Why Are Values Important for a Startup?
Simply put, people seek to work in environments that align with their goals, motivations, and behaviours, all of which stem from their values. When your values align with the values of your company you feel motivated and set up for success. Having consistency between your values and actions in the workplace is rewarding as it allows you to be authentically yourself.
If there is a values mismatch, work can very quickly become energetically draining. Yet only 27% of people believe in their organisation's values and 90% of people would take a pay cut to work in a more meaningful role. Understanding your own and your team members' values reduces turnover, which typically costs companies as high as 60% of the employees' yearly salary.
What Are Values?
Values at the most basic level convey what is important to each of us in our lives. Every person holds multiple values with varying degrees of importance. Values can range from topics such as achievement and power, to conformity and security, and they are relatively stable once a person hits adulthood. They are a motivating factor in your life and are representative of your goals.
How Can You Use Values to Create an Inclusive, High-Performing Culture?
Creating a company culture that celebrates diversity and where people are included no matter what culture, gender, age, socio-economic background, or personality is key to creating a high-performing and sustainable business. Start-ups that have an inclusive company culture outperform those that don't when it comes to engagement levels, performance and shareholder value. Diversity leads to better decision-making as the variety of backgrounds and values allow for multiple perspectives.
Top 4 Tips for Founders
1. Understand your personal values. It all starts with leadership. Founders need to have self-awareness of their personal values to know what culture they 'realistically' create vs. what aspects of their culture will be more aspirational. Aligning your startup's company values to your own creates a mentality of "practice what you preach."
2. Understand your team members' values. Include your employees' personal values when defining your company values so your people feel represented and valued, while also placing focus on the founders' personal and professional goals.
3. Focus on creating an authentic team environment where employees can express themselves and speak openly. Practice active listening and playing on your people's strengths so they feel comfortable showing more of themselves.
4. Use values psychometrics to hire talent. Too often start-ups only implement their company values during on-boarding but not recruitment. The best way to avoid mismatches is by implementing scientifically validated values psychometrics. It saves you time and money interviewing candidates that won't thrive in your company culture.
Our Research on Core Values in Startups
From a sample of 200 respondents asked what is most important to them at work, the TOP 5 answers were:
- 1.Being given new challenges
- 2.Seeking out different things to do
- 3.Staying true to their own values
- 4.Thinking independently
- 5.Being open and honest about their feelings
These responses indicate people's desire to be their authentic selves at work in alignment with their values, while having the freedom to explore new thoughts and ideas. This comes down to the motivating values of authenticity and independence.
By Meghan Zuchlewski
Business Psychologist, CAIA