Instilling Core Values In Your Team
Your employees are the true face of your company. No matter how many celebrities you pay to endorse you, or viral advertisements you create online- the experience your customers have with your employees will define what they think about you. That is why it is of the utmost importance to ensure your teams are not only performing at their best, but also reflecting your core values in each interaction.
Trying to instill core company values in your employees is difficult enough when everyone works in the same building. When all of your teammates are spread across the country and world, it gets even harder. Days could be spent telling people and writing down what your values and mission are, but the problem is that it doesn't always get internalized. Your employees are intelligent, and can see if you are being honest with them. If you try to claim a value your own employees can’t see- they will have a difficult time convincing your customers of the same.
Your Reason for Existence
In order for employees to understand and live their company's core values, they have to understand why the company exists and does what it does. That means your senior leadership needs to know this, too. No buzzwords, no double-speak. A real honest-to-goodness reason for existence.
If you are in banking, for example, it isn’t good enough to know that you are bank. It isn’t even good enough to say that you “strive to enhance the lives of your customers with every transaction”. What truly sets you apart from the myriad of other banks available to your customer base? And if you make a compelling argument to win someone over- why should they stay loyal to you? How do you enhance their lives? What is your differentiator?
Once your company knows and can articulate their own “why”, each employee needs to know why they, in turn, exist within the institution and do what they do. To go along with the above example, what sets you apart from the other banks your employees could work for? If you have a customer base that will transfer their money down the street for the promise of a toaster with each new account, why should your employees reflect anything different in their own jobs?
Your employees should never wake up in the morning and wonder what they will accomplish that day. It is true that they may not know exactly what will happen, but they should know they have a clear objective, and the tools to ensure success.
Show It
It isn't good enough just to have a company mission. Each team needs to understand their own mission, and their reason for being within the organization. Their purpose, and their reason for getting out of bed in the morning and going to work should be a known quantity. On top of that, your employees and customers both need to see that you really mean what you say. “Enhancing the lives of your customers with every transaction” can be very hollow if they can tell that you don’t strive to enhance the lives of your employees.
When a company is able to foster the right kind of dialogue and reinforce these attitudes, company values are a natural extension that don't actually take much additional effort.
