Corporate values have become an increasingly important part of modern organizations in recent years. Many companies promote them as a key element of their business and embed them into their corporate culture. However, there are organizations where corporate values are nothing more than empty words, with no real influence on employee behavior or on how the company functions as a whole.
Our research shows that nearly a third of employees in the Czech Republic feel that their organization's vision or values contain too much generic filler, and nearly half of employees can't name their organization's values.
When it comes to whether management's behavior aligns with the values it has set, more than a third of employees believe management doesn't actually live by them.
Lack of commitment to corporate values
A lack of genuine commitment to corporate values leads to lower engagement and to teams retreating into their own subcultures. In short, everyone ends up defining their own values and following those instead.
In our corporate culture transformation projects, we see this lead to conflict and inefficiency between teams. The reason isn't that people on one team are better than people on another — it's the absence of shared values, shared behavioral norms, and usually shared goals that drives the higher level of friction.
Insufficient example from leadership
Leadership plays a major role in whether corporate values actually live in an organization. If managers and executives don't follow the stated values themselves, employees are unlikely to take them seriously.
For example, if a company declares transparency as a value but reality says otherwise, employees quickly realize that leadership's words aren't backed by action. That erodes trust and drains the values of any real meaning within the organization.
The process of changing behavior itself is far from simple. Research shows that 90% of people resist change. That's why leading by example, and management consistently living the company's values in everyday activities, is essential for successful implementation.
Lack of employee involvement
Another factor behind empty corporate values is the lack of employee involvement in creating and implementing them. When values are imposed top-down, without regard for employees' opinions and input, employees are likely to experience them as an imposed constraint rather than something they own.
When people don't identify with the values and don't feel they had a hand in shaping them, they have no reason to live by them. That's why we recommend involving roughly 15% of the organization in defining values and target behaviors. We deliberately select ambassadors who, alongside the organization's management, help drive the implementation of the change.
Insufficient focus on implementation
Culture emerges through interaction. Values and behavioral norms only become lived reality once they're genuinely put into practice in the everyday functioning of every team in the organization.
Once these norms exist on paper, they have to be worked through with each individual team to establish what they actually mean for the activities that team handles on a regular basis. Differences are inevitable: innovation will mean something different in marketing than it does in finance or legal. Investing the energy to translate values into day-to-day operations pays off in higher effectiveness, particularly in cross-functional activities.
On the other hand, if implementation is underinvested, the situation in the organization can paradoxically get worse. For example, promoting diversity without backing it up with action can do more harm than good. Statements like "we don't discriminate" create the impression that an organization has achieved equality and fairness, even when it hasn't. Or management's actual behavior contradicts the message, and employees who clearly violate "diversity" rules face no consequences at all. Paradoxically, a strong culture is one that has zero tolerance for unwanted behavior.
The LUTC method – learn, use, teach, control
Lack of consistency and measurability
Corporate values should be consistent and measurable. When they're phrased in vague, general terms without clear definitions, it's hard to build them into everyday work processes and decision-making. Without a clear system for evaluation and feedback, there's no way to measure or recognize whether employees are actually living the values. That drains them of their meaning and purpose.
OKRs – Objectives Key Results
Conclusion
Corporate values and behavioral norms can be a powerful tool for building a healthy corporate culture and ensuring an organization's success.
But when they're just empty words that no one lives by, they lose their power and influence. For corporate values to have real meaning, they need to be actively supported and lived by both leadership and employees. They must be consistent, measurable, and part of everyday work processes. Only then can they provide a solid foundation for the organization's long-term prosperity and success.