Editorial
Is your organization practicing what it’s preaching?
- Despite touting their respect for employees, employers force employees back to the office full time against their wishes.
- Despite lavishing praise in performance reviews, organizations unapologetically terminate employees for “poor performance.”
- Despite boasting about their commitment to employee wellness, employers require strict adherence to a 9-5 workday.
- Despite claiming to provide a “safe environment where everyone has a chance to thrive,” companies are quietly dropping employee resource groups and mentoring programs.
It’s no surprise that so many employees wonder what’s become of their once-proud culture. What happened to company values and principles? Is this still a place people want to work for, given a choice?
When Culture and Values Collide
Culture is all about what we value and how we show it, how we behave and how we connect. To create or maintain culture, an organization’s core values must have real meaning, instead of being just pretty words on a plaque or company website.
When an organization’s stated values are at odds with its policies, practices and behaviors, it’s hard to know whether the real indicator of its culture is the set of values listed on the company website, or what it’s actually doing.
There are practical (though not necessarily easy!) steps organizations can take to realign principles, policies and practices with stated values. Existing values and principles may need to be revamped, replaced, affirmed or amplified, while in other instances, current policies and practices may need overhauling.
Ask Employees
Invite employees to assess the current relevance and accuracy of your organization’s stated values, given today’s realities. You can do this in a number of ways. You might ask people to complete a written assessment and discuss the results in a group setting, focusing on the most glaring gaps. Or set up cross-departmental focus groups moderated by an objective, neutral facilitator. Assuming a high degree of psychological safety within your team, you may want to devote time in your regular meetings for a candid discussion.
Review Employee Engagement Surveys
Compare results of your latest employee engagement surveys to your organization’s stated values. For example, if employees give low ratings to the credibility or accuracy of management communications, yet your stated values describe leadership communications as transparent and honest, you have a gap that requires immediate attention. Or if employees value your company’s emphasis on family friendliness and employee well-being, and your organization is about to mandate a full-time RTO policy, beware of the gap that’s about to open up.
Prioritize Problem Areas
Prioritize which gaps need closing immediately. Which gaps make the most problems, based on factors such as attrition, plummeting morale, lack of motivation, lower productivity levels or negative buzz that’s demoralizing employees? What are outside observers, such as prospective hires, business partners, clients, industry analysts, members and investors, seeing and hearing? Employees past and present are flocking to social media to expose what they see as hypocrisy and questionable practices by their employers, so disgruntlement is unlikely to stay a secret for long.
Determine Next Steps
Determine how best to close the gaps. Involve people across the organization in the discussion. Is it time to redefine organizational values, or revise or reassess policies and practices that no longer jibe with your stated values? In some cases, your organization may even need to reassess its entire mission if new ways of doing business stand in stark contrast to your original mission, especially if your organization has had to endure drastic cuts to staff or funding.
Communicate Your New or Updated Values
Communicate your (new or revised) values and principles clearly, and show how policies, practices and behaviors support these values. For example, if employee well-being is touted as an important value, correlate this to your organization’s medical and mental health benefits, flexible work or family leave policies, PTO and sick time policies. If transparent communications is a stated value, you might tie this to two-way communications channels or skip-level meetings.
Incorporate Values in Daily Operations
Incorporate values in daily operations, such as pairing new hires with "culture ambassadors" who exemplify the company’s values. Tell stories that provide compelling, tangible examples of values in action, featuring employees at all levels. Start meetings by reinforcing a core value. For example, kick off weekly stand-ups by recognizing someone who demonstrated "Customer First" thinking. If "innovation" is a core value, establish a habit of asking, "Are we thinking big enough?" in strategy discussions.
Reassess Value Statements on a Regular Basis
Validate and revise periodically. Assess whether your employees believe that your organization is walking the talk. Include relevant questions in your employee engagement surveys, 1:1s, team meetings, internal focus groups and cross-departmental meetings. Make it safe for employees and managers alike to be honest about what’s working, what’s not, where stated values are still misaligned and what changes may need to take place.
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Leaders shape culture through their actions, communication and decision-making. Culture is not about where we work, what we’re working on or what we’re producing. It’s about how we behave, how we’re treated, how we treat others, what we value and how we demonstrate those values in our everyday work.
Editor's Note: Read more about building a culture that drives desired outcomes:
- 5 Tips to Improve the Culture of Your Organization — To change culture, we must change behavior.
- Corporate Culture Matters. Just Ask Your Board of Directors — It's time for companies to start figuring out how to design and measure culture within their organizations.
- Here's Why Your Corporate Values Have Value — Customers and employees alike are searching for greater meaning, and companies need to live their values to give it to them.
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