Core Values
In the modern business era, we constantly hear about core values as driving the mission and culture of an organization. In this article we are going to discuss the importance of core values and why it is important to have strong core values in your organization.
Core values are what support the vision, shape the culture, and reflect what the company views as important. They are the essence of the company’s identity – the principles, beliefs, and corporate philosophy. Many companies focus mostly on technical competencies but often forget the underlying factor that allows the company to run smoothly — core values.
Establishing strong core values provides both internal and external advantages to the company:
Core values help companies in the decision-making processes. For example, if one of your core values is to stand behind the quality of your products, any products not reaching the satisfactory standard are automatically eliminated.
Core values educate clients and potential customers about what the company is about and clarify the identity of the company. In this increasingly competitive environment, having a set of specific core values that speak to the public is a competitive advantage.
Core values are becoming primary recruiting and retention tools. With the ease of researching companies, job seekers are doing their homework on the identities of the companies they are applying for and weighing whether or not these companies hold the values that the job seekers consider as important.
Now that you know why core values are important, you may be wondering what core values actually look like? Below is a list of 6 core values that are common across various organizations in different industries:
Accountability – Acknowledging and assuming responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies. It can be applied to both individual accountabilities on the part of employees and accountability of the entity as a whole.
Commitment – Committing to a great product, service, and other initiatives that impact lives within and outside the organization.
Community –Contributing to society and demonstrating corporate social responsibility.
Innovation – Pursuing new creative ideas that have the potential to change the world.
Integrity – Acting with honesty, honour and without compromising the truth
Safety – Ensuring the health and safety of employees and going beyond the legal requirements to provide an accident-free workplace.
Identifying and understanding your organization's values is a challenging and important exercise. These values are essential and will convey where you want to go as well as how you will get there.
This is part of the Kunashe Foundation Financial Wellness Series, if you enjoyed this, share it with a friend or read the next article on financial wellness here.
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