“It’s in an emergency that an organisation’s true values become clear.” | Mark Rowland for the Chartered Management Institute in April.
“Covid-19 means there is more focus on people and human rights now, and we are seeing the companies that continue to look after their people – be it in their operations or supply chains – will lead the global recovery from an employee engagement and brand perspective.” | Paulina Murphy of World Benchmarking Alliance in June.
Unsurprisingly, there’s lots of chatter saying core values are vital to organisational survival. Some commentators reckon values are more important than ever….. I don’t entirely agree.
Every organisation has a range of values which matter most collectively to the people of that place. This has always been so. Those values are the energies that drive problem solving, creativity, kindness and fuel determination in ways that no rule book or handbook ever could.
There is danger ahead: not from a lack of values per se, but from discernible gaps between declared core values and the ones lived out in everyday interactions.
Kareline Daguer of PwC says it well: “This crisis will test firms’ ability to live up to their stated ambitions and core values. Now, more than ever, winning or losing may depend on whether you were able to do the right thing at the right time for both your employees and your customers.”
What that ‘right’ thing looks and sounds like depends on the values your organisation says it holds as core and what it actually holds as core. When an organisation demonstrably makes decisions and takes actions which honour the stated values (and even better explains how the values have been operationalised in that process) then we experience that company/charity/business as authentic.
Be in no doubt, as the world turns to life post pandemic, to be experienced as authentic will be powerful and comms folk may find themselves expected to work their magic in that pursuit.
Associate Professor Juan-Carlos Molleda, in his 2010 review of authenticity in PR and Communications, says “authenticity claims must capture the experiences, aspirations and expectations of the involved segment of society that organisations aim to engage; otherwise, a clash of values and beliefs may occur and the strategic public relations and communication management efforts may be lost”.
As we get ready to #buildbackbetter, or whatever rallying call is being used where you are, what can be done on the values and authenticity front?
Three Suggestions:
Look hard and listen carefully to spot and capture stories from the past few months which embody the most meaningful values lived by your people
Check alignment thoughtfully: don’t just tick the stories off against the “values” printed on posters and coasters; peel back the layers of the stories for the energy that lay behind both what was done and how it was done and see if it truly all lines up.
Gap or No Gap? If you don’t find a gap between ‘talk’ and ‘walk’ that’s great – now amplify what you have found. If there is a gap then you have an opportunity. This is a chance to course correct your organisation to move beyond dated, or overly generic, statements of values to something fresh which better conveys the unique spirit of your enterprise and which you can show has already been making a kind of difference that counts
Everyone everywhere has had a very personal experience of the pandemic.
For some, it has reinforced that things they cared about truly do matter very much and they have a renewed sense of focus. For others it has shown that some (many) things they cared about do not matter even half as much as other things they had been taking for granted, for them the coming months will be ones of reappraisal and possibly reorientation.
I suspect the same will prove true for organisations – where do you think yours sits just now?
Jackie Le Fevre of Magma Effect
Let us know in the comments below, or contact me directly at jackie@magmaeffect.com.
Jackie Le Fevre is the UK lead for Minessence Values Framework, putting theory to practice with Magma Effect, and is currently embarked upon a PhD exploring values.
