What is the value of values?
These are uncertain times for people and businesses. That’s why it’s important to define the core values that motivate you and your organization. Discovering your values helps build your brand, supports workplace culture, and is key to attracting talent.
Too often, leaders don’t pay enough attention to the role of values in business. This leads many organizations to list generic values that don’t mean anything. That’s a problem.
Values and the changing workforce
The pandemic changed a lot of things, including consumer habits. It also changed people’s priorities. These shifts have implications for recruitment and retention.
Research by Gartner found that employees are increasingly looking for purpose at work. A 2021 survey by the same firm showed that 65 per cent of respondents worldwide feel the pandemic made them rethink how work fits into their lives. Half of respondents said they had different expectations from their employers post-pandemic.
Generational change is also moving the dial. A study by Deloitte shows that Gen Z and millennials are critical change agents in today’s workforce. They are also profoundly values-driven.
What’s at stake
Experts agree that Canadian employers are facing talent shortages and skills gaps that impact productivity and growth. Without workers with the right skills, businesses face higher training and wage costs, slower growth, and a lack of innovation.
The link between the talent shortage and innovation is most concerning for Canadian businesses. Canadian employers need people with tech skills to help integrate AI and other new technologies into business operations. A recent report from Palette Skills and Deloitte Canada shows that sectors of the economy that fail to innovate risk slower growth.
Great values shape great work cultures
The take-home is that traditional recruitment strategies aren’t attracting the workers who can drive innovation. This means HR must do more to understand values-driven talent, and organizations must build values that shape business performance.
The benefits go beyond attracting a few new candidates. Aligning your organization to authentic values is key to creating a great workplace culture that will boost productivity and employee retention. These are workplaces that will ensure your organization’s resilience and attract interest from stakeholders, customers, and talent.
Discover your values
So what’s the process for discovering your organizational values? There’s no single path, but these points can help:
- Your values are unique to you and your team and point to the way you do business and the outcomes you want to achieve.
- You’ll find clues in your organization’s origin story and the why of your business.
- Values orient your business and help to define strategies and objectives – and rule others out.
- If customers sense a disconnect between the values you advertise and the way you actually do business, you’ll lose them.
Walking the talk
When values take hold, they change the way people behave. Strong values shape how we work together, instill passion and encourage contribution. Core values must be integrated into all business processes, from hiring and onboarding to performance management and dismissal policies.
Values should help everyone in your organization evaluate business processes and decisions. Authentic values are a lens that lets everyone think critically about how work gets done. You should listen carefully when new talent identifies business activities that don’t meet expectations.
Values and accountability
If values drive behaviour, attract talent, and shape business processes, they must be backed up by accountability. The best way to align your organization with great values is to foster a culture of accountability that starts at the top.
The challenge of integrating people and values will be tough, and the work will be ongoing. But when the gears start to mesh, your organization will reap the rewards. There’s no better way to navigate the future.
