Stop Kidding Yourself: Employees Don’t Adopt Corporate Values

Who you hire, who you keep, and what you tolerate define a company's real values

A few years ago, the CEO of a company I worked with became fixated on the importance of corporate values. Primarily, the CEO wanted the values on posters in the office and on the website. Meeting after meeting was held with the senior leadership team to pinpoint the values that best described who we were as a company.

The group eventually settled on integrity, innovation, collaboration, and a few more. Ugh. "So what?" I thought. These values are table stakes. Things that any attentive person would be able to spot the absence of in quick order. The entire exercise left me feeling like we had completely missed the point.

I suggested a bolder stance: We should state that values like integrity, innovation, and collaboration were table stakes and should be expected from any reputable company. Additionally, we should put a statement on our website saying, "If you want to know our values, ask our customers." That would truly hold us accountable for more than the font and colors on the poster and website.

The CEO dismissed my idea, but the exercise gave me a new hobby of sorts. I began to watch my behavior and that of others and ask, "Is this behavior aligned with the values the company claims to have?"

In that particular company, the answer started as "sometimes" and ended as "rarely." That degradation was due to the preference of some on the leadership team for giving lip service to values while treating employees in ways diametrically opposed to the values on posters hanging about the office.

I also noticed it in other companies, our customers, and partners. What’s worse, I began to notice myself becoming more distant and frustrated because of the disconnect.

I left that company feeling that statements about corporate values were no more than a smoke screen. These statements seemed like things a company’s leadership wanted you to believe, knowing full well that they would likely fail to deliver on those values repeatedly, yet somehow the expectation is that employees and customers would believe the posters and website over their own perception.

What's Wrong with Declaring Corporate Values?

For starters, if you think people at your company will adopt the values posted on the walls and website, you're dreaming. The hard truth is that company values are a blend of the personal values of their employees. That means hiring the right people, keeping them, and getting rid of the wrong people are how company values are created and maintained.

A quick example to prove my point: If you are having surgery and the surgeon’s website extolled their value of "Cleanliness," you'd hardly celebrate that. You'd expect it. It might strike you as odd that they claim a basic and expected practice as a value!

It's the same with values like integrity. It's a fundamental value that every company should hold, which means people you hire and continue to employ should demonstrate that value in how they operate.

The truth is that you don't get to decide what people think your company's values are. Your customers, partners, and others decide what your values are based on their experience with your employees, whether you like it or not.

In other words, employees don't adopt company values; the company adopts theirs.

Hiring Is Where Values Are Protected or Lost

Values and the culture that demonstrates them are built during the hiring process. Every time you hire someone, you either reinforce your culture or weaken it.

You can't train shared instincts around table stakes like honesty, integrity, and respect after the fact. If you hire for skills alone and hope that individual values will "catch up" later, you're placing your culture at risk. It only takes a handful of misaligned hires to divide teams, tank morale, and erode the trust you've worked hard to establish.

And what if someone who used to be a great team member suddenly goes off on a tangent? Talk to them first. Tell them what you've noticed and ask if you can help. It could be that they're struggling with something at work or home, and acknowledging that you've noticed shows that you care. We've all been there, so work with them to give them time to rebound, and you'll likely have your great teammate back soon.

What You Tolerate Speaks Louder Than Any Values Statement

Even if you hire well, what you tolerate decides the future. When you look the other way when someone is bullying coworkers, cutting ethical corners, or taking credit for others’ work, you send a louder message than any values poster. It's even worse if their behavior is ignored because they hit their numbers, possess a key technical skill, or have an important title. In that case, you're telling everyone, "Values don't matter. Short-term results and seniority do."

Culture is never about what you say you believe. It's about how you behave. It's about how you hire and what you're willing to fire someone over. If don’t care about behavior beyond short-term goals, you don't have company values; you have propaganda.

The bottom line is that leaders can't define culture with speeches, posters, or newsletters. They define it by what they accept, encourage, and ignore.

Leaders must protect the culture, even when it means foregoing short-term wins. Once trust is gone, no amount of hiring or rebranding will bring it back, because real values aren't stated. They're demonstrated.

Key Takeaways

• If you want strong company values, stop worrying about what's written on your website and spend your energy hiring people who already live the things you value.

• Hold people to those standards even when it hurts. Live it every day.

• Your real values are always visible to anyone willing to look. Make sure you like what they see.