Are your organisation's values working?

Values only matter when they shape behaviour — not when they sit on a poster.

This blog explores how to tell whether your organisation’s values are truly working by looking at what people actually do, not what leaders say. It explains why consistency, trust and lived behaviour are the real test of culture, and how values become powerful only when they guide decisions, customer experience and everyday actions. Drawing on the Responsible Organisation Charter (ROC©), it shows how aligned values create stronger teams, better service and long‑term success — and offers practical ways to diagnose whether your values are alive, ignored or quietly undermined.

5 easy questions to find out

The easy way to know if your organisational values are working is to ask the following five questions:

1 Does everyone who comes in contact with your organisation get treated consistently? If not, it may be some staff don’t understand how your values translate into actions or don’t follow them

2 Do your staff think they are treated fairly, or does it depend on the manager or who you ask? Organisations with strong values are judged by their staff to be fairer, and consequently, staff are happier and more engaged

3 Do employees generally exercise their initiative, or do they prefer to await guidance? Organisations that possess clearly articulated and well-understood values are likely to foster a workforce that is confident in their actions. This confidence arises from employees' understanding of the appropriate responses in various circumstances, guided by the organisation's values. Furthermore, they are aware of which value holds the highest priority when faced with competing decisions.

4 Are there stories people share about how you have exemplified your values? What people tell stories about illustrates what they think is important and helps everyone to feel part of ‘this is how we do things around here’. The stories will reflect the organisation's real values – these may not be the official ones!

5 Can you measure the success of your values? We always look for clear indicators that the values and their associated behaviours are being followed—these are also brilliant for marketing.

Here are more blogs which may interest you if your organisational values and culture are important to you

Are shared values either realistic or achievable?

How treating staff well could solve the UK’s productivity crisis and what staff want

Why you need to rank your values

Our work with values is part of the support that we give leaders. Find out more about how we can help you create a values-led culture here

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Are your organisation's values working?

5 easy questions to find out

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