How do we know we’re building values that really reflect the lived experience and aspirations of our people? 60% of employees don’t know or don’t connect with their company values. Icology’s webinar offered some practical tips for mitigating this widespread hidden disconnect.

Led by Chuck Gose, ‘The Hidden Disconnect In Workplace Culture’ featured Ann Melinger, CEO of bink, and Allison Nelik, Executive Director, Global Head of Internal Communications and Executive Communications at MSCI.

On bringing life to values with Ann Mellinger

Companies think they understand their core values and as such their fundamental meaning isn’t given the time of day. They need to be central to what the organisation does and how they do it. If not, it becomes “table stakes” and words like integrity lose meaning, not speaking to what makes the organisation different.

You don’t create values; you uncover them, ensuring that they’re in the fabric of the organisation; good values will be worded in the lexicon of your people.

Ann’s advice:

• There must be a clear connection between values and behaviours to help colleagues see values in action.
• Create a measurement framework for behaviours – this might mean collaborating with HR and weaving values in with competency frameworks, for example.
• Leadership must be aligned and role modelling behaviours, demonstrating that the values are important to the company.
• Share examples of values in action, make them meaningful in the day-to-day.

On making values relevant to global businesses with Allison from MSCI

For MSCI, the values really come alive in the culture of the organisation. It’s important to let local teams identify how their individual work connects with the overarching values, reinforced by recognition.

In harder times, values take on a whole new meaning to a workplace. Top-down messaging becomes even more vital to ensure understanding of organisational motivations.

Allison’s learnings from her experience:

• Build on people’s associations with the wording of the values, and help people understand what is meant by them when used in company contexts.
• Develop clear iconography to reflect the overall brand and feel as this offers a visual cue for what the values mean and how they feel for colleagues.
• Living values in good times ensures good results and can be the route out of difficult times. For example, if the value is in innovation, there’s no better opportunity to prove its impact by finding new solutions during high pressured situations.

Panel discussion

Who should own values?

Ownership should be a trifecta of leadership, communication teams, and HR. Although shared ownership is the ideal situation, there needs to be someone that holds these values to account.

How do values come across to non-employees?

Allison mentioned a case where an internally focussed interview series brought out the values in colleagues’ own words. This was so effective, it was then co-opted into an external promotion of the business and employer brand. Having clarity in these comms was the most important factor above all else.

Information fatigue

Communicators are storytellers first and foremost. Aside from launch, there shouldn’t need to be much focus on communicating the values in isolation, as they’re part of the plot – in the very fabric of all activity.

Q&A

What do you do when values are no longer aligned with business direction?

Every four to five years, a stocktake of your values should be conducted. Low engagement scores are often a good sign that your values need a refresh.

Example 

Chris followed up with an additional question about MSCI, who had been through seven acquisitions in the last year. Values had to become an integral part of the onboarding process and be leveraged to more effectively retain talent. After the merger, a sense of normalcy was established through consistent communication channels. This helped people continue their work as smoothly as possible through the change.

Advice:

• In times of mass change, software needs to be functional to enable colleagues to deliver on products and services effectively. Otherwise, technology can be a source of disconnect. Ensure the basics of how colleagues reach each other is streamlined and maintained.

Should values reflect current behaviours or are they aspirational?

Values should be 80% current behaviours and 20% aspirational, particularly in conjunction with the employer brand. With transformations increasingly becoming the norm, organisations can’t afford to have static values.

Advice:

• Values need to be able to metamorphosize to respond to challenges.
• Keep an eye on the horizon and inspire growth.

Is it too much to have values, vision, and mission?

Values, vision, and mission work as the why, the where, and the how of any corporate structure. You must be reflective and thoughtful about what they mean and identify what the world would lose if your company didn’t exist.

Advice:

• Too many organisations focus on the what and not the how or the why.
• Threading the needle between these is the impetus to impactful and effective value creation.