Vanilla values breed vanilla companies. Want to be great? Start by standing for something.
Values are what we believe – they guide the way we think, the decisions we make, and the actions we take. They’re the foundation of a strong, high-performing culture—not hollow slogans on a wall.
Yet, insights from The Work Project reveal a blunt reality: while most organisations claim to champion values, only 54% of people believe they’re genuine.
And It’s easy to see why
Because you’re not saying anything different. Nearly two-thirds of the FTSE-100 use the same values: integrity, respect, customer-centricity, innovation, and excellence – with collaboration also being thrown into the vanilla mix.
And the problem is that these overused terms have become cliché and lifeless, losing their impact. And when values feel generic and disconnected from the reality of your culture (i.e. Your actions don’t match your words), employees stop paying any attention to them.
For some of the most overused values, such as trust, integrity, respect, it feels like we’re setting a very low bar. Aren’t these just the minimum standards we should expect? Just think about if a person introduced themselves as someone who had never robbed a bank, would you applaud their integrity? Of course not. So, why do you expect people to be inspired by these low-level expectations?
The corporate smokescreen
It’s clear that instead of using values as a decision-making and cultural tool, organisations are using them as a front for their corporate image – to project a picture-perfect persona.
But the reality is, by sticking to the status quo – following the crowd instead of choosing to stand up for what you believe in – your highly-polished persona is simply blending in.
And that’s going to be a problem. Because in our society’s growing demand for something more, the values of the places we work at, the brands we buy from, and the business we invest in is coming into sharper focus.
- 58% of people wouldn’t work for a company that doesn’t share their values (LinkedIn, 2023).
- 90% of consumers prefer brands aligned with their values (Yotpo, 2023).
- 91% of investors prioritise corporate values alongside traditional factors like dividends (Schwab Modern Wealth Survey, 2022).
People care about this. And being vanilla is going to do nothing to attract the best talent. It’s not going to inspire and drive greater performance. And it’ll never enhance your reputation.
It’s time to add some spice and say death to vanilla values.
Making values your differentiator
For values to be impactful, they need to be authentic, reflecting the realities of who you are today and driving the behaviours that will help you achieve your big ambitions.
Here’s how:
1 – Define your intent
Before diving in, define what you want your values to do. Stand out in the market? Attract a target audience? Drive business critical behaviours?
All are valid but having a clear statement of intent will help you stay focused and enable you to question if your values are noise or adding genuine value.
2 – Find your unique culture
Your values should reflect your culture and be rooted in who you are today.
Talk to people to understand the qualities that make you unique.
At the same time, think about your future goals. Identify any gaps between your current culture and the behaviours needed to reach those goals. Aligning values with your ambitions ensures they stay relevant and drive success.
3 – Inject creativity
With a clear picture of who you are and where you want to go, it’s time to create your values. And creativity will be a differentiator from the same old cliché words. Because if you’re saying the same thing, you may as well not say it all!
We recommend aiming for between 3-5 values. This ranges makes them broad enough to cover key behaviours whilst still being concise and memorable.
And whether you opt for singular words or short phrases, focus on language that feels distinctive, emotive, inventive, or even unexpected.
Adding a visual identity can bring your values to life, reinforcing the characteristics of your culture, building an emotional connection and ensuring consistent communication – making your values more memorable, tangible, and engaging.
4 – Lift off
Ahead of launch, test your values with a small group of people to make sure they’re clear, believable, and applicable to roles.
After making any adjustments, it’s time to share them. Whether through a big-bang launch or a more subtle rollout, values should be visible at every level—from company-wide communications to team meetings.
And Employee Champions can help spread the message, from the ground-up, building credibility and serving as role models for your values.
5 – Long-term value
For values to be truly effective, they must live beyond the launch, becoming part of everyday actions.
They should be visible and felt at every employee touchpoint, from hire-to-retire. If not, people will see them as the same empty words and lose interest… or worse.
To get started, make use of existing data such as onboarding feedback, engagement insights and leavers interviews to pinpoint any priority areas. From there you can begin to align your processes with your values, creating an authentic experience.
It’s time for a change
Nothing great ever came from staying in your comfort zone.
And whether you’re just starting to define your values or need a complete overhaul, we’ll make your values more than just words on the wall.
It’s time to break the mould. To make your people stand up and pay attention. To shift behaviour. And drive performance.
