Values Give Your Business Direction
Having established values gives your company direction and gives you and your employees motivation. Making money isn’t a strong enough motivator to get you through the challenges of starting your own business, and it’s not a strong enough motivator to encourage your employees.
Your values should guide every aspect of your business – from the decisions you make to the employees you hire to the way you interact with your customers.
When your employees understand and live by your company’s values, they’ll know how to act in every situation. To ensure that your employees know them, keep them at the forefront of your employees’ minds by displaying them in prominent places. Post them on your website, in your employee handbook, and anywhere your employees gather often – like conference rooms or breakrooms.
You can also make sure you’re hiring based on values by introducing them during the interview process. Once you’ve hired a new employee, you can include them as training during onboarding. This ensures that your new employees are living by your values from the very beginning.
10 Common Company Values
Your core values will change as your company grows, and they’ll shape your company culture. They can be anything you like, but make sure they capture your company’s vision. They can be single words, phrases, or even whole sentences.
Common company values include:
- Authenticity
- Collaboration
- Creative
- Customers Come First
- Generosity
- Ingenuity
- Innovative
- Integrity
- Respectful
- Responsible
