Core values, the 3-5 behaviours that define a company culture, are a critical part of any long term vision.
At The Physio Co our four core values are described in detail on page three of our Painted Picture of 2012. One entire page of this six page vision is dedicated to our core values. Why? Because our Painted Picture is designed to share the future of The Physio Co and attract people that are aligned to where we are headed.
Businesses based upon living a set of core values often have the very best workplace cultures. The way those values are lived everyday is what builds the strong culture. Importantly, the very smallest gesture that lives a core value can make the biggest impact.
At The Physio Co, one of our core values is Be Memorable. This value guides us to be ‘friendly and make positive first impressions.’ One small way that our team lives this value is in our emails. Since 2009, The Physio Co support team have all had “Have a great day” as the way we sign off from every email.
This very small change has had a huge impact on many. People continue to notice it, mention it and associate it with The Physio Co. Three years on, these four words continue to live our Be Memorable value and reinforce to everyone that we are a positive and welcoming family.
What small change could you make today that will live your values and build a stronger team?
We’ve had a couple of bumps in the road at The Physio Co this week. Nothing too serious, a client made a decision we didn’t agree with, a recent hire departed and our damn phones stopped working!
In the past, problems like these would have troubled me a lot. I probably would’ve lost sleep, I definitely would’ve had a headache and it’s likely a few more grey hairs would have appeared! But not so much this time. Why? Two reasons:
As we prepare to celebrate our 8th birthday, it seems that The Physio Co is growing up – that’s a fantastic feeling!
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**This post is from the 2012 series ‘What I’ve learnt this week’. If you’d like to receive these and other Culture is Everything posts in your email, subscribe here.
Sharing stories of team members living core values and then celebrating their successes is one of the best ways to build a strong family culture.
At The Physio Co we tell a short, 30-second story of a team member living one of our four core values everyday at our daily huddle. To The Point, our 12-minute huddle has a set agenda and one day per week each member of our support team shares a story of another TPCer living a core value.
Similar to how we use core values for recognition, the stories are told like this:
Value - Find a better way: we inspire others by continually finding a better way
Who lived it - MT
How - MT (TPC physio) went shopping in her own time and with her own money to buy some new shoes for an elderly resident who had no family or friends to do it for her. The brand new shoes made the resi feel very special and of course she’s now much safer on her feet. Thanks MT, you’ve inspired us all to continue finding a better way!
Positive stories of team mates getting great results and being recognised by their peers is fun, feels great and helps to focus everyone on what works.
Storytelling is without doubt THE best way to build and strengthen a strong family culture. No matter how many stories you’re already telling, I reckon you can always tell more!
How to discover your core values (in 15 minutes)
Culture is Everything TV – Episode 3
Click here for a short video that shows how to discover your core values in less than 15 minutes.
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In short, here’s my week. I’m..
Preparing – my CEO Spotlight for To The Point tomorrow morning.
Celebrating - our wedding anniversary with KW on Tuesday!
Welcoming - two new physio’s (Amanda & Lisa) to The Physio Co family on Tuesday.
Improving - my presentation skills with seven other TPCers at the first of 4 sessions with Communicators Melbourne on Wednesday.
Attending – weekly 1:1 meetings & monthly strategy meetings at The Physio Co on Tuesday & Wednesday.
Writing - an article for Latte magazine and content for Good Health magazine.
Registering – for EO’s Global Leadership Conference in Vancouver.
Training - 5.5 hours on the bike, 3 hours in the pool and 4.5 on foot again this week.
Reviewing – my “so you found me on twitter page”. Any suggestions?
A strong family culture is essentially a group of people that live and believe in a small set of shared values. Therefore, growing a values-based organisation is about attracting more and more people that share those values.
At The Physio Co we use our four core values to attract new team members by sharing and referring to them at every possible opportunity. Potential new TPC team members already understand how important our values are before they even apply. In most cases, one of the reasons why they apply is BECAUSE of our values.
The Physio Co core values are in many spots on our website, in our painted picture of 2012, used in recruitment and stories are told of TPCers living our values at To The Point every single day. Our core values are even No.2 on the list of the Top 57 reasons to work at The Physio Co!
Like attracts like. Are you using core values to attract more culture-fits for your team?
Why have core values? Culture is Everything TV – Episode 2
Click here for a quick 4-minute video on why you need core values to build a strong family culture.
New Culture is Everything TV episodes appear every Tuesday. Subscribe here for these and other Culture is Everything posts to hit your inbox.
Recognising team members for living your core values is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to reinforce and grow a strong family culture.
At The Physio Co, we have an email newsletter, TPC Talk, that hits the inboxes of our team each fortnight. Every edition of TPC Talk has an example of someone being recognised for living one of The Physio Co core values. An example:
LIVING THE TPC VALUES
Value – Respect Everyone: we are generous with our time to help others
Who lived it – RJ
How – RJ came to work for a day in the middle of his week off to make sure we all got paid on time. Thanks RJ, EVERYONE is pleased with the outcome!
Core values for recognition, start using them today..
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