Most organisations have a set of values. These are usually developed in the same way as strategies and mission statements: from the Chief Executive, as an output from top team ‘Awaydays’, and as the product of task forces and project teams. The problem this creates is a need to then “sell” the values into the organisation. People’s personal values are a result of both the nurture they received from parental and peer influences whilst growing up, and the beliefs they have formed as they shape their own world and what’s important to them. This notion can also be related to organisational values, in the sense that organisational values will be influenced by both the culture of the company, as defined largely by the drivers at the top, as well as the personal values of everyone within it.

In their exploration of habits of successful companies, Collins and Porras make the point that “when articulating and codifying core ideology, the key step is to capture what is authentically believed…core ideology exists as an internal element, largely independent of the external environment”. This encapsulates the important notion of having authentic values that are a true reflection of the people in an organisation. What is an organisation at its most basic level other than a group of people? Therefore, how can values within an organisation really have meaning and a positive impact if they are not representative of the people? Company’s should not be asking “what should we value?” but instead, “what do we actually value deep down?”

Once a company has discovered its values, a common and surprisingly easy mistake to make is a failure to do anything with them! The values need to be intrinsically driving everything that an organisation does, in much the same way that our values drive almost everything that we do, although this is usually on an unconscious level. To have them displayed in the office, written in footnotes, occasionally mentioned in meetings etc. is simply not enough. All work processes and practices need to have the values embedded in them. Decision making, personal development, shaping the strategy, objective setting etc. all need to be driven by the values, until they are as unconscious within the work place as our personal values are to us. The important thing to remember is that it’s not the content of the values that make them successful, but how deeply they are believed and how consistently they are lived, breathed and expressed in everything.

In my own experience of defining and embedding the Zoom organisational values, I found that the process challenged us into examining and questioning all that we do. When asked how they felt after the defining stage was completed, my colleagues replied, “knackered!”and I think this is expected if you are truly searching for the real answers to things.

This was intended to give a very brief overview of how organisational values should be formed and utilised, and is by no means an extensive discussion of everything one should consider on the topic. However, to answer the question ‘what is the value of values’, a large proportion of research has shown that organisations which heed to the advice above are consistently more successful in all of their endeavours. They have a uniting force which drives them on as one and which helps them to identify the things that are out of sync with their organisation in order that they may avoid them. The people in such organisations are happier and more motivated, and there is shared purpose, responsibility, passion and drive. Are organisational values capable of bringing this much value? The answer is yes!

Victoria Isaac