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Company Values

Company values play a critical role in helping businesses to achieve their goals and objectives. These values shape the identity and principles of the organization, act as a guiding light for employees, and affect the way organizations conduct their business. In effect, core values support the vision of a company. With the vital role that these values play in the life of a company, it is essential for the leadership to define the values clearly, ensure employees understand what they are and abide by the set values. The first step in doing this is to understand what constitutes company values.

Company Values Definition

Company values, also known as corporate values or core values, are the fundamental beliefs and operating philosophies upon which an organization’s business and behavior are based. These guiding principles are what the company used to manage its internal affairs as well as its relationship with customers, partners, and other stakeholders. When company values are practiced, they affect all aspects of the business, including workplace culture, marketing strategies, employee benefit packages, and customer service.

What is a value statement for an organization?

A value statement is a declaration that outlines what the top priorities and core beliefs of an organization are. A well-written value statement is regarded as a long-term or permanent declaration that communicates the principles the organization will not compromise. Companies use value statements to connect to targeted customers and remind employees of their goals and priorities.[/vc_column_text]

Common Characteristics of Company Values

While most managers understand the importance of core values and strategies for setting a list of values, only a few know what company values look like. Here are some characteristics of values across organizations and industries to help you come up with a great brand values list. 


When looking for the right words to describe company values, they should be focused on doing the right thing. All employees should operate within the spirit of the law and uphold the values and principles of the organization. The values should also emphasize on the importance of operating with integrity when dealing with colleagues, customers, and other partners.


Trust is important in ensuring seamless operations and a productive workplace. Employees should trust that the conversations they hold with colleagues or managers will remain confidential. Similarly, nobody should feel like a colleague has ill motives. To build and maintain trust in an organization, managers and employees alike should avoid using negative words to describe company culture. 

Diversity and teamwork

Company values appreciate that employees from different cultural backgrounds will meet at the workplace. Values are centered on tolerance and acceptance of others to ensure collaboration and teamwork and prevent cultural differences from affecting how people work.

Openness and honesty

The best company values focus on promoting openness and honesty. This applies to actions as well as communication and feedback. Every voice in the organization is heard, and regular meetings are held to ensure meaningful conversations among staff members and managers. Employees should feel comfortable to communicate and ask for constructive feedback.

Growth and development

When thinking about how to write a value statement, it is crucial to focus on the growth and development of employees. Every manager has a duty to provide structures and an environment that will ensure position-based, professional, financial, and personal growth of employees.

Five company core values examples

Successful company cultures have distinct company core values. Such companies focus on growth and an upward dynamic and are characterized by excellent teamwork and engagement. Here are some great company core values examples.

Companies with good values

The following companies have some of the best examples of core values in the workplace, one of the reasons they have successful company cultures and have grown in their respective industries. 


One of the well-known statements in the technology company’s core values is “don’t be evil.” However, this has since been replaced by a more positive phrase “do the right thing.” These values remind employees of the importance of integrity at the workplace and in their daily behaviors. Google’s corporate mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” is one of the best vision statement examples fortune 500. 


Starbucks, a coffeehouse chain, is a great example of a company that is clear about its core values. Each of the six company values of the organization is important and tells a lot about how the company operates. Starbucks focuses on creating a great working environment, treating each other with respect and dignity, embracing diversity, applying the highest standards of excellence, developing satisfied customers all the time, contributing positively to the community and environment, and recognizing profitability as an essential part of their future business. 


The community-based online platform for listing and renting local homes has a great business model. The core values that influence the company’s operations have also contributed to great company culture and the success of the business. With one of the best value statement examples for business, Airbnb considers itself more than an affordable accommodation option. The mission and core values reveal an organization that is keen on enabling travelers to “feel at home anywhere you go in the world” by helping them gain access to distinctive spaces. 

At Lessonly, we strive to offer powerfully simple training software to enable customer service and sales teams, “Do Better Work.” Some of the inspirational core values that guide our business and conduct are “We put learners first,” and “We have difficult conversations.”


Better Work starts here

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How To Implement Core Values in the Workplace

It is very important to learn how to write core values to guide the company’s business and operations. However, it is even more important to understand how to implement core values in the workplace. The first step in this process is defining core values exercise to ensure that the philosophies represent what the business is about and speak to a clear vision. This will help managers to be confident of successful company culture when launching core values and introducing them to employees. 

Lead by example

The leadership of the organization should be at the forefront of putting the company values into practice. For this to happen, every manager must ensure that their personal core values are in line with the company values. In this way, it will be easier to incorporate the values into their daily lives. Having a written personal core values list will go far in ensuring that managers lead by example. 

Incorporate the values into sales and customer service processes

Company values play an important role in guiding how companies relate to their customers. Since every business strives to attract and retain customers, incorporating the values into sales and customer service processes will ensure seamless introduction into business operations. Once employees in the customer service and sales department embrace the values, it will be easier to connect to target customers. 

Incorporate the values during the hiring process

The sooner an employee understands the philosophies a company believes in and the values it stands for, the sooner they will be able to fit in. This is why managers should consider making these values part of the hiring process. One of the advantages of doing this is that the employee will know what is expected of them by the time they take up their position and start working.

Display the value statement

A common and effective way of implementing company values is to display the value statement. In this way, employees will be constantly reminded of the goals towards which they are working. Identifying strategic locations and creative ways to display company values will ensure the exercise has a greater impact.

Teach values through new employee training

One of the best ways of implementing company values is to teach them through new employee training. In case of a change in company culture, training can also help to communicate with employees and help them understand how new values will enable the company to attain its goals. Organizational value powerpoint presentations can help in teaching the values in such a way that they will show in the performance of employees. 

There are numerous personal value statement examples that can help managers in creating realistic company values that will define the culture of the workplace. Examples of living company values will also go a long way in ensuring that the philosophies and principles you set resonate with employees and demonstrate clearly the direction the company wants to go. However, the company values presentation should make it clear that employees should fit in the core values and not the other way around. In short, all employees must operate within the letter and spirit of the values. If you’re ready to train your team on company values, we can help. Get started with a demo today.