Company Values: How to Define, Reinforce & Measure What Matters

It’s easy to write company values. It’s much harder to live them. Most organisations have a list, but if those values don’t show up in how people lead, hire, give feedback, or make tough decisions, they’re not doing their job.

Values should act as a filter for behaviour, not wallpaper for branding decks. When they’re clear, visible, and reinforced in daily work, they become one of the most powerful tools HR and managers can use to build culture, improve alignment, and drive real performance.

In this guide, we’ll break down how to define values that actually reflect your culture, reinforce them across teams and rituals, and track whether they’re making a difference. You’ll also get examples, frameworks, and a 30-day rollout plan by HeartCount to move from words to action, without adding noise.

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What Are Company Values?

Company values are the shared principles that shape how your organisation makes decisions, communicates, and treats people. When clearly defined, they serve as a filter for everything from hiring to conflict resolution. But the best values aren’t generic statements. They’re connected to observable behaviours and used consistently in everyday work.

In fact, Harvard Business Review reports that companies with well-embedded values see better decision-making, stronger collaboration, and improved employee loyalty. But this only happens when values are lived, not laminated. Values are one of the core building blocks behind a strong culture of belonging, influencing how safe, connected, and motivated people feel across teams.

Company Values vs. Core Values of a Company

“Company values” is often used as a general term, but core values refer specifically to the essential beliefs that never change. What your organisation stands for even as strategy evolves. These aren’t just branding exercises. The best core values guide tough decisions, like when to say no or how to handle a misstep.

If your list includes more than six values, or if they sound interchangeable with any other company’s, it’s worth revisiting.

Core vs. Aspirational Values

It’s common to include a few aspirational values in addition to core ones. Just be honest about which is which. Core values reflect what’s already embedded in your culture. Aspirational values signal what your company is working toward.

The mistake many organisations make is presenting aspirational values as reality. This can create disillusionment when day-to-day behaviours don’t match the message. If you’re still building toward something, say so. When employees are part of the journey, aspirational values can actually boost trust.

💡Want to check whether your values are truly being lived? Ask employees to rate how well recent decisions or behaviours reflect your stated values. That feedback is where alignment gaps become visible.

Why Are Company Values Important?

Company values help teams move in the same direction. They shape how people act, how decisions get made, and what gets rewarded. For HR teams, they provide a framework for building a consistent employee experience, across functions, offices, and leadership styles.

Without clear values, culture becomes reactive. Managers default to personal preferences, feedback feels inconsistent, and people hesitate to speak up. When values are defined and reinforced, the opposite happens. Communication improves, performance becomes easier to assess, and teams know what’s expected.

Instead of being another slide in onboarding, values should act as a filter. They help prioritise initiatives, hire the right people, and evaluate how well behaviours align with what the company stands for.

Culture, Decision-Making, and Alignment

Values guide behaviour when no one is watching. They help teams handle ambiguity, make tradeoffs, and move quickly without top-down approval. In performance conversations, they give structure to what “good” looks like, beyond metrics alone.

When culture is drifting or feels misaligned, values offer a place to start realigning behaviour. They give HR and managers a way to name what’s missing and create momentum around it. This clarity is also central to building effective employee engagement strategies that last beyond a single initiative or survey cycle.

Hiring, Retention, and Performance Impact

Hiring for culture fit starts with knowing what culture you’re building. That’s where clear values come in. They help screen candidates, set expectations during onboarding, and give meaning to performance feedback.

Values also affect retention. Employees are more likely to stay when they see that behaviour matters, not just output. When recognition, coaching, and team rituals reflect shared principles, trust builds across the org.

You can see the long-term impact of values through metrics like mobility, referrals, and feedback participation. These outcomes are often tied directly to how well your values are understood and applied. If you’re mapping this out, here’s how values fit into the ROI of employee engagement.

How Many Core Values Should a Company Have?

Most companies thrive with three to six core values. That’s enough to shape culture without overwhelming it. If your team can’t recall them in conversation, there are too many.

Recommended Ranges and Pitfalls

Stick to a short, sharp list. Each value should be distinct, not a reworded version of the last. If two values lead to the same behaviour, combine them.

Avoid vague terms like “integrity” or “excellence” without context. They only work if people know what those words look like in action.

Your values should come from within, not from a competitor’s website or a branding brainstorm. Focus on what your best people already do, or what’s missing and needs to shift.

Keeping Values Memorable and Actionable

Simple, active language works best. Think: “Own outcomes,” “Put people first,” “Speak up early.” Short, behaviour-based statements are easier to apply than abstract ideas.

If values don’t show up in feedback, one-on-ones, or decisions, they won’t shape culture. Managers are key here. When they model and repeat values in real situations, teams follow.

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How to Define Your Company Core Values (Step-by-Step)

Strong company values don’t come from branding exercises or leadership off-sites alone. They’re built through listening, observation, and iteration. When defined well, they reflect what makes your culture unique, and they give teams a reliable way to align behaviour.

Here’s how to define values that stick.

1) Assemble a Diverse Working Group

Bring together people from different teams, roles, and levels. Include a mix of long-tenured employees, new hires, people managers, and culture carriers. The goal is to reflect lived experience across the company, not just executive perspectives.

2) Clarify Purpose, Vision, and Strategy

Before naming values, get clear on where the company is going. What are you building toward? What kind of behaviour will help you get there? Your values should support the strategy, not sit next to it.

This step is also a good time to run a quick pulse or custom survey asking employees what behaviours they believe define your culture, or what they’d like to see more of.

3) Audit Real Behaviours and Stories

Look at how people work when they’re at their best. Gather examples of tough decisions, great teamwork, or customer wins. What behaviours made the difference? These moments are often rich with value signals.

You can also review past recognition messages, exit interviews, and internal feedback themes to spot patterns worth capturing.

4) Brainstorm and Shortlist Values

Start broad. Collect words, phrases, or behaviours that show up consistently across input sources. Then narrow them down. Look for overlaps, group similar ideas, and remove anything that feels vague or performative.

Aim for a set of three to six values. Each should stand on its own, with a clear behavioural focus.

5) Write Clear, Behaviour-Based Definitions

Avoid buzzwords. Make each value actionable and easy to recognise. If you say “ownership,” define what it looks like on the ground: Does it mean finishing what you start? Taking responsibility for mistakes? Challenging unclear goals?

If you’re stuck, use employee engagement survey questions to test phrasing and alignment.

6) Test With Real Scenarios and Tradeoffs

Put your draft values through a few real-life situations. Would they help guide a hiring decision? A performance conversation? A product tradeoff? If not, refine the wording until they do.

Testing also helps expose where values may contradict each other or create confusion.

7) Prioritise, Finalise, and Get Sign-Off

Once you’ve pressure-tested the list, get final input from leadership, but avoid top-down rewrites. The language should stay rooted in real employee input. Clarity beats cleverness.

8) Embed Into Rituals, Reviews, and Hiring

Codify values into how you operate. Add them to onboarding, use them in feedback conversations, and build them into recognition systems.

HeartCount lets you tag recognitions by value and run weekly pulse items tied to specific behaviours. This keeps values alive in daily work and gives managers visibility into where alignment is strong, or slipping.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Don’t over-polish the wording. Clarity matters more than clever phrasing. Be honest about where your culture stands. If a value isn’t consistently visible yet, name it as a goal, not a reality.

Make sure the final list reflects how people actually work, not just what leadership hopes is true. When values feel disconnected from daily behaviour, they lose impact.

If you’re noticing mixed signals, unclear accountability, or a pattern of disengagement, these may be signs your values aren’t being reinforced. Our toxic workplace checklist outlines practical red flags that often show up when core values are misaligned or ignored.

Examples of Company Core Values

Core values vary from company to company, but the strongest ones have one thing in common: they show up in daily behaviour. Below are common themes with sample phrasing that prioritises clarity over jargon.

Themes and Sample Statements

Integrity & Ethics

These values define how people act when no one’s watching. They support psychological safety, accountability, and long-term trust inside and outside the company.

• Do the right thing, even when it’s hard
• Own your decisions and their impact
• Speak up when something feels off

People-First & Inclusion

People-first values centre on empathy, fairness, and shared respect. They encourage leaders to listen, build inclusive systems, and recognise individual needs across roles and locations.

• Respect different perspectives
• Lead with empathy
• Create space for every voice

Impact & Sustainability

These values guide how a company balances short-term goals with long-term outcomes. They often show up in product strategy, resource planning, and environmental or social responsibility.

• Focus on long-term value
• Use resources responsibly
• Act with purpose, not just speed

Innovation & Learning

Cultures that prioritise learning tend to take more risks, share mistakes, and stay adaptive. These values promote curiosity, experimentation, and knowledge sharing at all levels.

• Stay curious
• Test, learn, improve
• Share what you know

Excellence & Accountability

These values push for high standards while building a culture of ownership. They’re especially useful in performance-driven environments where trust and results go hand in hand.

• Deliver on promises
• Set high standards and hold to them
• Learn from failure and adapt quickly

Real-World Company Values (Brand Examples)

Values only matter if they show up in real decisions, not just internal posters. The examples below come from teams who’ve defined their core values clearly, and used them to shape culture, performance, and growth. These aren’t slogans. They’re embedded in how people lead, collaborate, and make choices every day.

Resolute: Happiness & Freedom

Resolute built its values around happiness and freedom, defined by flexibility, ownership, and a people-first mindset. They use weekly pulse feedback to keep values visible, leading to near-zero turnover and consistently high participation across the team.

Wakilni: Empathy, Excellence, Trust

For Wakilni, values had to work across a distributed, fast-scaling team. Their focus on empathy, excellence, and trust became a foundation for stronger communication, 25% higher well-being, and a steady increase in engagement as they grew.

Ocean Investments: Health, Freedom, Righteousness

Ocean Investments formalised its values across a portfolio of ventures. These included health, freedom, happiness, righteousness, and collaboration. Values are embedded into decision-making, hiring, and feedback, creating cultural consistency across diverse teams.

Reinforce Values in Day-to-Day Work

Defining company values is only the beginning. The real impact comes when those values are reinforced through daily actions, not just top-down messages. This is where HR and managers play the most important role: making values visible, repeatable, and part of how people actually work.

Here’s how to turn values into practice, not just principles.

Leadership Modeling and Manager Behaviours

Leaders and managers shape how values show up. When they give feedback, make decisions, or handle conflict, their actions send a clear message about what’s real and what’s just talk.

That’s why leadership alignment is non-negotiable. If managers ignore or contradict stated values, trust breaks down quickly. But when they model behaviours consistently, like transparency, ownership, or empathy, teams follow their lead.

Start by sharing examples. Use real moments in retros, one-on-ones, or team check-ins to highlight how someone acted in line with a core value.

Rituals: Recognition, One-on-Ones, and Team Norms

Rituals are where values become habits. Public recognition, recurring meetings, and team routines are natural touchpoints for reinforcing what matters.

For example, when values are tied to shoutouts or weekly team updates, they stay front of mind. You can also use one-on-one meetings to connect feedback to values and reflect on alignment over time.

To build this into your culture:

• Use a recognition template that tags each win to a specific value.
• Try these one-on-one meeting questions to open up conversations about alignment, behaviour, and growth.

Hiring, Onboarding, and Performance Alignment

Values should guide the entire employee lifecycle. That means using them in job descriptions, interview scorecards, onboarding plans, and performance reviews.

During onboarding, give clear examples of what each value looks like in action. In review cycles, encourage managers to reflect on how well employees are living the values, not just hitting metrics.

This creates a culture where behaviour is measured, not just outcomes.

Communication Cadence Across Slack/Teams/Email

Reinforcing values isn’t about adding more noise. It’s about using the tools people already rely on, Slack, Teams, email, to keep core principles visible without overloading.

Highlight values in team announcements, recognition threads, or even in decision rationale. Over time, people begin to use the language naturally in their own updates and discussions.

When communication is values-driven, culture spreads faster and more consistently, even across remote or hybrid teams.

The Listen → Diagnose → Act → Track Loop (Continuous Improvement)

Values alignment isn’t static. As the company grows or shifts direction, new challenges emerge, and values get tested.

That’s why we encourage a recurring loop:

• Listen: Use pulse feedback and recognition data to understand what behaviours are showing up.
• Diagnose: Spot patterns, blind spots, and gaps between what’s said and what’s seen.
• Act: Support managers with nudges and clear next steps to address the gaps.
• Track: Monitor change over time at the team and org level.

Value Governance and Ownership

Finally, someone needs to own the values, not just the rollout, but the long-term upkeep. That might be HR, Culture & Ops, or a cross-functional team.

Review values regularly. Check if they’re still relevant, visible, and tied to current goals. Track whether they’re being used in hiring, feedback, and team decisions. And if not, ask why.

Culture isn’t something you protect once. It’s something you manage every quarter.

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Measure What Matters (Values in Practice)

You can’t manage what you can’t see. If company values are meant to shape behaviour and decisions, there has to be a way to measure whether that’s happening. Tracking values in practice gives HR teams real visibility, not just into what’s being said, but what’s actually being done.

This isn’t about vanity metrics. It’s about spotting patterns, reinforcing what works, and addressing disconnects before they turn into disengagement.

Leading vs. Lagging Indicators (Signals vs. Outcomes)

To measure values effectively, look at both:

• Leading indicators: Pulse feedback, recognition patterns, team sentiment, manager modelling
• Lagging indicators: Turnover, engagement scores, customer feedback, internal mobility

Leading signals show you how aligned teams are in real time. Lagging outcomes confirm whether that alignment is translating into results.

Pulse Survey Cadence and Question Design

One of the simplest ways to track alignment is through regular pulse surveys. These can include short, targeted questions like:

• “I see our values reflected in team decisions”
• “My manager models our core values in how they lead”
• “People are recognised for behaviours that reflect our values”

With HeartCount, you can schedule automated pulse check surveys linked to specific values. This makes it easy to monitor changes weekly, and act before issues spread.

Burnout, Attrition Alerts, and Sentiment Dips

A sudden drop in recognition or sentiment often signals a deeper misalignment. Maybe the stated values feel disconnected from the way pressure is handled. Maybe new policies contradict what people have been told matters.

HeartCount uses built-in alerts to surface early signs of disengagement or burnout, so HR and managers can respond before it affects team health or retention.

Dashboards for HR, Managers, and Executives

Measurement isn’t just for HR. When managers can see how values are landing within their teams, they can coach more effectively and lead with clarity.

Dashboards give teams real-time insight into how values are being reinforced, or ignored. Executives get a clearer picture of culture across locations, departments, and leadership levels.

This is where data-driven insights become essential. You’re not just tracking values, you’re tracking the behaviours that sustain your culture.

Tying Values to Engagement, Retention, and Customer Outcomes

When values are working, you see it everywhere: stronger team cohesion, higher performance, lower friction, and better retention. Employees stay longer because they trust what the company stands for. Managers lead more consistently. Customers feel the difference too, because internal clarity shows up externally.

This is where values go from cultural nice-to-haves to business-critical infrastructure. They drive behaviour, and behaviour drives outcomes.

How to Communicate Company Values

It’s not enough to define your values once and expect people to internalise them. Communication needs to be consistent, multi-channel, and tailored to different moments in the employee journey. The goal is repetition without noise and visibility without overload.

For New Hires (Onboarding, Day 0–30)

Start early. The first month is when people learn what the company really values, not just what’s said, but what’s rewarded, ignored, or contradicted. That’s why values should be built into onboarding experiences from day one.

Make sure new hires hear the values, see them in action, and understand what they mean in practical terms. Use real stories, not just slide decks. Encourage managers to connect early feedback to those values, so employees learn how behaviour is assessed from the start.

Surveying new hires after their first few weeks is a smart way to test alignment. You can use this onboarding question guide to see how well your values are landing.

For Ongoing Reinforcement (Cadence, Channels, Artifacts)

Values should show up in regular communication, not just campaigns. This means weaving them into team updates, leadership messages, internal tools, and recognition platforms.

Some of the most effective channels include:

• Slack or Teams posts highlighting values in action
• Manager recaps that reference values behind decisions
• Visuals or physical artifacts (e.g. printed cards, badges, meeting rituals)

Instead of repeating the full list of values, focus on reinforcing one or two at a time with examples. This keeps things fresh and more memorable.

A consistent HR communication strategy helps set the rhythm. Teams know when and where to expect updates, and leaders know how to use the right tone, channel, and context for each message.

For Change Moments (Pivots, Mergers, Crises)

Times of change put values to the test. When decisions are hard, people watch closely to see whether the company acts in line with what it says.

Be transparent. If values are influencing a tough call, say so, and explain how. If values are being challenged, acknowledge it. Use these moments to show employees that your values aren’t just for good times. They’re how you lead through difficulty, too.

Change communication should be values-led, but never performative. Employees will notice the difference.

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How Company Values Drive Business Outcomes

Company values aren’t just culture tools. When defined and applied consistently, they influence outcomes across hiring, retention, engagement, and even customer loyalty. They give structure to decision-making and create alignment that reduces friction, speeds up execution, and builds long-term trust, inside and out.

Here’s how values impact the bottom line.

Employer Brand and Quality-of-Hire

Strong values make it easier to attract the right candidates and filter out the wrong ones. When job descriptions, interviews, and onboarding reflect clear values, candidates know what kind of culture they’re entering.

This alignment improves quality-of-hire and lowers early attrition. New employees are more likely to hit the ground running because expectations match reality. Over time, this strengthens your employer brand, because employees talk about what they see, not just what they’re told.

Engagement, Retention, Productivity

Values help teams focus on what matters and stay aligned when pressure rises. When people see that behaviour counts, not just results, they’re more likely to stay, take initiative, and contribute beyond their role.

HR teams that reinforce values through recognition, check-ins, and feedback loops often see stronger engagement and performance. Over time, these habits reduce churn and help build a stable, motivated workforce. Many of the same behaviours that drive values alignment also support employee engagement and retention across teams.

Customer Trust and Decision Speed

Customers notice cultural alignment. When values shape how teams collaborate, handle challenges, and serve users, that consistency shows up in every interaction.

Internally, shared values reduce decision fatigue. Teams don’t need to guess what leadership would want. They already know the lens to use. This speeds up execution and lowers the risk of misalignment across functions.

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30-Day Implementation Checklist

Rolling out company values doesn’t have to take months. With the right focus and stakeholder alignment, you can define, test, and activate your values in just four weeks. This checklist gives you a structured way to go from ideas to daily adoption without losing momentum.

Week 1: Listen and Diagnose (Baseline Pulse)

• Run a short internal survey to capture how employees describe the current culture
• Ask which behaviours they admire, which they avoid, and what they think the company stands for
• Look at past feedback, recognitions, and exit themes for patterns
• Identify cultural strengths and friction points

Week 2: Draft and Test Definitions

• Shortlist 4–6 value candidates based on employee input and leadership goals
• Write simple, behaviour-based definitions for each value
• Pressure-test them using real scenarios (e.g. hiring, conflict, tradeoffs)
• Gather feedback from a cross-functional working group

Week 3: Manager Enablement and Rituals

• Brief managers on the new values and how to model them
• Provide sample talking points and value-linked recognition messages
• Update one-on-one templates to reflect value-based coaching
• Set up a Slack/Teams routine to share recognitions tied to values

Week 4: Rollout Plan and Measurement Checkpoints

• Finalise comms plan across email, chat, intranet, and leadership channels
• Launch values across onboarding, performance, and recognition workflows
• Set up baseline measurement using pulse surveys and sentiment check-ins
• Define ownership for ongoing updates, reviews, and reporting

Conclusion

Strong company values do more than set the tone. They shape culture, guide growth, and create alignment that lasts. When values are defined clearly, reinforced consistently, and measured with intent, they become a competitive advantage.

This isn’t a one-time rollout. It’s an ongoing loop of listening, modelling, recognising, and refining. And when done right, it becomes the foundation for a healthier, more resilient workplace.

FAQs on Company Values

What Are Company Values?

Company values are the core principles that guide how people behave, make decisions, and interact at work. They shape your culture, support alignment, and help teams know what’s expected beyond tasks and KPIs.

Why Are Company Values Important?

Clear values bring consistency across the employee experience. They support better hiring, stronger retention, and faster decision-making, especially in moments of change or uncertainty.

How Many Core Values Should a Company Have?

Three to six is the sweet spot. This keeps them memorable, specific, and easy to apply. Too many values dilute impact, while too few often lack nuance.

What Are the Core Values of a Company?

There’s no universal list. Common examples include ownership, transparency, empathy, curiosity, and accountability. What matters is that they’re defined clearly and reflected in everyday behaviour.

What Are Good Company Values Examples?

Good values are tied to action. “Take ownership,” “Put people first,” or “Stay curious” are clear and recognisable. Avoid vague terms like “excellence” unless you define what that means in context.