Rest in peace, organisational values?

As corporations continue to show blatant disregard for the values they claim to espouse, it may be time to ask whether we’ve seen the last of values-led organisations, writes Ashling Withers.

Organisations are grappling with the need to respond to a tumultuous, uncertain, and changing environment – from global and local economic uncertainty, to the growing influence and impact of AI and pressures to reduce costs.

Values play a vital role in steering organisations through these challenging times. Far from words on a wall, they should set the standards organisations abide by and be the unerring guide to decision-making and action-taking.

But sadly, it seems for many big organisations, values really are just words on a wall, and we’re seeing the impact of when businesses fail to live up to the values they claim they are committed to.

Macquarie Group speaks to “integrity” – acting honestly and fairly and honouring promises and accountability, stating that the business takes responsibility for its actions. Everything it does and says is, apparently, on the record. And yet Macquarie was scathingly called out by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in May for complacency and hubris for allegedly misreporting up to 1.5 billion short sale trades.

Meanwhile, the ABC called out its treatment of journalist Antoinette Lattouf as “not handled in line with our values and expectations” – falling short against its stated claims of integrity, inclusion and courage.

These are two, but I could go on – Qantas, Coles, Woolworths, and Seven Network have all been in the news for behaviours that flaunt the fundamentals of running a successful business.

Hardly surprising that Roy Morgan finds 66 per cent of Australians distrust any organisation or sector, predominantly driven by the perception that companies are too motivated by profit or commercial interests.

Is this the end of the line for values?

Should we relegate values to the rubbish bin? Have they evolved to become marketing fluff that organisations use to gain customers and tempt employees?

I haven’t yet lost faith.

When the USA saw organisations like Meta and Amazon rushing to remove DEI initiatives, others stood against the tide. At Costco, 98 per cent of shareholders voted against a proposal to report risks of maintaining its DEI policies – backed by the board, who stated: “Our efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion remind and reinforce with everyone at our company the importance of creating opportunities for all.”

Standing true to the value of “respect our difference” has reaped commercial rewards. Costco saw a 9 per cent increase in revenue with an additional 7 million shoppers coming through the doors in just four weeks.

It’s not what you say – it’s what you do

In Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras studied a range of organisations to understand how they achieved their long-term success. Their key conclusion was that the most visionary organisations “succeed over the long haul not because of superior products or market timing, but because they have a core ideology – values and purpose – that they preserve while constantly stimulating progress”.

Collins and Porras referenced examples such as 3M, a business that championed innovation, empowerment, and long-term thinking and delivered on this with the famous “15 per cent time” rule, committing 15 per cent of employee time to pursuing ideas they are passionate about. The result? Post-it notes, a market now worth more than US$2.4 billion. Which just goes to show that values are worthless unless they are backed by real commitment and real action.

How can organisations today deliver more than words on a wall?

If, like me, you still see the value in values, here are some steps you can take.

Values and culture assessment: Assess and understand your culture today. What is working well and what is not? What are the cultural advantages you have that need to be leveraged? How relevant are your values and behaviours to your strategic priorities – your customers, your people, your purpose? What may need to evolve, change, or be strengthened?

Give voice to your people: Your values need to be reflective of the people in your organisation. Take time to engage your people and understand what matters to them, what they value and what is going to make the difference. And language really matters. It must feel and sound like you to truly engage and inspire action. More IKEA and Airbnb, less… Enron.

Lead with purpose: Employees learn from their leaders. They need to see values role modelled from the top. The burden on leaders is high, but creating simple playbooks, case study scenarios and facilitating workshops to uncover the stories of how we do this well, and how to manage when we don’t, provides leaders with the support to lead their teams with values at the heart.

Make it stick: Values aren’t the responsibility of just your people and culture team. They need to be owned by everyone. But that means employees need to understand and be empowered to act. Defining clear and consistent behaviours, building into every single aspect of the employee journey, and measuring and celebrating success builds consistency and pride in what we stand for.

In times like these, we don’t need fewer values – we need stronger ones. From the words of one of the greats, Barack Obama, “Values aren’t just words; they’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for.”

Ashling Withers is a senior consultant – employer brand at Principals.