Corporate values

Definition of Corporate Values

Corporate values are principles of behavior, rules, and ideas with which the entire company identifies and based on which it lives and operates. They serve as a directional sign or compass for where the company should head, how employees should behave, and what customers can expect. Corporate values are an integral part of the company culture.

Why are they so important?

In companies where corporate values are taken seriously, successes are not solely based on business and financial results. Corporate values play a role throughout the lifecycle of the company and should go hand in hand with the focus on goals.

It can be said that results actually show how the company has performed in the past, but corporate values and respect for them determine how the company will perform in the future.

What properly set corporate values bring to the companies that live by them

• Greater efficiency

• Easier decision-making

• Greater employee engagement

• Strengthening relationships among employees

• Increased competitiveness

• Attraction of talent while simultaneously deterring the wrong candidates

• Improved perception of the company by clients, in the market

What form do corporate values take?

• Documented – clearly documented corporate values reflect the rules of the game, but not everything described in manuals or written on walls reflects reality.
  EXAMPLE: The value “Client first” is presented everywhere on the walls of the company, but in reality, the primary focus for salespeople is on business results.

• Cultural – they may not be materialized anywhere, yet through repeated behavior they have formed and are lived in the company, reflecting a true image of the company. And be careful! They are not always positive.
  EXAMPLE: The value “Respect” has been established in the company through exemplary behavior of current employees and has influenced the behavior of newcomers even without being codified anywhere.

• Aspirational – new values that reflect ideas about behavior to achieve success in the current competitive environment.
  EXAMPLE: The H&M value “Continuous improvement” is meant to awaken in employees the drive for never-ending progress toward perfection.

How to create corporate values

• To correctly set corporate values, you first need to have clarified your mission and vision. This should be the starting point.

• It is necessary to avoid general and meaningless terms or values proclaimed by everyone – such as “collaboration” or “professionalism”, which we expect as standards everywhere. Such values say nothing about the company and do not help differentiate it.

• They should be values that you truly live by and are not just pious wishes and proclamations. For newly established values, they should be ones by which you will genuinely live and that set your future direction.
  EXAMPLE: If your value is “Sustainability”, you should truly ensure that you follow it, rather than only using it to “score points” from a PR perspective.

• You need to be as specific as possible. It is also helpful to provide clear examples of appropriate behavior. For even better illustration, it is important to provide examples of intolerable and unacceptable behavior.
  EXAMPLE: The company Adidas provides a closer description of each value, such as with the value “TEAMPLAY”: Win together. Work collaboratively and cultivate a shared mindset. And I know examples from companies where overly individualistic behavior, the victory of an individual at the expense of the group's success, led to the dismissal of an employee who did not respect that value.

Corporate values can be gradually developed and clarified as the company lives by them and as the environment around it evolves and changes. For example, a startup begins with certain values, but as it grows and becomes a larger company, the demands on corporate values change.

How to implement corporate values

• It is not enough to just write them down, transfer them from headquarters abroad; they must arise from within, everyone must understand what lies behind them and must understand how to fulfill them.

• It is important to integrate them into the daily lives of every employee.

• A key element for the successful implementation of corporate values is management. Company leadership must lead by example to other employees.

• Subsequently, it is necessary to support similar behavior among employees, including through benefits and a reward system that promotes this. An increasing number of companies address respect for corporate values within annual evaluations; the number of companies measuring and regularly evaluating so-called internal NPS is rising, and based on these results, decisions are made regarding employee bonuses.

• Most importantly, it is essential to clearly define intolerable behavior, which manifests itself by means such as not hiring a candidate, terminating an employee, or refusing to enter into a business cooperation in cases where such an approach would not align with the company's values.

Why employees do not adhere to corporate values

• Managers preach water but drink wine – the value “Ownership” states that everyone in the company should be able to take responsibility and complete tasks that fall under their competence. However, if an employee sees that the managers themselves are unable to make decisions, evade responsibility, do not complete tasks, and shift blame onto others, then the employee will lose the motivation to respect such a value.

• Too vague definitions – like “Do the right thing”, but I do not know from what perspective I should view it, how it will be evaluated, how to recognize it in advance,...

• Unclear – for example, a value that advocates “Victory” would lack direction without a closer explanation, and employees would not know what specifically is expected of them. If I change it slightly, it becomes clearer for them: Victory with our customers, i.e., customers are at the heart of everything we do.

Examples of Corporate Values

KOGI Values

• USEFULNESS – the client is our judge

• COURAGE – we are open and honest with ourselves and clients, continuously moving forward

• FUN – working at Kogi is a powerful experience

How to communicate corporate values

• Brochures

• Bulletin boards

• Elevators

• Website

• Intranet

• SharePoint

• Screen savers

• Walls

• Videos

• Podcasts

• … by your own example

Are you interested in whether your corporate values are properly set and support your company goals? We would be happy to discuss this with you informally – reach out to us.