So much of working life runs on things that nobody ever writes down. We agree not to microwave fish in the office kitchen. We accept that we can’t play James Blunt on the office speakers 24/7. We know that booking a meeting over someone’s lunch break is criminal. And yet, people still do these things. It turns out, with apologies to Natasha Bedingfield, having things unwritten is actually quite inconvenient.
This is bearable when it comes to putting up with a faint whiff of salmon every so often, but when people aren’t aligned on how we behave and work together, it’s more of an issue.
That’s where values come in. They remove some of the ambiguity, the guesswork, the unspoken etiquette. Instead, they give everyone something they can point to and say, “This is how we do things round here.”
Not all values are created equal
So, values are a good thing to have. I’m glad we’re agreed.
That doesn’t mean that all values are good. Actually, I’ve seen a lot of bad values in my time. Don’t get me wrong, they’re always lovely concepts, with well-meaning intentions. But for a value to have any use, it has to be something people can choose to do. A value can’t be a personality trait or an abstract ideal. ‘Respect’, for example, is something we all hope to have, but it’s hard to turn into a daily behaviour. ‘Do the right thing’? That’s a value you can actually live.
In a way, values are all about permission. A value like that is the company saying ‘we encourage you to spend time having a coffee with a colleague who’s going through a tough spot,’ or ‘it’s ok for you to turn down a client whose ethics we don’t agree with’. They aren’t just expectations, but also a promise to respect and reward those behaviours. That’s why they deserve a lot of thought: once they’re down on paper, you have to be ready to back them up with your decisions.
Are we a match?
Every workplace is made up of so many different people. Quiet people, loud people, meticulous people, chaotic people. And every single one of those people has their own way of working, and a unique way of seeing the world. What a beautiful thing that is! Our differences make us stronger, yada yada, you know the vibe.
There is one thing we all have in common; we’ve all agreed to follow the same set of values. It happened when we joined. We were told in the interview: this is how we act around here. And right in that moment, we had the chance to take it or leave it. It’s self-selection at its finest. A moment where the square peg can see that the hole is round, and decide to walk away. Just like that, the right values can save everyone’s time and effort.
Weave them into your culture
Of course, writing values down is only the first step. Without taking action to embed them into your culture, people will just view them as words on a wall.
‘How can we do that?’ I hear you cry. Well, here’s the Wiser way:
We have our beloved ‘Friday noms’: a recognition system that brings our values to life every week. Here’s how it works: throughout the week, anyone can write a shoutout to a colleague for how they’ve lived a value. On Friday morning, all the nominations are compiled into one update that gets emailed out to the whole company. It’s a win-win: people feel recognised and celebrated, and it keeps the values at the front of everyone’s mind.
We also make our values part of our reviews. It’s not just about the quality of work or whether we achieved our goals, but also how we lived our purpose and values along the way. This is our way of making sure the why and the how matter just as much as the what.
Then, once a year, we have the Wiser Awards. This is our all-out big bash, where we dress up and show up to celebrate each other. Some of the most prestigious awards are our value awards, where for each value we recognise someone who’s really lived it to the fullest.
Every week we think about who’s been living the values. Every six months we reflect on how well we’ve been living them ourselves. And every year we celebrate the people who embody them to the max. It won’t come as a surprise to you that everyone here knows them pretty well.
They’re invaluable
Values turn an invisible contract into a visible one. They encourage the behaviour you want to see, and they help people find their place in the bigger picture.
At the end of the day, a company is just a group of people trying to work together and have a nice time. Values are the guidelines that say: here’s how we choose to do it.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. You can’t find the right words without the right thinking behind them. Worry not — that’s where we can help.
At Wiser, we help uncover what really matters to your people and the culture you want to build. It takes research, thought and a bit of soul-searching. From there, we craft values, taglines and narratives that don’t just sound nice in a presentation (although they really do), but actually come alive in your business. The kind of values people believe in, feel proud of and carry into how they work every day.
If you’re ready to shape a culture you can feel when you walk through the door, get in touch today to learn how Wiser can help you.
