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How can you write company values that are sincere?
How to assess your current company values
Company values need to start from the C-suite. They should then extend to the rest of the company so organically—if you find yourself having to force feed your values to your teams at every meeting, you might need to go back to the drawing board.
If you feel that your team isn’t quite aligned with your aspirations, help them understand what you stand for. Think of a company as an individual – all individuals will have some worldview or interest. It’s what sets us apart. When you understand your company’s worldview, you’ll also find clarity in your work.
Why is it important to express values clearly?
Keeping it simple expresses the essence of how you feel. Some companies have a tendency to be wordy in the effort to position themselves as experts—the effect on the reader can often be the opposite.
The best ideas are the ones that can be told simply.
What are some examples of company values?
Company values can take many shapes and forms. Most companies will curate a list of four or five core values, which they then share through their internal and external communications. Our personal favourite examples of company values are:
- Apple’s Company Values: Apple lists their values in the footer of their website. Diversity is one of their values, and we love how the company has spent time on each one, giving them a separate webpage to get to their heart of their interests.
- Goldman Sachs’ Company Values: The multinational investment bank has opted for a traditional approach, with headings and a simple sentence to get across the essence of their values. It’s an effective way to display the formal nature of the firm.
- Slack’s Company Values: Slack has kept their values brief – distilling them down to single keywords! This approach might not be for more traditionally minded companies, but coupling values with bright emojis is certainly an effective way to get them to stick in the mind.
How can these values attract the right candidate?
Company values should readily appeal to candidates who also share those values. This is why it is a good idea to ensure that you write company values into every one of your job advertisements.
The best candidates will already have looked for this on your website, but to ensure that you get a fuller pool of people who understand what makes your company tick, we suggest including these values on your job ad to ensure you get better matches.
Steps to evaluate your company values
Company values will contribute to building a strong culture that attracts and retains employees and customers. Here are some steps to help you think about your company values:
- Review your business plan and strategy – what does your company really want, and how can it achieve those goals?
- Consider the current culture in your business – are people often found working in teams? Is there a drive to promote your workers within the company? What does it ultimately want for its personnel?
- Look at your current values and consider distilling them even further – if your values are a long paragraph of text, how can you reduce the essence to a sentence, or even a word?
- Decide if you need to alter your values – if you find that the values you are promoting are not accurate reflections of your company, you might need to get back to the drawing board.
Who should you involve in the discussion about creating company values?
If your company values need a reboot, we recommend first asking the people who you love to work with: your clients!
Ask them for feedback on how they see you as a company and what you believe. Be prepared to hear responses that push you outside your comfort zone. If something comes up that you don’t understand, speak to your team about it before hiring a contractor. We often find solutions internally, from the people who know the business.
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When Aldrich & Co work with new clients, we need to be clear about their values from the outset. All good recruiters know what their client’s values are. It is the best way for us to identify a qualified candidate. We should never be guessing! If you’re unsure, ask us. We can discuss what we perceive your values to be, and how we can find the right candidate for your needs.