What drives a business’s success?
Is it an effective vision statement? Perhaps the services/products they offer? Or, is it the people working for the company?
While all these are correct, one often-overlooked yet no less essential element to a business’s long-term success is a well-defined set of business core values.
Why does having an effective set of core values matter to your business? Let’s find out.
What Are Core Values?
Before we discuss why your business’s core values matter, let’s define what these are first.
Your key values are the fundamental principles and beliefs guiding your actions, decisions, and interactions.
They define what your business stands for and influences its culture, brand identity, and long-term goals.
Some examples of core values include:
- Accountability
- Customer Focus
- Integrity
- Excellence
- Innovation
- Transparency
- Teamwork
- Sustainability
- Adaptability
- Respect
When constructing your company’s core values, make sure they are authentic and realistic.
If you treat them as mere corporate buzzwords, you risk high employee and customer turnover and damage your company’s reputation.
Why Do Your Core Values Matter?
Here are some of the benefits of having well-defined core values:
Defines Your Company’s Identity
One significant reason why your core values matter is because they directly reflect your brand’s identity. They showcase what your company stands for and what potential customers and partners can expect from your business.
For example, let’s say one of your key values is customer-centricity. Thus, potential customers will expect excellent and personalized service from you.
Continuously living up to these values helps you build goodwill and brand loyalty, and differentiates your brand from competitors.
Improves Employee Recruitment and Retention
Another benefit of having well-defined core values is it helps you attract and retain top talent.
Other than a competitive salary and benefits, employees today want to work with a company whose values align with theirs.
Thus, by clearly outlining your company’s values during recruitment, you can attract like-minded applicants to your team.
Furthermore, constantly embodying these values and fostering a positive workplace culture incentivizes your employees to stay with your company.
It Helps You Make Better Decisions
Your core values also serve as a compass that aligns your decisions with your long-term goals.
For example, if one of your values is integrity, you’ll prioritize ethical practices over morally dubious ones, despite taking a short-term financial hit.
Doing so builds trust with your customers and stakeholders and keeps your company true to its purpose.
Shapes Your Company’s Work Culture
Another reason why your core values matter is because they serve as the foundation of your company’s work culture.
Your key values dictate how employees interact with one another, approach their work, and represent the company to customers.
Thus, having a values-driven work culture creates a positive work environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and aligned with the company’s mission/vision.
This is especially important if you have remote employees like virtual assistants or admin assistants.
Here, your values bind your team together, regardless of distance, and help them identify your goals and their role in achieving them.
Contributes to Long-Term Success
Ultimately, companies that don’t stray from their key values achieve long-term success.
Doing so leads to good relations with stakeholders and customers.
Furthermore, when employees understand and feel connected with your values, they’ll become more motivated to strive toward your company’s goals.
All these lead to improved stability and growth for your company.
Core Values: Not Just Another Corporate Buzzword
For some companies, key values are merely abstract concepts in their mission/vision statement to attract talent and customers.
However, as the above points show, this shouldn’t be the case.
Your core values are the driving force behind your business’s success.
By authentically embracing them, you can set yourself apart from the competition and take your business to new heights.
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John Carlo Pagsolingan is a carefree yet hardworking writer with aspirations of becoming a teacher in the future. He believes that remote working isn’t just a substitute; but is a legitimate alternative to face-to-face work. Learn more as he writes about the advantages of remote work and tips for aspiring remote workers.
