Just as a team is as strong as its weakest link, similarly an organization is as strong as its employees. Thus, it becomes important for every employee to imbibe the values of the organization in its true sense. It is important for every individual to align their value system to that of the organization they are joining so that they can truly stand for what they are doing each day. And in many cases, it is easier said than done.
Right from childhood, we all are taught values that we learn and emulate from our parents and elders of the family. Every child usually apes everything that he/she sees and observes around him/her. Their value system reflects all the ideologies and beliefs that have been ingrained in them over the years. Similarly, employees also imbibe and demonstrate the philosophies and beliefs that the leadership demonstrate. If employees see the gap in what the leadership stands for, they lose faith in the value system of the organization and its brand name. These values are not just restricted to employees. Customers can lose faith in a brand when the values the brand stands for, go against their own. Haven’t we seen so many cases of brand ambassadors losing credibility due to their actions and this indirectly impacting the connect that customers have with the brand and its values!
Management usually looks for employees who demonstrate similar values as have been outlined for the organization because values need to largely come from within, rather than being learnt or taught. However much one may want to train and educate an employee about values, unless these are a part of the employees’ DNA and something that resonates well with them, the employee won’t be able to align to the organizational culture. In addition to skills, employees’ personal values, characteristics and personality traits go a long way in connecting the employee to an organization or a brand.
A strong work ethic comes when a good foundation of values is laid by the organization. Employees may work hard and smart, but unless these employees are grounded in the way they view life situations, values will not become second nature to them. While positive attitude, self-motivation, loyalty, energy and enthusiasm, dependability, responsibility, and accountability, to name a few, maybe impressive words to have as values, unless an employee sees these being demonstrated each day in the smallest of details in the organization, he/she will not connect to these values. Then they continue to be merely words and nothing more than that.
Such small steps go a long way in defining the culture of an organization and also ensuring they percolate down through all the levels. From a security guard allowing people inside the company premises, to the housekeeping facility management service providers, to every single employee right up to the top, values bind each and everyone and should be a common thread amongst all. And if every single one of these people lives these values daily, there are no additional efforts required to adopt them in life. Values then become an intrinsic part of your nature and environment.