Almost two-thirds of people who leave a role do so because their values or goals don’t align with the organizational values of their employer.
While there’s never going to be a perfect match, when employees’ values do align with their employer’s they’re happier and more productive, meaning your business can grow faster.
When a company has a well-defined set of values, employees are 115% more engaged.
And when they discuss those values daily instead of yearly—keeping them at the forefront of employees’ minds—employee engagement goes up by 37%.
Despite all this, less than a quarter of businesses have a detailed list of company values.
If you’re considering creating organizational values to help motivate your workforce, or you want to rejig your existing ones, here are some examples to get you started:
Purpose
With the cost of living crisis, numerous wars, and a tumultuous political climate, the traditional model of having a stable job, buying a house, and being able to afford marriage and children has now become the exception rather than the rule.
So, it’s no surprise that employees want more from their work. They want to feel like they’re making a difference in the world, not just working to pay the bills.
In fact, teams with a strong sense of shared purpose experience a 17% increase in performance. Obviously, incorporating purpose into your organizational values can make a huge difference to output.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)
DEIA still matters to employees. And it’s increasingly important to younger generations. Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation ever.
Clearly prioritizing diversity shows that you listen to, and understand, employees’ motivations and priorities.
It also shows that you want to avoid groupthink and encourage creativity with your organizational values. The more diverse a workforce is, the more creative and better at problem-solving it becomes.
Creativity
Creativity is an overused buzzword on resumes to the point where it’s now a little meaningless. But true creativity is still a powerful tool—especially in the age of AI.
True creativity comes from diversity of thought, both within teams and among individuals themselves.
For example, Ada Lovelace was both a scientist and a poet. Her combined interests allowed her to think differently from her contemporaries. In fact, she’s most well-known for being the world’s first computer programmer.
When we focus purely on one thing, it becomes harder to problem solve. We never give our brains a break, we have no time for play, and we’re too focused on what’s in front of us.
When we have a range of interests, it has a subconscious effect. For example, some interests of mine include cooking and ghost stories. So I’ve written books about a haunted chef and often use cooking or ghosts as analogies for life or writing techniques. Those things are unique to me and my interests.
If you want to embrace creativity as one of your organizational values, consider encouraging employees’ creative hobbies outside of the business, in addition to organizing creative activities for them to try together. There are endless possibilities, from pottery throwing to painting to cross stitch and beyond.
Continuous learning
Learning new skills is good for our physical and mental health as well as our work performance.
Using your organizational values to create a culture of learning, and giving employees the opportunity to keep learning, helps your business stay fresh and innovative.
It also creates a more psychologically safe space, where employees are more comfortable taking risks. After all, if you’re not taking risks, how can you learn?
Honesty and integrity
Employees want to know they can trust their employers. Having honesty and integrity as organizational values demonstrates that you’re going to be open and honest with them. Even if things are uncomfortable.
This transparency creates a deeper connection with employees and can even have a motivational impact when things are going badly. After all, if their values are in line with your organizational values, they’re going to want the business to succeed. And they’ll put more effort in to help it do so.
Work-life balance
Work-life balance was a big trend during Covid, but there’s been some backlash lately.
For example, the co-founder of BrewDog recently said that the UK is “one of the world’s least work-oriented countries.”
Perhaps because so many are struggling to pay the bills even when they have a job, they wonder why they should bother putting the effort in if they can’t afford basics like food and electricity.
As the world continues to change at an unprecedented pace, many of us have begun to realize that giving all our time and energy to companies that either don’t pay enough, don’t value employees enough, or will drop employees without a second thought, isn’t worth it.
Instead, employees want to be able to switch off at the end of the day and do their own thing. Whether that’s spending time with children and family, building a side hustle, pursuing a creative hobby, or simply relaxing in front of the TV.
And employers should encourage this. When employees have time to recharge and have a range of hobbies, they’re happier and more productive. Forcing employees to work extremely long hours is unsustainable and risks burnout.
Conclusion
Organizational values play a key role in your attraction and retention efforts. And they help you bring in people who are aligned with your values and want to help you succeed.
Organizational values can also help you attract customers with similar values. In turn, that increases your brand strength and your visibility.
Encourage a culture of connection
Connecting employees with a one-stop shop for everything your organization offers can work wonders for your employee experience. Organizing important information, events, programs, and groups in one place ensures team members can always access what they need, when they need it.
Workrowd can help you keep your organizational values front and center with a central hub for your company culture. Get in touch today to learn more and book your free demo.
