Plug in Values and Supercharge your Employee Engagement

Where Can Your Organisation’s Values Be Found?

a) Beautifully framed but gathering dust on the floor of the HR office; yet to be hung on the employee cafeteria wall?

b) Lurking on page 3 of the Employee Handbook? The one that is 5 years out-of-date?

c) In the new hire orientation/induction programme – PowerPoint slide #5 of 130?

d) In the opening pages of the Strategic Plan, right after the vision and mission? Yes, that hefty bound document that has not seen daylight since it was prepared 3 years ago.

e) Marketing has a copy…somewhere.

f) Stashed in some other dark hole? Noo000oo! Please don't tell me.

 HR’s Role

Hang on a minute…before we get to the inside scoop on values in business, let’s shine the spotlight on HR’s role in this context.HR is the guardian of the organisation’s employer brand values and work culture.HR is responsible for the stewardship of this piece of brand real estate.The employer brand is how your organisation is perceived and experienced as a place to work.  It is “a set of attributes and qualities, often intangible that makes an organisation distinctive, promises a particular kind of employment experience, and appeals to those people who will thrive and perform best in its culture”. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)Values are the glue of a strong employer brand. When genuinely experienced by future and existing employees, values can help your organisation become a Great Place to Work^{® .}

The Business of Seeing and Feeling Values: 3 Short Stories

1. I bought a pair of lust-worthy shoes from TOMS. I pause typing for a moment to gaze lovingly at my new purchase. Psst! They are a fabulous Robin Hood-Sherwood Forest green colour, in case you are wondering.VALUE RESULT: Shoe addiction satisfied (for now) and my indulgence has secured 1 pair of shoes for a child in need.2. When I go shopping I take canvas bags to avoid accumulating more plastic bags.  My favourite is my well-worn FEED bag. The last time I was in the supermarket, I received the nod of tribal recognition from a fellow shopper carrying a FEED tote.VALUE RESULT: Doing my bit to help save the environment and the original purchase of this bag provided 10 meals to the hungry. Tribe membership is a bonus.3. My friend was gifted a pair of bracelets from Raven and Lily. She is over the moon, happily wearing her envy-inducing stunning bracelets whilst raving about the story behind the bracelets.VALUE RESULT: She is proud to be part of this brand’s story and feels connected to the women artisans. She trusts that her gift directly helps to alleviate poverty in an un-patronising and sustainable way.

Rewrite the Rules

These for-profit socially conscious lifestyle brands have successfully rewritten the rules on values and emotional connectivity in business.They put values first, in the middle and at the end of their business.

In their hands, kindness and other allegedly ‘soft’ values are not just for the tree-huggers; but a serious business asset.

In the words of Thomas Fuller, “seeing's believing but feeling’s truth.”

Supercharge Employee Engagement with these Values Plug-ins

I present 5 Steal-worthy techniques from the Social Entrepreneurs. Ta-daa!1. Attract only individuals who share the same values and repel those that don’t.a) Banish wishy-washy generic values from your business. Be uncompromising when defining your values. Avoid the dull and the mundane.Do you really need to state honesty and integrity? These are non-negotiable values for any serious business.Select and plug-in only those values which are relevant to your business and will resonate loudly with your employee community?b) Do the values and beliefs of your target tribe match those of your organisation? Are your employees experiencing your brand values as you intended?If you don’t know, time for some research. A well designed employee engagement survey, exit interviews (particularly feedback from regretted leavers) and a quick search for your organisation on Glassdoor are good places to start.2. Connect your tribe to the organisation’s purpose through values.Your consumer brand values and employer brand values must mirror each other.  Stellar results are achieved when HR, Marketing and Communications work together.Let’s take kindness as an example of your core value.  If you do not treat or encourage your employees to behave in the spirit of this value; can you honestly expect them to interact or treat your customers with authentic kindness?Values are nearly impossible to train.  They must be first experienced (felt) before they can be shown (acted) to others.Design and implement support structures (e.g. performance management systems and recognition programmes) to encourage, reinforce and reward desired brand-led behaviour in tangible ways.3. Engage the hearts and minds of your tribe in the story of your business.Take care with your brand tone of voice.  Communicating your values can be as bold or as subtle as you like.  But the tone must appeal to the hearts and minds of your tribe.  Avoid a condescending or patronising tone, go instead for an inclusive and participative in all your human to human and media communication channels.4. Make it easy for tribe members to participate in your organisation’s culture in a meaningful way and feel good about it.Tell your story in a magnetic way.  Speak to your target audience (tribe) in language and tone that will attract and compel the members of this distinct group to engage with you, and ultimately gift you with their attention and loyalty.a) First you must know and understand the interests, values and motivations of your tribe.b) Finally, don’t wait for a recruitment campaign or training session or other employee event to connect with your tribe.  Build a thriving community by showing that your organisation’s values and your tribe’s values are aligned.Engage in regular and meaningful connection through newsletters, blogs, social media and intranet to showcase what it is like to be a member of your community. Share employee profiles, wellness programmes, community involvement, tips, inside news etc.5. Add meaning and feeling to the relationship between your business and its tribe.Use each zone of your Employer Brand as an opportunity to connect with your future and existing employees.  Authentic values help build a vibrant community of employees who live in harmony and are locked into the organisation’s values.Zero in on HR-led processes such as recruitment, orientation/induction, performance management, learning and development and compensation. Ensure that brand values are alive and firing on all cylinders.  Only then can they be authentically experienced.When employees feel that they are doing work that matters in a culture which shares their values, they become advocates for the place in which they work.

Show no shame!

Release your inner Magpie. Steal ideas from the Social Entrepreneurs.Be curious. Watch how they challenge the status quo by rewriting how values and emotional connectivity can power business profits and make a difference.  Collect, adapt and apply to suit the HR context.Supercharge your business by plugging values into every connection point that touches your tribe.Do your bit to transform your organisation from blah to cooking with gas!  As a savvy HR leader you ensure that these values are not only seen but are felt through words and actions at every stage of the employment relationship.