Many startups believe that core values are too corporate and that crafting them early on isn’t as important as the day-to-day operations of the business. In fact, many startups may wonder if it is even worth their time to craft their company values. The truth is that core company values are incredibly useful.
1) Company values help startups hire the right talent
Finding the right talent and retaining your bottom line is difficult for most organizations, let alone startups who cannot competitively match the salary and bonus amounts of mature organizations. Company values can help startups attract and recruiting the right talent.
Why will people want to come and work for you? Why will employees want to stay with you?
The answer is not just a paycheque. Many employees, particularly the younger generations composed of Millennials and Generation Z workers want more than a salary. They want a purpose and they want to align to a company’s mission and values. One survey found that 32 percent of job seekers are willing to settle for a lower-paying job if it means the company’s work is more aligned with their goals.
One tactical way to integrate company values into your startup strategy is to let your candidates know your company values by placing them into the job description. Moreover, candidates should also learn about your company’s values from day one. You can use examples of how company values are expressed in day-to-day interactions or you can ask candidates to think about times that they have demonstrated your company’s core values. It is important to remember that at the end of the day, you want to hire people that align with your company and believe in your company. Having well-established and well-communicated company values that guide recruiting strategies.
2) Company values help define workplace culture
“Your personal core values define who you are, and a company core values ultimately define each company’s character and brand.” - Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
Successful companies have a great workplace culture. Company values are the foundation of company culture. They need to be integrated into your organization’s rituals - into recruiting and hiring practices, performance management practices, etc They should just be verbiage on your company website.
Employees who don’t like their organization’s culture are 24 percent more likely to quit, and more than a third of U.S. employees will turn down an offer if the company culture isn’t right. Your company values are the foundation of your culture - it will be hard to build and grow without laying out the ground work.
3) Company values help engage the workplace
There is a strong relationship between engagement and company values. Of surveyed workers who claimed to know all of their core values, 88 percent say they are engaged versus 54 percent of respondents who say they didn’t know any of their company values. Likewise, 65 percent of workers who could name their values say they had a strong grasp on company objectives, versus only 23 percent of respondents who say they didn’t know any of their company values. Bottom line, company values have an important part in engaging employees.
Values will link employees back to your strategic plan, and inspire them to aid in achieving your overarching goals by being engaged in lower level projects.
Creating authentic core values can take sufficient time and energy, but your culture and people cannot be replicated - your values is a source of differentiation against your competitors. Create authentic company values and showcase your company values Every. Single. Day.
If you are revamping your company values or if you are a startup that is defining your company values for the first time, feel free to reach out. At iota consultants, we can help your organization create meaningful company values.