Organizational values depict what is important to an organization, or what an organization values, collectively. Values might include concepts like collaboration, people or respect for example. Identifying organizational values in an important step in strategic planning, as clarity on values helps an organization define a future that makes sense and considers and aligns with what is important to the organization. While it’s important to identify what an organization values, it’s also critically important to ensure that the values are reflected in the everyday behaviours that people within the organization chose. Otherwise, organizations communicate that the stated values don’t truly represent what the organization really values and employees lose trust in the organization and leadership. Below I outline 3 impacts of not connecting values to organizational behaviours.
A disconnect between stated values and organizational behaviours is confusing to employees
When organizational behaviours are not aligned with stated values, it creates confusion for employees, as they ask what, really, does the organization value- the values they have displayed on the wall in the office, or the values that they promote each day through their hiring, promotion and performance management processes. Employees have heavy work loads, and it’s important that they do not have to spend energy wondering what the organization really values as they try to keep up with the demands of the job.
A disconnect between stated values and organizational behaviours demotivates employees
Great employee performance is fueled by belief in the organization and leadership. People want to work with people that they trust, admire and respect. When leaders fail to align organizational behaviours with the stated values, they lose trust in the eyes of the employees, and this leads to demotivation. A demotivated employee is incredibly costly to an organization, not just in lost productivity from that individual, but also from the negative impact a demotivated employee can have on others in the organization
A disconnect between stated values and organizational behaviours negatively impacts an organization’s reputation
Savvy job candidates do their homework, look beyond the rosy description of the organization and culture in the job description and actually talk to people who know the organization well. An indication that the organization doesn’t really value what is says it values leads the best candidates self select out of the candidate pool, leaving an organization with a sub-optimal set of candidates. Organizations that can’t attract and retain the strongest leaders are destined to miss performance targets, and not achieve their potential.
More and more, employees want to work in an organization that not only shares their own personal values- they also want to work for an organization that has integrity. When leaders don’t ensure that how things are actually done in the organization aligns with the stated organizational values, both the organization and its leaders lose credibility. With so many opportunities available to top talent these days, it’s imperative that organizations ensure that they are “walking the talk” by aligning behaviours and values- otherwise your organizations lose both existing employees and lose out on recruiting the best talent.