Building Value Champions

This project established an internal network of "Value Champions" for a global industrial manufacturer to translate abstract corporate principles into daily workplace behaviors, contributing to the organization’s subsequent Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification.

Context

A global industrial manufacturer faced a significant disconnect between its stated corporate values and the daily behavior of its workforce. While the values were clearly defined at a leadership level, they remained abstract to the majority of employees, functioning more as corporate signage than as a guide for daily decision-making. Research from Culture Amp (2023) highlights this common gap, noting that only 21% of employees can typically name more than two of their organization’s core values. In this instance, the lack of a lived cultural identity was identified as a barrier to the organization's strategic goal of achieving Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification.

Solution

The intervention focused on building a "Value Champions" network—a group of peer-ambassadors identified through focus-group diagnostics and internal surveys. The objective was to drive cultural alignment from within the teams rather than through top-down mandates. The following steps were taken:

• Ambassador Enablement: Selected participants were taken through a specialized Train-the-Trainer (TTT) journey. This equipped them with the facilitation skills necessary to lead peer-driven discussions.

• Contextualized Toolkits: Practical facilitation toolkits were provided to the Champions, allowing them to lead interactive sessions that tied each core value to realistic, work-related scenarios.

• Peer-Led Workshops: A series of workshops was rolled out across various business units. These sessions focused on identifying everyday actions that either supported or hindered the organization's core principles.

• Embedding Rituals: Simple recognition mechanisms, such as peer-to-peer appreciation cards, were introduced to reinforce positive behaviors and provide social proof for the desired cultural shifts.

Impact

The success of the program was marked by the shift from corporate awareness to active team engagement:

1. GPTW Certification: The structured focus on embedding values and fostering peer leadership played a pivotal role in the organization achieving its first-ever Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification.

2. Ritualization of Values: Peer-led workshops and value-based discussions were successfully integrated into regular team rituals, ensuring that the organization’s principles remained a consistent part of the workplace dialogue.

3. Cultural Alignment: The program established a uniform language for values across business units, providing a clear blueprint for how employees and partners could embody the company’s core principles in their daily interactions.