Purpose within the workplace is a key driver of employee engagement and the workforce today are increasingly seeking out value led organisations to dedicate their working lives to. By making your business value driven, you can find and keep talent who align with your purpose, increase employee engagement and customer loyalty. In this blog, we will cover the steps we are taking at Jump to inject our values into everything we do, and how your organisation can do the same.
Define your values
The first step in becoming a value led business is identifying the core values that are important to you and your organisation. These values should reflect what you stand for and your organisation’s mission and purpose. Get your employees involved in the process of defining these values so that they feel a sense of ownership over them and are proud to champion them.
How we did it
As we ushered in 2023, we thought it was a great time to evaluate and define our values. In order to do this, we organised a companywide facilitated workshop where we could put our heads together and discuss what we value at Jump. This involved a lot of sticky notes, a fair amount of coffee, and the input of every single Jumper.
To introduce the session, we started by selecting an image card that we felt represented us and went around the group explaining why. To paint you a picture, our Director of Business Development and recent father Rob, chose a picture of a baby. While our zen-master-in-chief and Director of Programmes Katie, chose a calming picture of a seascape. This was just a warm up exercise to get everyone in the room present and ready to share their thoughts. Following this, our facilitator went through a series of company values and we had to guess the organisation they belonged to. This gave everyone some insight into values that other organisations promote and got us thinking about what values we related to.
At this point in the session, the group progressed on to writing a maximum of three words or phrases each that we felt represented what we value at Jump. We then shared our values, grouped our sticky notes together by similarity, and formed a value cloud. Once we had done this, our facilitator helped us form these into groups of reoccurring themes, which with some fleshing out over the weeks that followed became our six core values, which you can see here!
Next steps:
Communicate your values
After defining your values, it’s time to clearly communicate them to your employees, customers, and stakeholders. Make sure all parties understand the significance of these values and how they influence your decision making and business practices. At Jump, we have showcased our values in board meetings, newsletters, and on our website!
Incorporate your values into business decisions
Let your values guide your decision making and your personal behaviour in the workplace. By championing your values in all you do, you reinforce the importance of them and allow everyone to see that you truly are a value led organisation.
Reward value-driven behaviour
Encourage and recognise employees who embody your values in their actions and decisions. By recognising those most dedicated to your values, you encourage others to act in this way too!
By making your organisation value driven, you can create a culture that is grounded in principles that helps to drive your business towards success. This approach also increases employee engagement, customer loyalty and decreases staff turnover.
Join the movement of value led organisations
At Jump, we help busy organisations exceed their sustainability targets and create a culture of sustainability. Our behaviour change platforms are used as a hub where your people can learn about your mission, purpose, values and sustainability strategy. This gives them the tools and knowledge to get involved, take action, and be a part of a movement of green champions. To learn more, join our mailing list.
