Warren Buffet once said, "Money is what you pay, value is what you get." It seems to have little connection with the smooth running of the company, taking into account that Buffet is an investor. But what Buffet said is that it was a priority to look for value by getting rid of money. Things of value are very important, and from there derives your success as an investor.
In companies, good values lead to better performance of themselves. A business without values is bound to malfunction, or even to close due to failure. For this reason, today we are going to talk about the importance that the values of a company have in its development. Because in the set of these good practices, we find ourselves with a healthy, balanced company, ready to take on the world.
The importance of values
Values highlight those qualities of people and that push them to act in a certain way. These qualities are governed because They are in tune with the wishes and interests, aspirations, beliefs and feelings of each individual. When a person feels that his moral and ethical way of being is good, and is motivated to carry it out for its results, all these qualities are highlighted. We are talking about values if this way of acting also lasts over time.
The values must have an operating logic that allows them to be carried out. For example, in society, the set of moral norms, allow good coexistence between different groups of people. We can see that if this is possible, it is because in addition most of the people involved believe in them. In an isolated or remote way, we can find groups or subjects that do not feel identified, and where they clash, due to their extravagant ethics. It does not mean that it is a bad thing, but if people did not row in a majority way in the same direction, society would go adrift.
In a company, the same thing happens. Some badly grounded values cause bad harmony and different perspectives on what values is being represented. So you ask questions like "What wishes do we still not satisfy from our clients?", "What profile of person comes to us?", "What values are transmitted among workers?" or even "What values do we share?" cannot be resolved by the disparity of beliefs.
Values in a company
Within a company, values must be represented and recognized. This means that acts that are in good harmony, are rewarded. Not necessarily in financial terms, but also with approval, mutual well-being between the different teams, and mutual support. The good internalization and standardization of them, they usually bring benefits progressively.
- Avoid bad behaviors and conflicts between employees.
- Implement effectively cambios or processes within the company.
- Help in identifying a problem willingness on the part of the team to solve it.
- Feel the company as part of oneself. This factor is important, workers tend to get more and better involved, regarding those who feel displaced or that things are not going with them.
- Lower number of layoffs. Each new position involves new teaching and familiarization.
- Create culture within the business.
- Motivation and continuous improvement. The bond of values is extrapolated in a positive feedback loop.
- Resistance to adversity. A team with the same values will not be destabilized as much as another with different values, when there are eventualities such as crisis, adaptation to new times, etc.
Values of a company, examples
Day-to-day practices help to strengthen the union between managers, departments, teams, and all the workers involved. Among the most relevant, we find the following.
Transparent and clear communication
Nobody likes that we lack information, let alone ask to receive a partial answer. For that, it is necessary to promote correct communication between the different members. Either to incorporate a new product or service, so that there are no confusion, to make a change in the process, and even report a problem.
A place where people trust each other, they also tend to respond positively and with the best attitude to anything.
Business integrity
I have always thought that of all values, integrity must occupy an essential position for its excellence. Commitment, honesty, honesty, responsibility, trying not to harm anyone or third parties ever. Promoting values such as integrity will lead to people, and therefore businesses, more authentic and competitive.
We must seek and pursue to train people of integrity, that are energetic and savvy. If they are not whole, other qualities that are potentially good could work against you.
self-criticism
Constant, regular value that must be consistent. Self-criticism allows us to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the company. Finding the cause of problems, or having a broad vision of the business, will help us solve difficulties and optimize processes. A proper self-criticism will help us gain in competitiveness, quality and prestige of our brand.
Libertad
Well rationalized, it is positive. Freedom on workers promotes less pressure, which it translates into less stress and more creativity. Offering freedom of thought, evaluating new ideas or perspectives, are contributions from which the business can be nurtured. In this way, we can see talent, and if so, retain it. Companies that do not offer room for maneuver, are very "squared" and strict without assessing the contributions of their workers, tend to lose that talent. People get tired, and leave. An error that we must try to avoid.
How to implement values in a business?
Whether your company is running or if you are an entrepreneurIt is essential to know what values we should have. Once we know the values that we want to transmit, surely we will get to work with emphasizing them on a metal plate or on the website itself. Many times, that ends up being forgotten, and we can often observe it in other places.
For the members to internalize the same values that we intend to transmit, we can collect different means of communication. E-mail, announcements, meetings or meetings they are good occasions to remember them. And also, in practice and day by day, we can encourage or penalize behaviors.
- Rewards. Employee of the month, commissions, some day of payoff for good conduct. They are always well received by employees.
- Touch of attention. Sometimes they can be in bad manners, I am particularly in favor of giving a positive wake-up call. For example, one loses the files, and they already go three times, talk to the person if something happens to him, if he needs help, and that he receives indirect stimuli to reinforce where he fails and motivate him to do it well.
- Take advantage of meetings, conferences, retreats and even readings to highlight what we want to convey.
Are all people worth the same?
If your final idea is to be able to focus on each person, responsibilities according to their personality, there are tools to determine which place should occupy who. If we have two employees with the same preparation, and one must offer customer service and the other accounting, for example, we will target the most extroverted with the public and the most introverted in accounting matters.
A widely used test in the United States and that usually offers good results, is the famous MBTI. In it, the traits of 16 personality types are cataloged and explained, according to the personal preferences of each one. Its results have helped a lot in personal development, group dynamics and leadership skills development. If you are curious, you can find information about the MBTI on Wikipedia, and different pages where to do the Myers-Briggs test.