Company values are the fundamental principles that shape a company’s culture, identity, and activities. These values guide the company’s decision-making processes, employee behavior, customer relationships, and contributions to society. Company values can naturally develop over time or be consciously created. Here are the processes that explain how a company's values are formed or established:
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Founders' Vision and Beliefs
- Founder's Influence: A company’s values are often shaped around the vision, beliefs, and way of doing business of its founders. The work ethics, understanding of work, and worldview of the founders determine the company’s core values.
- Setting an Example: The behaviors and decisions exhibited by the founders serve as a model for other employees, and these behaviors gradually become ingrained in the company culture.
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Company's Mission and Vision
- Determining Mission and Vision: The company’s mission (reason for existence) and vision (target future state) play an important role in the formation of company values. The mission and vision outline what the company wants to achieve and how it intends to do so.
- Alignment with Values: Values that align with the mission and vision determine the principles the company will adhere to while achieving these goals.
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Employee Participation
- Internal Engagement and Dialogue: Employee participation in the values-setting process is important. By gathering employees' views and feedback, values can be created. This participation ensures that employees adopt the values and apply them in their daily work.
- Surveys and Workshops: Surveys, workshops, and open sessions held with employees during the values-setting process help understand what the company values and which values should be highlighted.
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Market and Societal Expectations
- Customer and Stakeholder Expectations: The expectations of customers, suppliers, investors, and society can influence the shaping of a company’s values. The relationships the company has with these stakeholders determine which values should be emphasized.
- Social Responsibility: A company’s responsibilities towards society, including environmental sensitivity and ethical business practices, can be considered part of its values.
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Industry Standards and Competition
- Industry Practices: The generally accepted ethical and business practices within your sector can be taken into account when defining your company’s values.
- Competitive Advantage: Values established to provide a competitive advantage show how the company will differentiate itself in the market and what principles it will adhere to.
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Historical Experiences
- Past Successes and Failures: The successes, failures, and crises a company has experienced in the past play a significant role in defining its values. These experiences teach the company which values it should uphold.
- Corporate Memory: Significant events in the company’s history, crisis management processes, and success stories facilitate the evolution of values over time.
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Defining and Formalizing
- Defining Values: A company’s values should be clearly defined and documented. These definitions ensure that the values are understood and embraced by everyone.
- Official Statements and Communication: Values should be included in official documents such as the company’s mission and vision, and communicated openly to all employees and stakeholders.
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Implementing and Sustaining Values
- Behavior Guidelines: To concretize company values, behavior guidelines and policies can be created. These guidelines demonstrate how employees can apply the values in their daily work life.
- Leadership Example: Company leaders and managers should actively demonstrate the values and serve as examples for employees. Leaders acting in alignment with these values is crucial for sustaining them.
- Performance Management: To encourage behaviors aligned with the values, they should be integrated into performance management systems. Rewarding and recognition systems support the internalization of values.
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Continuous Review of Values
- Periodic Evaluations: Company values should be reviewed at regular intervals and updated according to the changing needs of the company and environmental conditions.
- Feedback Mechanisms: Feedback from employees and other stakeholders provides information on the applicability and impact of the values. Values can be revised based on this feedback.
