Are your organisation's values still relevant for now?
Associate Pip Meaden explores how Covid has reshaped our values - and why they matter even more for organisations today.
Values. There was a time when these felt like an ‘optional extra’, championed by a certain type of business targeting a certain type of customer. Not anymore. Today, having a set of clear, relevant values is a must-have for organisations. Culturally, commercially and competitively, values matter – provided they’re not just words on the wall.
‘As people, values are part of what makes us ‘us’ and what makes us tick,’ explains JGA Associate Pip Meaden. ‘In business, values underpin how an organisation functions, from the type of people it employs to how its teams engage with each other, their stakeholders and customers. Values drive the success, or not, of the organisation as a whole.’
At JGA, being clear about our values – and acting on them – is one reason we enjoy enabling other values-driven businesses to articulate what they stand for, so they can bring that meaningfully to life.
Reconnecting with what matters
Described as the ‘Great Pause’, many believe this pandemic has prompted people to reconnect with what matters, reshaping their home, work and life priorities for good.
No surprise that ‘Reconnecting’ is today’s 2021 World Values Day theme.
Our world has fundamentally shifted and organisations, too, are now finding their values in the spotlight as they navigate the new challenges they face – including the shift to hybrid working.
For many, their values are driving their efforts to balance the efficiency of working from home with what previously made their culture so successful, when their people were based together in one place.
The value of values
Pip sees this approach first hand in the forward-thinking organisations she supports. ‘Leadership teams are now exploring what model will work best, both for their people as individuals and commercially for them as an organisation – given that treating everyone fairly isn’t the same as treating everyone equally,’ she explains.
‘Values matter here because this is about businesses assessing – and reassessing – what’s important to them, their people and their customers in the wake of Covid. What have we lost? What have we gained? And how do we learn from both?’
For values-driven businesses, hybrid working – like some of the other challenges they face – needs significant thought to get right, but, as Pip points out: ‘We don’t need to ‘react’ now.’
‘Instead,’ she concludes, ‘organisations should give themselves the time to calmly find a solution, write the policy and create a mechanism that works for all parties and their business – with an eye on the future and their values at heart.’
Are your values still relevant?
If you’re not sure if your values are still relevant for your people, customers and business, we can help. At JGA, we partner with you to unlock your understanding of what makes them different. Our transition, people and governance support enables organisations to bring their values to life.
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