Creating and Implementing Core Values in a Digital World
If you ask most people about the core values of the company that they currently work for, they either don’t know the core values. Or, if they do know them, they aren’t integrated succinctly into the company culture and aren’t taken seriously. The digital world has had a significant influence on the way that company culture and core values are adopted, or not adopted. Eve Mayer talks culture in a digital world with John Golden.
This expert sales interview on core values and company culture explores:
- What core values are
- The difficulties created by the digital era
- Millennial influence on company culture
- How to establish core values
- How to implement core values
A Company’s Core Values
Core values are the intersection of culture and marketing. Core values start with the employee, and the story is what you should use to tell your companies story. It’s not just about the product or features of your product. People want to know the story of the company, that’s what makes people want to work with you.
Digital Difficulties
As an organization, even if you have core values that are important and you believe in, it can be challenging to translate that to staff members. Especially if a company has mostly remote, digital workers, getting employees to adopt and embrace the company culture really can be a challenge. “When you don’t get to be together in person, it’s a challenge for people to build that culture. Core values should be a steak in the ground for developing that culture, so you can set behaviors that come from that,” said Mayer.
Millennial Culture
With more of the millennial generation entering the workforce, many of them are hoping for a career that has a standard of, ‘we’re here to make money.’ “Hopefully more than just millennial want that, I think most people want that,” said Mayer. “There was a time where you signed on to a job for 30 years and got a gold watch at the end of it. You didn’t care about the higher purpose. You just wanted a job.” But things are changing now. People don’t just want to work to work. They want to be a part of something. A company that doesn’t have core values and is just centered around profits isn’t keeping up with what people want from their jobs. This further emphasizes the importance of creating and maintaining company culture. But how do you make that happen?
Creating Core Values in a Digital World
The importance of core values is obvious. But, the question becomes, how do you create and implement these core values to help employees buy into the company culture, especially in an increasingly digital world? “If you’re lucky enough to have a company create core values, and communicate them to the staff clearly, you’re ahead of the game. A lot of companies don’t do that,” said Mayer. But, if they haven’t already been created, that is the obvious start. A group of people who are not just top executives, but rather a cross-section of the staff from all levels, should bring their input. They should explore what the company believes and what the company is about to create several different core values. Then, the entire company should select the ultimate core value from these options.
Implementing Core Values
The way you ensure that the behaviors your staff adopts these values is multi-faceted. First, set up a system to communicate and remind employees of the core values. Make sure that they are disseminated to every person in the company. Then, reward and recognize based on their adoption of the values. Have other staff notice when a peer acts on the core values, and reward their efforts. They should also be integrated into managerial reviews. This assesses if each employee measures up to, and is upholding the values of the company. It also gives an opportunity for the manager to provide techniques to their employees improve if they fall short.
Watch the interview to learn more about core values in a digital world, and check out Eve Mayer’s first expert sales interview on social selling.
About Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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