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Will your organisation be celebrating World Values Day on October 17th 2024?
If you’re already an advocate for Core Values, and looking for ideas on how to bring your company values to life in October – fast forward to the end of this blog, where we share some tips and ideas.
But, if you’d like to discover why the world’s most successful organisations are leveraging Core Values as a superpower to drive competitive advantage – read on!
In a world where technology evolves at a rapid pace, the workplace becomes increasingly complex for employees to navigate, and we have access to more data than ever before – yet it doesn’t always point us in a single direction. However, there is one superpower that remains constant for those organisations that embrace it and do it well: Core Values.
Core Values, when set with purpose and intention, provide employees with guidance on how the company expects them to behave when no one is watching. They guide leaders in making quick decisions and provide new employees with clarity on what’s expected of them as they onboard into their roles.
Companies without Core Values, or without actively lived and embraced values, are often characterised by a lack of alignment, slower and inconsistent decision-making, poor hiring choices, and inconsistency in performance management. Organisations where everyone fully understands and lives by Core Values consistently outperform those that don’t – or, more often, have values that are nothing more than catchy words on a website.
The 17th October, 2024 is World Values Day, and as highlighted by the themes on World Values Day, core values are not just abstract concepts; they need to be actionable and visible in organisational behaviour to create lasting impact.
Core Values shape the overall health of an organisation by setting a moral compass and ensuring all actions align with the company’s mission and vision. Organisations with clearly defined and lived values benefit from:
When employees connect with the core values of their organisation, they find more meaning and purpose in their work. This leads to increased motivation and higher levels of engagement, translating into productivity.
A healthy organisational culture is one where values are clearly understood and practised by all. This culture promotes trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging among employees, all of which contribute to overall organisational health.
Living core values ensures that employees make ethical choices, even in difficult situations. This reduces the risk of misconduct and helps build a strong reputation with clients, partners, and stakeholders.
When everyone in the organisation lives by the same set of values, it reduces ambiguity. Decisions are made faster, conflicts are resolved more easily, and the organisation becomes more cohesive.
One of the most effective ways to embed core values into an organisation’s culture is through teambuilding experiences directly tied to these values. Such experiences make values more tangible and accessible for employees, turning abstract ideas into real-life actions. Here are some ways teambuilding linked to core values can help:
Teambuilding exercises can be designed around specific values, such as integrity, collaboration, or innovation. For example, a problem-solving challenge requiring teams to work together to achieve a goal can emphasise the value of collaboration. Employees witness how these values operate in practical settings, reinforcing their importance.
Teambuilding activities create shared experiences where employees not only understand the values intellectually but also feel them emotionally. This fosters a deeper connection to the values and enhances camaraderie among the team.
When teambuilding activities are based on core values, they encourage employees to hold each other accountable for living those values in their daily work. It becomes a collective effort to ensure everyone is aligned with the organisation’s principles.
Regular teambuilding sessions focusing on values can serve as a creative way to keep these values top-of-mind. For example, organising volunteer days linked to the value of social responsibility or conducting workshops that promote continuous learning can keep employees engaged with the values in dynamic ways.
Here are some tips that will help you align your organisation’s core values with teambuilding exercises:
Design teambuilding exercises around real-world scenarios that reflect your organisation’s core values. This allows employees to practise these values in a safe and supportive environment.
When employees demonstrate core values in their work, acknowledge and celebrate it. This reinforces the behaviour and encourages others to follow suit.
Integrate discussions about values into regular team meetings or check-ins. Employees should not only reflect on their tasks but also on how their actions align with the core values.
By ensuring core values are lived every day, organisations can create a strong, healthy, and thriving culture. Teambuilding experiences are a powerful tool to help employees internalise and act on these values, leading to greater engagement, trust, and overall organisational success.
Ready to bring your core values to life to celebrate World Values Day?
Click here to book a call with one of our Teambuilding Experts today!
