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Back in 2020 I wrote about 5+ Ways to Socialize and Operationalize Your Core Values. Why? Well, if culture = core values + behaviors, then we need to make sure everyone knows, understands, and lives the values (and the associated behaviors).
Socializing the values is crucial for a variety of reasons, as it directly impacts your culture, your customer relationships, and your overall market presence.
Why Socialize Core Values?
Without socializing the values, how will employees know what they are and then, ultimately, live them? (And what happens if they don’t live them? Find out here.) Living them means operationalizing them in their day-to-day tasks and work. (Socializing makes no sense if you’re not also operationalizing them!) So, as noted, socialize core values for:
Alignment and Consistency
Internal Alignment: Only when core values are well socialized can employees across all levels understand and embody them in their daily work. This ensures that decisions and actions are consistent with the desired culture.
Brand Consistency: Core values guide how the brand is presented to the outside world, ensuring consistency in messaging, tone, and customer interactions, which builds trust and recognition.
Building Trust with Customers
Authenticity: Customers value authenticity. When a brand consistently demonstrates its core values, it shows that it stands for something beyond profit, fostering trust and loyalty among customers.
Customer Loyalty: Customers are more likely to stay loyal to brands whose values align with their own. Socializing the values helps attract and retain customers who share the same principles.
Employee Engagement and Retention
Employee Motivation: Employees who resonate with the values are more engaged and motivated. They find more meaning in their work, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity.
Talent Attraction and Retention: A healthy value-driven culture strengthens the employer brand and attracts talent that aligns with the brand’s mission, making it easier to recruit and retain employees who are passionate about the company’s goals.
Guiding Decision-Making
Strategic Decisions: Core values become the compass for making decisions, ensuring that the company’s strategies and operations align with its long-term vision and ethical standards.
Crisis Management: In challenging situations, your values provide a clear framework for responding in ways that are consistent with the culture and your internal brand, helping to navigate crises effectively.
Differentiation in the Marketplace
Brand Differentiation: In competitive markets, having well-socialized core values can set a brand apart, making it more memorable and appealing to both employees (as noted earlier) and consumers, who prioritize values in their purchasing decision, i.e., values create value.
Emotional Connection: Brands that successfully socialize their values often create deeper emotional connections with their audience, which can lead to a more loyal customer base.
Culture Cohesion
Unified Culture: Socializing your values helps to build a cohesive company culture where everyone is working towards common goals. This cohesion and understanding can lead to more effective teamwork and a positive work environment.
Conflict Resolution: When your values are clear and embraced by all, they serve as a reference point for resolving conflicts, mitigating risks, and making decisions.
Socializing core values effectively ensures that they aren’t just words on a poster but are actively lived, driving the brand’s success and impact in meaningful ways.
Ways to Socialize Core Values
In the article that I referenced in my opening sentence, I share some ways to socialize your core values. I’ll highlight those ways below and add to them. Remember: core values cannot remain posters on a wall or cards in a wallet.
- Talk about them in the interview process; ask candidates for examples of how they’ve lived these values.
- Discuss and explain them during orientation and onboarding.
- Conduct annual core values training.
- Recognize and celebrate employees who live values via a “core value of the month” program.
- Name conference rooms, floors, hallways, restrooms, break rooms, etc. after the core values.
- Host workshops or events that promote the values.
- Discuss in meetings; share stories of employees living the values.
- Share stories that highlight how the core values influence business decisions, product development, or customer interactions.
- Encourage employees to share how they live the values in their roles.
- Do what Amazon did. (Check out this article and videos within. And this one.)
In Closing
Remember, the power of your core values lies in how well they are lived and breathed by employees. By making your core values visible, tangible, and actionable, you ensure they are more than just ideals, i.e., they become the driving force behind your brand’s success.
So, take the time to assess how well your core values are socialized within your organization and with your customers. Are they truly understood, embraced, and reflected in your daily operations? If not, there’s no better time than now to start the process of bringing your values to life.
It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. ~ Roy Disney