Guest Commentator: Rachel Robinson, Director, Research and DEI Committee Lead, Think Company @thinkcompany
Why is it important for companies to rethink their core values, and how can the process be inclusive of diverse perspectives?
For many companies, creating a set of core values can seem like a once-and-done process. Your leadership team goes through an exercise to brainstorm, refine, and establish those values, then you roll them out to your team and the world — treating them like enduring pillars of your company culture that are never meant to change.
But does this process stifle the evolution of your company culture?
Your organization’s unique culture should feel core to the day-to-day experiences of your employees. As your organization grows, your core values need to grow and evolve with you. It’s important that they’re still providing a sense of belonging for every employee. Without that, you will have a hard time strengthening your culture, attracting diverse perspectives, and retaining your employees.
Think Company established its core values in 2014: Be excellent, Be nice to people, Be honest, Work together, Continuously improve, and Be of service. These values were intended to describe who we were and how we wanted to work with one another and our clients. We pride ourselves on holding true to these values, so it is fundamentally important that they resonate with all Thinkers.
Earlier this year, we went through the process of revisiting our values after a DEI survey revealed that, for some, “Be nice to people” made it hard for team members to give critical feedback.
This feedback gave us pause. Through discussions with Thinkers we learned how a culture of “niceness” can be a hindrance. It can unintentionally dictate a way of being that may not be in line with everyone’s life experiences.
Think Company is dedicated to being a diverse and inclusive organization. One thing we’ve learned over the last few years is that who we are and how we work with one another — our core values — is a key piece of creating an inclusive environment. So we knew we had to evolve “Be nice to people,” and do it in a way that was inclusive of diverse perspectives.
Our DEI committee talked through a few alternatives, including “Care about people” and “Be kind to people,” and while we unanimously believed that “Care about people” was the right replacement, we felt it was important — and critical — for the entire company to be involved in the decision. So we opened it up to a company-wide vote.
In the end, we replaced “Be nice to people” with “Be kind to people.” This was a different result than the DEI committee was expecting, which for us, highlighted the importance of getting diverse perspectives even if the answer seems obvious. We now realize that it’s essential that our core values are accurate and regularly reviewed for the impact that the words have on the way we operate.
Take a minute to look at your organization’s core values. Have you asked your employees if the values still resonate with them? Have you recently revisited them with a critical eye? If not, now is the time to do it. It will help keep your core values central to your culture and show your employees that they are an essential part of building it.
The Chamber positions diversity, equity, and inclusion as critical for business maturation and growth. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative drives economic competitiveness, highlights diverse employee populations, and promotes inclusive growth throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
