Company values are more than just a set of empty words. Values must breathe into the working lives of
all employees every single day and in every communication with fellow
employees, customers and suppliers. They
should form the solid bedrock of the organisation and really matter to company
individuals.
Guttridge have recently been involved in the process of
redefining our values to bring them up to date and in line with how we wish our
company to be.
All employees were invited to take part in a Values workshop
with an external facilitator. A group of
volunteers from across all functions of the business gathered to brainstorm and
record the qualities and characteristics that define Guttridge both as it is
now and as they would like it to be going forward.
These characteristics were then grouped into distinctive divisions
of similar traits leading to general qualities that the values should
represent. Different teams of individuals
from the focus group then discussed which key words were most appropriate for
each set of qualities and how best the value could be worded taking into
account all the ideas within the grouped characteristics.
Each of these prospective key words and values were then
discussed with the entire group, with the resulting values agreed, as presented
below:
Guttridge Values
Focus – We۪re focused on
achieving success through our internal measures and processes to positively
impact our customers. At Guttridge we
celebrate success.
Integrity – We stand by
our word: fair, honest. Always.
Respectful – Our customers
are key; whether internal or external.
By understanding their requirements we aim to provide products and
services that exceed expectations.
Excellence – We strive for
excellence in everything we do in order to continually improve.
Passion – Runs deep within
Guttridge. Maintaining the traditions of a family run company that is fiercely
protective of its reputation.
Trust – We trust each
other to use initiative and take responsibility to do the right thing.
Every single quality and characteristic suggested during the
brainstorm by all individuals involved is represented within these six
Guttridge Values, making them uniquely Guttridge.
The Guttridge senior
management team were impressed with the process and the resulting values and
are keen to adopt them and make the values part of the everyday working
culture.
Neil Storer, Quality Manager and one of the volunteers in
the focus group, commented The whole
process was extremely illuminating and exhilarating. The energy in the room during the final
stages when the values were evolving before our eyes was tangible and everyone
was genuinely excited by the ideas and principles that we had built. We wanted to involve our employees in the
redefinition of our values at Guttridge to ensure that everyone is engaged and
involved with making them a part of our working culture. As part of our
commitment to continual improvement, we can now begin the process of incorporating
these values into the Guttridge working way of life.