A business is so much more than a brick-and-mortar location or its day-to-day operations.

Most businesses started out to solve a problem, meet a need, or do something new and unique in this world. Which usually means they’ve been founded on unique organizational values.

Not sure what yours are, or feel like they might’ve gotten lost along the way? Or perhaps you’re looking to create them as you build your organization? This guide is for you.

What will this guide teach you?

You’ll learn:

• The meaning of organizational values.
• The reasons why organizational values are important.
• Steps that you can take to establish your company’s organizational values.

What are organizational values?

We all have value systems — beliefs that we have and stick to no matter what. These value systems guide us, dictate the decisions we make, and make the difference between what we believe is right or wrong.

Similarly, organizational values are the core principles a business’ operations abide by. A business’ work reflects these organizational values. They set the tone in a business, ensuring that employees work towards these values while maintaining high standards and a strong brand image.

Organizational values also help guide employees toward making better decisions. Having a set of core principles will allow a business to stand out from its competitors, acting as an advantage.

Why do organizational values matter?

When a common goal is guided by core ethics or principles, employees are more likely to be motivated and feel as if they’re part of a team. Motivation is beneficial for the business as a whole — levels of productivity will increase since employees are more enthusiastic about completing their tasks.

The overall efficiency of the business will increase as well, which positively impacts customer satisfaction and subsequently, sales revenue.

How does having organizational values benefit my employees?

Having a common purpose encourages employees to engage in positive and constructive discourse using your company’s principles as a guiding force.

A positive work environment fosters healthy discussions, which opens the door to more innovation and creativity. Happy staff = less turnover, which puts your business in a position of optimal performance and growth.

Does being equipped with value systems boost my business’ overall image?

Businesses with strong value systems are usually those who care greatly about the wellbeing of the community. Such businesses carry out their work in a way that minimizes pollution or any other disruptions to the local community. And that’s a really good thing — it boosts the overall image of the business with the local population (who doesn’t love that?).

In today's world, customers prefer associating themselves with businesses that have strong value systems such as carrying out their work ethically. That’s where corporate social responsibility (CSR) comes into play.

Businesses should identify and prioritize these values to ensure that they can perform according to society's expectations at a point in time.

In this era, failing to uphold CSR is detrimental to a business. Consumers who feel as if the business is not performing ethically and compassionately will take their money and spend it on a business that’s doing exactly that.

What types of values are relevant?

Value systems are made up of instrumental and terminal values. Instrumental values include character traits that are unique to your employees. These are the means to achieving an end, or, your final goal.

Terminal values include overall goals in one's life such as freedom and equality. In terms of an organization, these may include overall goals that assist a particular group of people and/or have a positive impact on the environment.

The essential toolkit for establishing organizational values

• Your team.
• Several brainstorming sessions.
• An open mind and constant communication. 
• Trainual’s templates and resources.
• A thorough understanding of your company’s image.

Let’s get started establishing your organizational values

Step 1: Teamwork makes the dream work.

First thing’s first: establish your company’s organizational values by forming a team.

As a leader, you can start by bringing together the core members of your company from each level of the hierarchy: employees from various departments, supervisors, and managers.

You need to ensure that this team is representative of the different individuals that make up your business — the discussion will be more productive as you’ll have a variety of viewpoints to consider when finalizing what your core ethics are.

By working together to identify your company’s organizational values, you’ll overcome the obstacles that result from making decisions (for your company and customers) without first prioritizing any kind of values or principles.

Brainstorming is key.

Once you have gathered a team, it's time to brainstorm! Engage in an open-minded discussion on what your employees think your organization's values are. Encourage them to think about how they conduct themselves and carry out their daily tasks.

For example, ask your customer-facing employees what they feel the consumer expects from them as a business in terms of a value system.

You can encourage members of the marketing and human resources department to think about what they feel the business is known for. From there, work together to ensure that the values and principles you single out and focus on are in line with what present-day consumers expect.

You’ll need a handful of sessions to find out what your company is made of. Once you’ve reached a consensus on particular values, narrow them down to certain keywords.

If your team agrees on these keywords, you’re one step closer to laying down your organizational values. You and your employees must work together since your organizational values need to be a reflection of the viewpoints of all the members in your company.

Step 2: Let’s use Trainual.

At Trainual, you can find various templates that can help with your brainstorming sessions and team discussions. These templates will allow you to jot down important points clearly so that you a) don’t miss anything pertinent, and b) provide employees with a clear and comprehensive point of reference.

Below is an example using our Open Door Policy Template:

Trainual has divided the topic at hand into relevant subtopics, making it easier for you to structure and plan. Trainual’s templates are there to guide you, making sure that you don’t miss any important points when creating or recreating your company’s organizational values.

These templates can be easily edited and modified according to your preferences, and shared amongst your employees quickly and cost-effectively.

Our templates provide you with a simple method of organization, enabling you to focus on the values and principles that matter.

Step 3: Focus on important and specific areas of your business.

Core values guide how your business conducts itself and carries out its activities. So, it’s important for you to identify what your business stands for and what you want it to be known for.

Your core values can even be an extension of your company’s mission. For instance, if your business stands for the protection of animal rights and the wellbeing of the environment, some of your core values may address how sustainability and ethics are woven into your company’s practices. If your business believes in safe work environments and better employees' rights, your core values may be honesty and caring for others.

Since your core values act as a framework for your business, you need to be as specific as possible. For example, if one of your core values is integrity, you may want to look at specific qualities when hiring employees. These could be transparency, reliability, or compassion.

Step 4: Let’s build a business playbook!

A business playbook outlines the policies and strategies of a business. It covers your company’s profile, policies, processes, and employee details. It’s an easy way for you to store your organizational values in a central location that everyone can refer to, ensuring that these ethics guide your employees in their work.

Building a business playbook is easy with the help of Trainual. Using our templates and step-by-step guide, you’ll create or recreate your organizational values in no time.

A business playbook will help your employees visualize their goals in terms of upholding the company’s values in their daily work, allowing them to identify the steps that need to be taken through the specific activities outlined and defined to achieve the organization’s goals.

As a result, the standardized procedures and easy reference points that a business playbook provides will allow your employees to establish what your organizational values are. And that’ll strengthen your company’s brand image.

Are you ready to build your organizational values?

The benefits of building your organizational values make all the effort put into identifying them worth it. A company with a value-based system will perform better, boost customer and employee satisfaction, and build a better brand image.

In addition to using our templates and guidance in creating a business playbook, Trainual has a wide range of resources that you can use to train your employees, making sure that these values are instilled within them.

You can make use of Trainual’s LMS-alternative to provide your employees with interactive and versatile training. It’s a centralized hub that they can quickly access for details on the company’s values (and so much more!).

To gain insight and obtain advice on what organizational values matter most and how you can build on your value systems, reach out to a consultant from our Certified Consultant Directory. It consists of experts from various fields across different countries who can help your business in this area.

Get started with Trainual today!