Turn a few values into specific behaviors, have leaders practice them first, then build them into hiring, appraisal, promotion and recognition. Culture is what people actually do when no one is watching, not the words on the wall.
Step by step
- 1
Choose a few values
Three to five values that express what the company needs to succeed, not a list of generic traits every company repeats.
- 2
Turn each value into behavior
For example: commitment means we deliver on time or warn about a delay before it happens.
- 3
Leaders first
A manager's daily behavior teaches the team more than any message, so start by training managers and holding them to the values.
- 4
Build them into HR systems
Questions on values in interviews, a part of the performance appraisal, and a condition in the promotion criteria.
- 5
Reward what you want repeated
Public recognition for those who live the values, and no tolerance for a high performer who breaks them, which is the clearest message to the team.
- 6
Measure and review
Ask about the values in the employee survey, and check whether the company acts on them when decisions are hard.
Promoting someone with great numbers despite clearly breaking the company's values undoes in one day what months of talk about culture built.
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