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35 Company Values to Consider for Your Business

Edited by Indeed Employer Content Team

The values of an organization are more than a mere marketing gimmick or a filler section for the company’s About page. Your organizational values define everything about your company, from what your company stands for to what drives you towards success, what kind of relationship you want to build with your customers, how you arrive at important decisions, and how you work with your employees. In fact, all great companies have one thing in common—purposefully crafted company values that give a clear sense of the company’s core identity, customer relations, and workplace culture. In simpler terms, the best company values can improve how your customers and potential employees see you as a brand, allowing you to attract and retain loyal customers and the best employees. This guide will help you understand the role of company values in an organization, the importance of these values, and how you can create the most authentic company values for your own organization.

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Company values are the fundamental beliefs, philosophies, and guiding principles that define a company’s workplace culture and identity. They can function as a guidebook that centres your company’s higher purpose. Companies use these values to ensure that all their business decisions and employee activities comply with their core beliefs. So, company values give one common direction for all important organizational decisions, ensuring that they all serve one common goal. For example, a company’s process of hiring new employees, its internal communication strategy for employees, and even best practices to improve customer experience, are all set on the basis of its unique company values. There are no right or wrong organizational values. But thoughtfully crafted company values that align with your company’s mission, vision, and goals are usually more effective. Below we offer some examples of company values you can include in your About page to clarify your long-term vision and purpose.

35 Company values to consider for your business:

  1. Accountability
  2. Balance
  3. Boldness
  4. Collaboration
  5. Continuous development
  6. Continual learning
  7. Courage
  8. Curiosity
  9. Customer commitment
  10. Discipline
  11. Diversity
  12. Employee development
  13. Fairness
  14. Fun
  15. Hard work
  16. Honesty
  17. Humility
  18. Idealism
  19. Inclusion
  20. Innovation
  21. Integrity
  22. Leadership
  23. Making a difference
  24. Ownership
  25. Partnership
  26. Passion
  27. Persistence
  28. Quality
  29. Result orientation
  30. Simplicity
  31. Sustainability
  32. Teamwork
  33. Transparency
  34. Trustworthiness
  35. Unselfishness

Why are company values important?

Your company values play an essential role in the success of your business, as they help align your employees with your strategic business goals. Here are some more reasons why company values are important:

They give direction

Having a clear set of organizational values helps your employees understand your company’s core beliefs, why they exist in the first place, and what they stand for. They help employees understand how to conduct various business activities in the best way possible to achieve the company’s goals and vision. Company values also give your people a moral direction and help them make the right decisions in the best interest of their local community, society at large, and the environment.

They improve company culture and employee communication

Company values give your managers and employees a set of rules and guidelines on how to communicate in the workplace. They help them understand what is and isn’t acceptable while communicating with other employees verbally or via email. It also defines the level of communication expected from employees regarding their work progress. Having clear best practices helps make communication clear and consistent—leaving no room for confusion and improving company culture in the long run.

They boost motivation, engagement, and satisfaction levels

Positive company culture makes employees feel understood and safe. A secure and collaborative work environment ultimately helps boost their work engagement, motivation, and satisfaction levels. Since your company values dictate how well-defined your company culture is, your employee engagement and motivation also depend on your company values. Moreover, if your employees know exactly what your core values are and why you stand for them, it will be easier for them to connect, understand, and achieve the company goals.

They help attract and retain the best candidates

Employees want to work with the “right” company as much as companies want to hire the “right” talent. So, most candidates also conduct their research on companies before applying for a job. If you present your core values clearly on the Careers and About page, you increase the chances of your HR department getting applications from the right candidates—the ones who are a cultural fit for your company. The culturally suitable employees are also the ones who are most likely to stay longer and advocate positively for your employer brand.

They align your internal and marketing communication

All successful companies have consistent internal and external communication strategies. But such consistency is possible only when you set clear company values. When your employees clearly understand your company values, they know exactly what they’re supposed to do to achieve the company goals (and how to do it). You can then create more meaningful messages that resonate with the organization’s values and attract more qualified leads that convert into customers. Simply put, clear company values make internal communication more transparent, making it easier to refine and improve marketing communication.

They show your clients what your company stands for

Besides better employer-employee relationships, having a set of unique core company values gives your business a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It helps you connect better with target customers who share the same beliefs and helps you build stronger customer relationships.

They help increase your loyal customer and employee base

People are more likely to buy from (or work with) companies that share core values similar to their own. For example, if one of your core values is transparency, customers who value transparent communication are more likely to stay with you than any other company—even if there is a significant price difference. The same goes for employees; candidates who want transparent communication will prefer working with your company over others, even if there is a substantial difference in defining salary bands within the same job grades.

Best practices for developing company values

Since there are no right or wrong company values, business owners can translate any strong belief or reason into the value of their organization. For example, your company values can be anything from honesty to accountability, transparency, social justice, making a change, or even having fun. But at the same time, it’s essential to choose core values that actually reflect your company’s mission, vision, and goals.
Here are some best practices that can help you develop effective company values:

  • Gather the company leaders and some trusted employees for a brainstorming session.
  • Refine the list down to specific phrases that align with your company’s mission and long-term vision.
  • Emphasize what the company leaders stand for and why they started the company in the first place.
  • Answer questions like, “What actions or behaviours would our company prioritize over profit?”
  • Be specific and to the point. Your company values should clearly define the framework through which you will conduct various activities in your business—be it related to product design, recruitment, or workplace ethics.
  • Consider your customer reviews and feedback. Incorporate any specific qualities that attract your customers and make you stand out from the competition into your core values.

Examples of company values from top employers

Here are a few examples of the best company values from some of Canada’s top employers to help you create your own. See how these companies have chosen values that clearly define their mission, goals, principles, and workplace culture: Habanero Consulting Group:

  • We exist to help people and organizations thrive
  • Everyone has to win
  • Always tell the truth
  • Passion for our purpose
  • In it for the long term
  • Do great work

Intuit Canada:

  • Integrity without compromise
  • Stronger together
  • Courage
  • We care and give back
  • Customer obsession

SnapTravel:

  • Think big
  • Move fast
  • Same goal, one team
  • Data driven
  • Open and transparent
  • Be an owner

Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Canada Inc.:

  • Pursuit of excellence
  • Freedom to be curious
  • Courage to do the right thing
  • Commitment to improving society

Hyundai Auto Canada Corp:

  • People
  • Customer
  • Challenge
  • Collaboration
  • Globality

MobSquad:

  • Integrity
  • High standards
  • Diversity
  • Community

A Thinking Ape Entertainment Ltd.:

  • To have our employees produce the best output and work among the best colleagues of their working lives
  • To create games that we would play ourselves
  • To avoid regret from failure by capturing each lesson

Wave

  • Feel the burden of the brave entrepreneur
  • Purposefully focus
  • Move with urgency as one
  • Take ownership
  • Act with uncompromising integrity
  • Provoke greatness
  • Deliver with excellence
  • Achieve extraordinary results

Related: Best Workplaces in Canada in 2021

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