demonstrating these

2. Hire employees who share and embody your values.

One of the greatest attributes of having your core values

A workplace that emphasizes certain values, such as integrity

3. Emphasize values from day one of each employee’s

Don’t miss the crucial opportunity during employee onboarding to

4. Incorporate your values into employee rewards and

Use both peer-to-peer and leader recognition.

5. Incorporate values into performance evaluations.

As you review employees’ performance, grade them on how well

6. Use values as a tool for handling interpersonal conflict.

You can ask each of them:

• How would they like to be treated?

This helps to create a more positive environment, and it gives

Two-way communication is essential to avoid misalignment

As part of a group exercise or discussion, take any of your

• What does the value look like to them?

This gives everyone an opportunity to understand each value

8. Lean on your values during challenges.

Or do you fall prey to this type of thinking: “This is what we have

Prioritizing results (the ends) over values (the means) sends a

Questions for leaders to consider during tough times:

9. Make your people feel valued.

Treating people well is the foundation of so many basic company

To recap, here’s how to actively put values into practice:

• Set the example and be consistent.

Author - Bonnie Monych

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