I've talked a lot in the past about creating human connections (by being respectful, contextual and simple), and of course when you create a brand, it too needs to create strong connections with your employees and customers.
What are the brand values your business tries to live by - are they things we can relate to not just an organisation, but as individuals as well?
Are they words like solutions, strategic, integrated, institutional;
Or are they words like open, friendly, honest, quality?
Are you expecting your people to take organisational attributes and try to relate them to their everyday lives?
Look to create brand and organisational values that your people can recite without notice, understand how they can be used everyday, and even aspire to being themselves.
This will build internal and external advocacy.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
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Core values should be the basic, uncompromising principles that drive an organization’s culture. They are what the organization lives by — its basic beliefs and philosophical ideals. They affect how the organization treats its people, how employees interact with one another, and how customers are served.
The best way to define an organization’s Core Values is to finish this kind of sentence: “We believe in ___________ ,” or “Our organization stands for ___________ ."
"Friendly" is a personality attribute of the brand. It's how you deliver and execute your Core Values, Brand Promise, etc.
"Honest" would also be a brand attribute, not a Core Value. However, "honesty" could be a Core Value, because "Honesty" is something you can believe in.
There is nothing bold or significant about saying something like "We believe in 'solutions,'" or, "We believe in 'quality.'" Big deal... People expect quality solutions. If you don't offer quality solutions, you should probably be out of business.
Most banks don't have a clue what they really believe. Typically, senior management gets together at some fancy, offsite location for a "Strategic Planning Session," where one of the activities is defining Core Values. Everyone throws a bunch of bromides and trite cliches up on a whiteboard and whammy... You've got your Core Values. Excellent, now for a round of golf.
Here's more analysis on Core Values for banks:
http://thefinancialbrand.com/2009/01/26/banks-core-values/
Credit unions aren't much different:
http://thefinancialbrand.com/2009/01/27/credit-union-core-values/
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