home Magazine metlife core values. Six mistakes in creating corporate values

metlife core values. Six mistakes in creating corporate values

The core values and life plans of company employees can be realized to a large extent through increased efficiency, growth and business development.

Therefore, the prospects for our business are the prospects for each of us.

To the extent that the Company is successful, to the extent the employees’ qualifications, incomes, careers, satisfaction with their work and the atmosphere in the team will increase. In other words, the interests of our people are directly related to the goals of the Company.

Below is an example of the values of a real commercial company.

1. Structure of the Company’s values

The development of the Company’s divisions is based on two groups of company-wide values:

Basic, orientation towards which ensures required level company efficiency;
Higher, orientation towards which gives the company the energy of breakthrough, advance, and leadership in the market.

Each group includes values - one leading (highlighted) and supporting ones.

Core values:

Controllability
Achievability
Teamwork
Pace (value of time)

Highest values:

Proactivity
Innovation
Clientele
Competitiveness

2. Core values of the Company

Controllability

– timely achievement of set goals, consistency of goals and actions of employees.

The Company's goals and priorities are communicated to each department in relation to the specifics of its position.
All managers and employees are assessed on their specific contribution to the Company's performance.
Fewer tasks - more rules. This means that more orders and instructions must be replaced by streamlining business processes, functions, goals, evaluation criteria, etc.
Do not give tasks, encourage or punish an employee over the head of his immediate supervisor.
As the goals and operating conditions of the Company change, the functions and motivation of employees change.
When setting a task, the manager has the right to expect that deadlines will be met upon first presentation. No reminders. No intermediate control. In the event of unforeseen circumstances affecting the deadline for completing a task, the employee must immediately notify the manager and, if necessary, other participants in the business process.
An employee who provokes step-by-step control over himself is considered costly.

Achievability

– ensuring real results, increasing efficiency in every workplace.

We report on results, not activities.
We evaluate and reward not so much for experience, but for achievements.
The definition of each employee function specifies criteria for assessing its performance.
The right to make a mistake: a mistake is not a disaster, but an experience. We learn from every mistake.
We don't repeat mistakes.

Teamwork

– consistency of goals and actions of employees in a friendly atmosphere.

Motto: We are all each other’s clients here.

Interchangeability: if someone is absent, the others take over his functions.
The relationship between the leader and the subordinate is not based on the “Parent – Child” principle, but on the “Adult – Adult” principle.
If you have information that is interesting to another employee, pass it on to him immediately.
Do not shift what is your responsibility to someone else.
We do not refuse to help others.
We overcome disagreements without conflicts.
If you make a mistake, we’ll figure it out; if you cheat, we’ll separate.
In our country, rewards significantly prevail over punishments.
The principle of mutual responsibility for damage caused operates between the company and its employees.
We hire employees not so much for a position, but for a company. If valuable employee If a specific position is not suitable, we will find him a worthy place in the Company.
The manager plans both the official and extra-official careers of his subordinates.
Don’t scare our “black sheep” (we accept non-standard judgments constructively).
We criticize not a person, but actions.
Each of us is a “giraffe” in some way (we expect and recognize the individual superiority of each in some respect).
Mutual obligation of everyone and in everything.
Instead of “You misunderstood me,” say “I didn’t say it clearly.”

Pace (value of time)

– speed of implementation necessary changes, saving your own and everyone’s time.

Motto: We are stingy with time - non-renewable
and always a scarce resource.

Deadlines are met without reminders. An employee who has to be reminded about deadlines is considered too costly.
There are no tasks without deadlines.
We understand the assigned dates, hours, minutes literally and not approximately. Failure to comply with them is a blow to prestige.
The implementation of large-scale work is staged in time with the corresponding dates.
We set priorities according to urgency.
Time losses have monetary equivalent and can be assessed as specific damage to the case.
Pace should not come at the expense of quality.
We compare and synchronize the pace of development of the market, Company, division, employee.

3. The highest values of the Company

Proactivity

– proactive influence on the market, the ability to stop undesirable trends and accelerate desirable ones. Don't follow demand - stay ahead of it.

The most important sign of a leader’s qualifications is the ability to foresee. It is assessed.
Best = proactive.
Periodically evaluate yourself from the future. What are we going to laugh about today? What will we regret not doing today?
Each creative employee has a personal VISION (image of the desired future in the Company).
The most important criterion for selecting new employees is proactive inclinations.

Innovation

– openness and readiness to change, success of innovations.

Motto: There is nothing that cannot be improved.

We regularly replenish the Company's innovation bank.
Promising innovations are implemented through the mechanism of temporary task forces.
We encourage new ideas.
Every idea has an author.
By accepting an employee’s innovative proposal, the Company assumes the risks of its implementation.
Innovativeness is a sign of a creative employee and an evaluation criterion.

Clientele

– ability to expand and develop priority customer groups.

All sales departments have criteria for prioritizing their customers.
We are turning an increasing number of priority clients into our supporters.
The loss of a priority client is an extraordinary event that is specifically investigated.
We carry out certification of priority clients.
The departure of an employee does not mean the loss of a client.
Do not tell the client “no”, but offer options.
If an employee caused a loss to the Company, we will sort it out, but if he caused damage to the Company’s reputation, we will not forgive.

Competitiveness

– the ability to create competitive advantages in customer, supplier and labor markets.

Motto: Respect, know and outperform your competitor.

The Company's divisions regularly compare with competitors.
Sales and procurement departments and personnel departments constantly evaluate the focus of competition in the customer, supplier and labor markets, respectively.
The named divisions are regularly assessed for creation and development competitive advantages.
Once a quarter we collectively answer the questions: - in what and why are we lagging behind the strongest? — which of our competitors is now a beacon for us and in what ways?

Compliance with this Code is mandatory for all Company employees. Evaluation of an employee’s performance also includes compliance with the values and rules mentioned here.

This text of the Company’s Ideology and Code is subject to periodic updating and development.

Case based on materials from A.I. Prigozhin prepared

To bookmarks

Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, was once asked what he would change about the company if he could go back in time, to which he replied: “If I could organize Zappos from scratch, I would implement our corporate values from day one.” .

Developing corporate values at the company’s formation stage will bring benefits in the future. But just developing values is not enough; you also need to implement them. This will be much easier to do while your team consists of several people. Once the team gets larger, it will be difficult to reach agreement on what the company's values and culture will be.

When we first took up this issue, there were only 4 people on our team. It took 2 weeks to decide what the company's values would be. A year has passed. The team is growing, now we are 21 people, and we use them in our work every day.

Five simple tips how to do the same.

Come up with corporate values together

Take this seriously. If you write unfounded statements and tell the team to follow them, it will not be useful, but will only be annoying.

You cannot force a person to believe something that contradicts his personal values.

We involved the entire team in developing the value system. This helped avoid generic language that would not reflect the spirit of the company. Corporate values are created to set a company apart from the rest.

Give people a chance to speak

We started by asking each employee to consider what values best reflected our company. A few days before the rally, the team received questionnaires with the following questions:

What do you value most?

What unspoken values contributed to your success?

What do successful employees have in common?

How would you characterize employee communication within the team and with clients?

This allowed each employee to contribute to the development of the company culture.

Make a general list of values

During a personal meeting, I read out all the options that everyone wrote on their own. Then we spent brainstorm and got more more ideas! The next task was to select 10 important and similar values. Next, we assigned points from 1 to 10 to the statements. After calculating the results, we discussed the points on which there were disagreements and made a common list that suited everyone.

It is important to write the values in a way that is fun to read! Not a single person will be interested in a text similar to Brezhnev’s speech at the CPSU Congress, which makes you sleepy.

Discuss the meaning of each item on the list of values.

Understanding what the chosen values mean is critical to putting them into practice. It has been proven that employees who understand and share company values are more engaged and more effective at work.

Take time to discuss the list with your team. People are different and everyone will understand them in their own way. Introduce new employees to the company’s values at the interview stage and find out what they think about it.

When discussing accepted values, focus on the following questions:

How do you define value?

How will you apply it in practice?

How can they be misinterpreted?

How will we evaluate commitment to values?

How will they change our relationships and communication?

Application at work

Writing values on a board and hanging them in the break room is good, but not enough.

It is important to determine the steps you will take to implement them in life.

For example, we value and support employees' desire to develop. Therefore, we have time for self-education. During the quarterly meeting, everyone shares what they have learned in three months.

Bring your team back together to create a plan to implement your values. Decide how you will build a reward system based on the company's values.

Reasonable values that you want to follow are the basis of a positive corporate culture. Perhaps some of them will serve you for years, and some will change. The values will evolve with the company. Once a year, get together as a team and review your values. Follow them!

A new employee is usually told about the company's core values when hired. Each item on this list is important, so an entrepreneur, when creating a list for his organization, must carefully select what is truly relevant. The company’s core values must not only be declared, but also constantly supported in the work process, so the choice must be combined with both the field of activity and the peculiarities of business legal entity. When making a decision for your organization, it would be a good idea to study the experience of large companies.

Organizational values

Strategic profitability can easily be called dominant in this list. Company employees must understand what the demand is based on and be able to make reasonable forecasts for the near future (and the planning department for the rather distant future). The workers' task is to evaluate the assortment and profitable standards. As part of the work to determine strategic profitability, you need to be able to analyze the chosen niche, your region, client base, market share.

Creating company values in the aspect of strategic profitability involves taking into account the conditions of the economy, society, politics, science, technology, and ecology. Must be held marketing research, investment opportunities are being considered. The company must clearly formulate the advantages that allow it to stand out from its competitors and develop them. You need to know market trends and the risks that entrepreneurship entails. The development of tangible and intangible assets involves the development of several alternative ways to achieve what is planned.

Proactivity

One of the classic examples of a company’s value is the ability to respond not only to an event that has already occurred, but also to one that is still only “on the horizon”, predicted by the department strategic development. The company must be able to deliver a “pre-emptive strike”, analyze the present and future, and combat negative trends in the market and specific business. At the same time, it is assumed that conditions will be created that are beneficial and optimal for the enterprise. You need to be able to not only flexibly adapt to external changes, but also initiate changes in the situation in your favor. Market formation involves development “ahead of demand.”

Innovation

While the previously described examples of company values are usually told to employees during interviews and hiring, and reminded at internal meetings and meetings, the desire for innovation is an aspect of the organization's strategy that is also used for advertising purposes to create a positive image among customers. This term is commonly understood as the ability, within the framework of one’s own initiative, to formulate new solutions and approaches to known problems. The concept of the company's value “innovation” includes the speed and completeness of the implementation of innovation. To attract the attention of the client and rightfully prepare for the fact that the organization really strives for innovation, you need to be ahead of competing firms in this aspect.

In fact, proactivity is only available to a company that is already working with innovation. Otherwise, it is simply impossible to strike a “preventive strike” - there will not be enough technical and information capabilities to conquer the market of the future based on forecasts in the present time.

Competitiveness

Everyone has heard about this example of the value of companies, even people very far from the world of entrepreneurship. The term usually denotes the ability to form and promote some advantage that distinguishes the organization from competing enterprises. The main idea is to attract customer attention, investment, highly qualified personnel and the best suppliers.

Speaking about competitiveness as a corporate value of a company, they assume regular comparative analysis with key rivals in the chosen market area. In this case, it is necessary to take into account all the important signs, control the focus of competition and assess the direction of development of the priority client community. For this purpose, calculations are made on the basis of the main assortment. Additionally, it is important to assess investor interest in the company and its competitors, and to take measures to differentiate it from other companies in the same market sector so that investment flows specifically into this business.

Efficiency

The idea behind this element of a company's value system is the ability to achieve growth beyond expectations. Analyze the volumes of the product produced, generated useful information, services provided and transactions completed. Calculate the ratio between the result and labor costs, material and time resources spent in the work process. It wouldn't hurt to spend comparative analysis achieved and planned to be achieved. This type of work is a comparison of efficiency and effectiveness.

Social aspects

Entrepreneurs have long understood that only a business that is actively promoted in society can be successful. Sociality is an example of an organization's value that reflects the desire to improve the environment. An organization can be proud of its activities if attempts are made to develop staff, improve locality, improve the quality of life, level. If an organization is willing to make losses to achieve this goal, a positive image is formed that attracts the attention of a wide audience.

Closely related to the value described is customer focus. Organizational specialists must constantly monitor the characteristics of the target audience and be aware of the customer base, taking care of the interests of everyone. There are many ways to realize this value - stimulating more active demand and satisfying, deepening what already exists. At the same time, it is necessary to work on creating competitive advantages that will be appreciated by the highest priority client group. The company’s task is to work to create demand for the new products it offers, assessing not only the present, but also the prospects for the near future. Although at first glance such value may seem important only to the business itself, in reality, being customer-centric brings benefits to both sides of the process.

Initiative and teamwork

Only a company whose corporate culture encourages not just efficiency, but a focus on improving results, can count on success. The staff must be motivated so that everyone strives to perform the tasks assigned to them efficiently, achieving the best results. This has a positive effect on the organizational environment and, in the long term, improves the results of the enterprise as a whole. At the same time, it is important not just to put pressure on employees, forcing them to strive for improved performance, but to formulate the right motivation, which will allow every person employed in the company to truly sincerely strive for success. This approach shows the best results.

The desire and ability to work in a team is another value closely linked to the company culture. It's about about the unity of personnel, the desire for uniform goals. The team must work consistently, synchronizing actions to achieve the desired goal. The manager’s task is not just to control the process, but also to create conditions in which all team members can develop their skills and abilities. This applies not only to executive tasks, but also to managerial ones. If an organization has several divisions, the manager’s task is to create a corporate culture that would stimulate interaction between divisions.

Move forward, but not at any cost

If you analyze the modern sector of entrepreneurship, it will become noticeable: the motto of the company (even if not just any, but an impressive percentage of enterprises) contains a statement about the desire to achieve all the stated goals. This is really important and should be declared by the values of the organization, supported by them, and the chosen development strategy. The task of management personnel is to correctly formulate goals and work out action tactics that will allow them to achieve what is declared, and the staff must carefully follow the “guiding star.” The choice of goals that lead to the improvement of various aspects of the organization’s activities is important.

At the same time, achieving the plan should not be realized at any cost. It is necessary to remember about obligations, loyalty to your word and reliability. It is important to promote such values both locally, that is, within the team, and as a main feature of the image of the enterprise as a whole. Vertically, horizontally - it is necessary to treat obligations very responsibly, only this will help to really successfully avoid unpleasant, conflict situations that could undermine the company's reputation.

Trust and control

When developing a company motto, marketers very often suggest that the manager choose something that would encourage the client to trust their organization. Indeed, the ability to operate with such arguments means a lot in modern market, but it is important not only to speak big words, but also to conduct business in such a way that practice confirms the statements of the marketing department published in advertising campaigns for product promotion. Trust implies confidence that all parties to a transaction are ready to fulfill their obligations. If agreements are made, they must be observed, if rules are established, they must be followed.

At the same time, the manageability of the enterprise is analyzed as a company value. The term is usually understood as the level of controllability of the company's subsystems relative to management. Manageability can be assessed by analyzing the consistency of the activities of all employees of the enterprise and departments. At the same time, first of all, attention is paid to work related to the implementation of management decisions. Manageability also shows how correct and durable the organizational order has been created within the company.

Quality as the path to success

Perhaps, this value is declared by any organization (however, it is not a fact that what is officially declared will be observed in practice). When trainings, interviews, briefings, and meetings are held, the speaker always urges everyone to adhere to quality standards and carefully work through all assigned tasks.

In general, quality is generally understood as compliance of the results of the work process with standards and client requests. To identify the quality level, you need to compare utility indicators, as well as previously produced products. It is necessary that the characteristics of modern ones be better. Quality involves analyzing the items and services provided to the client in comparison with those that a competitor can offer. Improvement relative to one's own proposals in the past and rival ones in the present and projected future is the key to the success of the organization.

Dignified, adequate and orderly

Speaking about the company's values, it is especially worth noting dignity. This term is usually used to denote respectful attitude towards the personality of each employee of the enterprise. The company is obliged to recognize the individuality of employed employees. Adequacy, in turn, presupposes the ability and tendency to resolve conflict situations through compromise, developing solutions acceptable to all parties to the process.

Orderliness is an indicator of the enterprise’s performance, which is expressed through the systematization of all labor processes. Work must be rationalized and unnecessary labor costs eliminated. At the same time, it is in the interests of the company to set up the work process so that raw materials, time, and money are spent to a minimum. This also applies to orderliness as a declared company value.

Working together to be the best

Some modern enterprises, denoting the values characteristic of them, special attention is paid to synergy. The term is usually used to denote such additional energy, a fundamentally new qualitative level that is achieved an integrated approach using several factors, each of which individually can already stimulate success. A company that promotes synergy as a value sets up the work process, generating impulses that help develop.

Competition plays an equally important role. This example of company values suggests that employees are raised to strive to be as good as others and, if possible, to excel. Analysis on this aspect involves mutual comparison of objects and subjects of the work process.

We, we consider our products to be a means of changing the quality of life of people in Russia, we help bring to life ideas and dreams related to construction, renovation or business in this area, turning the process of purchasing goods into enjoying professional advice and simple, fast shipment. Developing together with our employees and partners, we give you the opportunity to be proud of your achievements!

Core values and principles.

At the core of our culture, our corporate values enable us to work as one team and stand up for our beliefs, always and everywhere. Our corporate values are based on our experience and serve as the basis for how we move forward. The challenge for each of us is to be guided by corporate values in our daily work.

Interesting job. Customer focus.

We carry out our duties with sincere passion, trying to bring something new to our work that makes it more interesting and productive. We can always count on receiving work with interesting content, subject to the conditions of responsibility, honesty and integrity in relation to the Company.

We strive for leadership and look far ahead. We do everything to develop and ensure the competitiveness of our products and partners, focusing on long-term mutually beneficial relationships, because they are the ones who choose us. We honor our commitments and strive to act in our common interests.

Productivity. Achievements of goals.

We set aggressive goals and force ourselves to achieve them.

The efforts of all employees must be aimed at achieving results. To achieve this, we all must understand the Company's strategy and goals. There are no unimportant positions, everyone works to achieve their specific and private goals, but the success of everyone else depends on this work. Everything we do is focused on results and achieving our goals with minimal costs and in a timely manner, for which we find new ways to solve assigned problems, optimally distribute available resources, and improve interaction systems.

Happy family life. Health.

We are confident that a healthy and strong family is the basis for the formation of sustainable life values and a harmonious personality. By observing the moral foundations of marriage, strengthening responsible and respectful relationships with loved ones, each of us receives ample opportunities for further development and self-improvement. Health is one of the most important resources of a person, allowing him to be effective in his activities. We take care of our health and the health of loved ones, strengthen it, and promote healthy image life. We realize that bad habits and addictions cause irreparable harm to health and do not welcome them in others.

Self improvement. Continuous learning.

We are proud of our employees - professionals who want and grow with the Company, who pick up and help implement all new ideas. We value initiative, employee status, authority and respect, which are determined by a person’s leadership qualities, and not by position. We strive for positive change in all areas of work and life, based on the desire for self-improvement. People see the Company as a place where they want to build their career; for them it is a matter of life, and not a place where they come to talk. We seriously strive to give our employees a sense of belonging to something significant, because there is every chance of achieving this in a Company that is growing as quickly as ours. It would be simply stupid to let the enthusiasm of people who believe that they are building a great Company burn out. We learn, consolidate knowledge and teach others. Any process and any activity can be carried out better if only we learn from each other, store this knowledge in the Company and make it available to everyone. A culture of continuous learning is learning for the organization's progress and learning for the individual's progress.

Responsibility. Self-discipline. Honesty and integrity.

We are confident that the current work and further development The Company is possible only on the condition that each of us understands the importance of his influence on the processes occurring in his life and at work, that the results of the activities of his colleagues and the Company as a whole depend on his actions and the fulfillment of his obligations. When we employ people with interest and self-discipline, we do not need an excessive hierarchy of management. When we have disciplined actions, we don't need excessive control. We speak openly and truthfully about the actual state of affairs and the motives that guide us; we are true to our commitments, ideas and beliefs, which is reflected in our actions and behavior.

Strong will. Cheerfulness and optimism.

We are firm and determined in our desire to achieve our goals, thanks to which we easily find the strength to overcome any obstacles, as well as the support of our colleagues and partners in achieving their goals. We perceive any difficulties as an opportunity to learn something new. We appreciate every moment in our lives and have a positive attitude towards the world around us.

Good management. Teamwork.

The attitude of employees towards their colleagues is of paramount importance. Employees must have reason to trust the motives and integrity of their managers. Management is responsible for creating a productive environment in which employee and Company values flourish. Since no goal is beyond the reach of any single person, we welcome and encourage the interaction of employees with managers, assistance in the implementation of various ideas to improve the Company’s efficiency. Team spirit helps us meet customer expectations. We support each other and enjoy victories and rewards together.

Ethical standards and rules:

Norms of relationships within the Company.

Standards in interaction with partners, clients and competitors.

We carry out timely and high-quality fulfillment of our obligations to partners and clients, and readily provide consulting and organizational assistance.
We strive to develop together with our partners.
We treat our competitors with respect because they are one of the key factors stimulating our constant development, they are an important criterion in assessing our successes and mistakes. We adhere to the principles of fair competition.
We give preference to negotiations and finding a compromise in case of disagreements and disputes.

Standards for working with information related to the Company’s activities.

We are careful about storing proprietary information that is not subject to disclosure in order to prevent its dissemination outside the Company, and we also do not use proprietary information for personal purposes and the interests of third parties.
We strive to comprehensively cover the Company’s activities in the media, on the Internet and in other ways in order to improve and protect the reputation of the Company and employees.

In the use of Company resources.

We treat the Company's property and intangible assets with care and make every effort to preserve them and use them more rationally.
We use the Company's resources (office equipment, communications, software and network resources) solely for professional purposes.
We understand that any equipment we work with is the property of the company.

In relation to the Company culture (appearance and speech of employees).

We support neat appearance and the accepted dress code.
We carefully monitor correct oral and written speech, avoid swearing, vulgarism, and slang.
We adhere to a polite manner of conversation, do not allow raising our voices or offensive tone, and exclude familiarity in communicating with others.

Measures and mechanisms for maintaining key values

We promote an active and positive outlook on life by organizing various corporate events. We care about the health of our employees, actively responding to ideas for holding various sporting events and competitions. We help in organizing mass sports by renting sport complexes. An example is the football team “Center SM”
We strive to strengthen the family views of our employees, organize children's competitions, and give gifts. We encourage such an initiative.
We make our work more interesting by providing employees with the opportunity to participate in various projects and internships.
We improve and develop our employees by organizing various training programs for them.
We support employees' efficiency in business and focus on achieving results. various systems material and non-material motivation

Compliance with rules and regulations

Each employee voluntarily accepts responsibility for compliance with the rules and regulations of the Company, openly demonstrates adherence to the provisions and, by his example, involves his colleagues in this.
Managers structural divisions are a model of compliance with regulations for their subordinates, control the behavior of their personnel in terms of compliance with regulations and carry out work that promotes their understanding.
The Company is committed to communicating and reinforcing its values and norms to all employees. accessible ways, as well as provide all possible support in their understanding.

Why does working with corporate culture in most cases lead to negative results?
What should a company do to effectively form corporate values?

A corporate identity expert answered these and other questions

In a conversation with us, Timur shared his thoughts on why a company that has devoted so much time and resources to creating a corporate culture suddenly remains in the red.

Mistake 1. Everyone is equal, but I am more equal!

The first reason for the failure of projects to form corporate values is the unwillingness of the company leader to play by the rules, which would be just as binding for him as for other people in the company.

Values will not work if the leader acts based on the following understanding:

“We will establish mandatory rules for subordinates, but I am the boss here, these rules do not apply to me.”

Such a boss thinks about how best to exploit his subordinates; he doesn’t even consider them employees. “This is just a resource that works for me,” he thinks. In the worldview of such a leader, corporate culture is a way to earn more.

Mistake 2. We don’t have someone responsible for human relations

The second main participant in this process is the person responsible for HR. HR is interpreted in different ways:

Human resources, or

Human relations.

And if we consider the second person responsible for corporate culture - director of human relations, then in the HR structure many issues would be resolved on their own, everything would fall into place.

The area of responsibility of many heads of HR services now includes issues of payroll, accounting of workdays, bulletins and compensations, which were automatically transferred from the HR department, issues that are rather indirectly related to the development of human potential.

In a good case, the HR director is the most important person in the company in terms of relationships, he is the second in tandem with the general director. It performs the function of ensuring balance, satisfying the basic emotional needs of people.

This is especially true in times of crisis, when it seems that everything around is bad, and providing at least some certainty is necessary for effective work. The HR director is the person who is now obliged to bring this certainty.

Error 3. Maybe it will blow over...

This is a situation when the HR director treats the idea of forming a corporate culture as “a whim that came into the head of the general manager.”

This doesn't happen often, but it happens. True, in my practice, most projects still took place on the initiative or with the support of the HR director. Life forces you: when you have already used all the mechanisms known to you, but still “the gravitational device does not take off,” we understand that the problem is in the corporate culture.

If you have already studied everything internally - but cannot fully manage it and need an external view of the situation - in order to see from the outside what is happening, there is room for a corporate identity expert who will give an external professional view of the situation. We are attracted when the clients themselves did not succeed. “We tried, but it didn’t work” or “We attracted such and such consultants, but it didn’t work,” and this is due to the fact that the wrong approaches were initially applied.

Mistake 4: Laminated valuables

There is an expression - corporate values can be laminated, which means that they have lost their life. A spark of life initially existed in them, but after they were fixed, written on the corporate website, in a booklet, in large letters on the wall, they lost this living component.

A negative scenario for the behavior of an HR manager is when he strives to record, make documents, set standards and, in general, limit himself to this. This happens when the approach to the formation of corporate values is “how much money do we have enough for?” And then it’s time for the next scenario.

Mistake 5. If only there was enough money

Experience shows that as long as the company has money, no matter how “laminated” its values may be, the system gives signals about the rest of its life.

Is our corporate culture working in a crisis?

And now is just such a time - the moment of truth. If the culture is working at this moment, this confirms that it is alive, that the leader and his tandem partner did their job correctly. And despite the lack of budgets and difficulties, it turns out that corporate culture is the very battery that helps you survive in a difficult situation and deal with it.

Mistake 6. Silence is golden

Another problem is when the leader is not ready for an open dialogue. When there is some kind of class difference in a company, which manifests itself in the head of the company, general director towards those who work for him.

Many people prefer to keep the usual secret management information, not share with the team, although open discussion could improve the situation, could change people’s behavior, help them make the right decisions.

Leaders usually become proactive people belonging to the “king” type, also known as “dominant” (according to the DISC typology). It is very difficult for a king to admit that things are bad in his kingdom. For him, this is almost impossible, this is the destruction of self-esteem, his ideas about his magnificent self. It is very difficult for him to gather people at a new crisis stage, to form new team, consciously solve problems together. Rather, he continues to work in dyads, at the level of personal effectiveness (according to the concept of “Team Excellence” by John King):

General Director and Commercial Director,

General Director and Financial Director,

CEO and Marketing Director.

And instead of collegial work, when problems are discussed, solutions are jointly developed - such work is not being carried out, and moreover, there is no readiness for such work. There is no desire to sincerely share, discuss without the CEO feeling that the chair under him is shaking.

And our conversation approaches what needs to be done in a company to form a corporate identity

The moment of truth has come

The period we are in now is a time of real measurement of strength. Corporate culture is this connecting link and common base, on which a new company can be built.

The crisis of 2008-2009 showed that it was at this time that people returned to the search for understanding with even greater activity:

- Who am I?

- Who we are as a company;

- What do we do best?

- What do we want to do?

- Why are we doing this?

Creating a safe, nurturing atmosphere in which active discussion is possible is not an easy task and requires professional training and extensive experience.

The first person must be mature enough to say:

Let's talk sincerely and openly about problems, about our common prospects, because this is our company, not mine. If you are not here, this company is not here.

This is the level at which a leader truly comes to a conscious understanding of the need to formulate corporate values.

It is in these moments (thanks to the crisis for existing) that sobering comes. Issues of culture, issues of relations in the company, issues of the team are dealt with when it is really bad, when for the organization this is the only hope for survival.

People come to the need for radical reorganization not because of a good life, but when, for example:

"We've been swallowed up and we don't like it" or

"We've absorbed it and we don't like it"

merged the companies - and again I don’t like it, not comfortable, not effective, and when this dissatisfaction appears, then we need to look for answers to the questions of what is wrong with us inside.

The technology we use to analyze and solve such problems combines the method of Professor Peter Kensok (Germany) and John King (USA).

Conscious attitude and team

So, we have a leader who is aware of the situation, wants to move, is ready to act in an open format and accept the rules that the team sets. And at the same time, do not stand on the sidelines, do not expect that everything will happen without him, but every day act as a customer, the main character.

Also, for the success of the project, we remember that we need a second person responsible for human relations in the company. It doesn't matter what position he holds. The second person in a tandem, say, the owner of a company and the general director, where one acts as the locomotive, and the second is responsible for the relationship. Then each top manager becomes their third - and a triad is formed - the basis Team excellence.

Changed economic conditions brought utmost clarity to the situation. In a growing market, executives could be euphoric about their success. Now the challenge is to remain on the market, because even for the first and best, this is a time of strength testing.

What will happen to our brand and professional reputation?

In a year or two, will we be here?

Ability to choose working words

Often corporate values are formulated in the wrong words. Synthetic “team spirit”, “efficiency”, and “customer focus” are calls and requirements for ordinary corporate armies; higher rank means less involvement. This is the case in most companies I know.

Professor Peter Kensock, a consultant and personal coach to executives of major German companies, defines values as emotions, feelings, experiences that you can identify in your body.

Can you feel the “command” in your body?

Rather, it will be “involvement”, “unity” or “we are together”!

Find where “customer centricity” lives?

Rather, you will find “usefulness”, “service” or “support”!

When we, as corporate identity experts, come to a company and find such “synthetic values”, my team and I look for others - living and real words.

With us, people who know each other well freely discuss what emotions and feelings they come to work for, and what they enjoy at work.

For example, a person strives for creativity. The company will make him a happy and effective employee by defining his area of responsibility and giving him the opportunity to create.

The other desperately needs certainty and needs to be given the opportunity to feel it.

With a properly set up selection and adaptation system, the company will not even have to protect these values. Because in principle there will be no people on the team who encroach on the value, because the person responsible for human relations simply does not take such people on board, he has all the tools and powers for this. It is he who decides whether the candidate meets the criteria of value.

At the entrance, the recruiter evaluates the coincidence of the candidate’s values with those accepted in the team. It happens that they are not completely identical, but the main thing is that they should not conflict. At least a new person should not consider the formulated values to be complete nonsense.

Team Excellence

People tend to form tribes in the workplace, says Professor John Paul King, the world's leading authority on leadership.

Understanding the stages of tribe development in your organization will help you understand:

Why do we need values in business?

Why should values be “personal” and not “synthetic”?

How does “personal efficiency” hinder business development?

John King's concept makes it possible to recognize the need for values-based management. Helps to start discussing problems openly. Makes bosses into people ready to discuss the team’s ideas.

Only then does it start to work and we make our lives better.

Identity is like a fingerprint. When the team comes to an agreement, this identity appears for everyone. Then business is not just about making money for a living.

Attention to detail

Shaping values is not easy work. This is working with abstract concepts. We need to negotiate them responsibly.

This work takes quite a long time. Billionaire Tony Hsieh spent a year defining the corporate values of zappos.com. He wrote letters to every employee of the company: “Dear colleague, what do you think...” And over the course of a year, each “dear colleague” revealed to him their ideas about values. This tradition has been preserved; every year zappos.com publishes a book with hundreds of messages from all employees of the company, why they love and appreciate their work and team. This book has several thousand authors.

Humanity is changing. The old command-administrative system is leaving. If we work with values according to the old command and control templates, according to the “requirements project management", then we end up with nothing, having spent a huge amount of resources. Our children want to live a little differently.

This is a very responsible job. And very expensive. We devote the time of top managers and employees to this. Quite a lot of time.

We need increased efficiency, and we do it today in order to get a return tomorrow. This is work that will bear fruit over time. However, if it is not started today, then time will be irretrievably lost.

metlife core values. Six mistakes in creating corporate values

1. Structure of the Company’s values

Core values:

Highest values:

2. Core values ​​of the Company

Controllability

Achievability

Teamwork

Pace (value of time)

3. The highest values ​​of the Company

Proactivity

Innovation

Clientele

Competitiveness

Organizational values

Proactivity

Innovation

Competitiveness

Efficiency

Social aspects

Initiative and teamwork

Move forward, but not at any cost

Trust and control

Quality as the path to success

Dignified, adequate and orderly

Working together to be the best

Core values ​​and principles.

Interesting job. Customer focus.

Productivity. Achievements of goals.

Happy family life. Health.

Self improvement. Continuous learning.

Responsibility. Self-discipline. Honesty and integrity.

Strong will. Cheerfulness and optimism.

Good management. Teamwork.

Ethical standards and rules:

Norms of relationships within the Company.

Standards in interaction with partners, clients and competitors.

Standards for working with information related to the Company’s activities.

In the use of Company resources.

In relation to the Company culture (appearance and speech of employees).

Measures and mechanisms for maintaining key values

Compliance with rules and regulations

2. Core values of the Company

3. The highest values of the Company

Core values and principles.