Alan Ibbotson

Reduce Inconsistencies and Low Morale Through Company Values

One of our recent clients at UKNY has been grappling with seemingly complex organizational issues, characterized by poor morale and inconsistencies in what was deemed acceptable performance levels and behavior. Some of this was down to issues of role clarity, but the over-arching theme was that there really was no “company way” of doing things and as a result, all hell was breaking loose as people just did it their own way. It wasn’t that anybody was wrong, they just didn’t have a collective way of being right.

It was clear that, even though this was a small company, the leadership team could bring everyone onto the same side again by establishing a clear and authentic set of company values. You may be thinking“Surely only big companies need to do that kind of thing.” And while it may be true that bigger companies really must articulate who they are in this way, think about it this way: Don’t we each all have our own personal values that drive our decisions and actions? Values like honesty and generosity act as our personal anchors every day, so it stands to reason that our companies should be a reflection of what we believe the working experience should be for our employees.

By way of illustration, here is an example of my own: UKNY is a small company too, but we have 4 very distinct values that drive our work:

1. Possibility: we find a way, figure it out and make it possible, no matter how difficult it may seem.
2. Innovation: we find creative ways to solve problems and keep people engaged.
3. Honor: We honor our commitments to our clients and always do what we say we will do.
4. Enjoyment: We enjoy what we do and we make sure our clients enjoy working with us.

SO how does this translate into a definable set of behaviors? Simple:

• Possibility means we need people with INITIATIVE, PROBLEM SOLVERS and PRACTICAL OPTIMISTS.
• Innovation means we need people who are ANALYTICAL, CREATIVE AND OPEN MINDED.
• Honor means we need people who are HONEST, CUSTOMER FOCUSED and who have INTEGRITY
• Enjoyment means we need people who are UPBEAT, who LIKE THE WORK and who are PERSONABLE and HUMOROUS.

Try this exercise for your company – you’ll be amazed at how it simplifies what you need from your people. Once you’ve done it – bring them all together and share it with them. It’s a great way of communicating a higher set of expectations that are to do with attitude and service – the biggest differentiator for any retailer these days. Good luck!

Posted by Alan Ibbotson on May 9, 2007 | Comments (0)