Aren values statements just empty rhetoric?
Corporate values can be worthless and encourage cynicism among staff if they are not genuinely applied in the agency. If employees know that these standards of behaviour are expected of them, and that they are taken seriously by the agency’s managers, then everyone is more likely to apply them. To find out if your agency’s values are meaningful and relevant, consider reviewing them by surveying staff about their awareness of the values and how much they refer to them in their work. It is a useful test of the agency’s values to ask staff as well as clients, contractors and suppliers about their perceptions of the values that underpin the agency’s culture. If you are a manager and find your agency’s values are irrelevant or meaningless then take action to have them reviewed or changed.
