So after a lot of workshopping, discussion, and perhaps even a bit of debate, your organization has just established its Core Values–maybe even using Breakthrough to do it––congrats!

However, that’s only half the battle–as someone who works in HR, you’ve now been assigned the task of communicating and implementing these important values to the entire organization. Feeling a bit overwhelmed? We don’t blame you. 

Here are some considerations to help you evangelize and align all of your teams to rally around your (amazing) Core Values:

Don’t just send out an email. 

By now, you know how important these Core Values are–they’re part of your organization’s DNA, and it drives how you do business. Relegating them to a simple email or–perhaps even worse–just hanging up a poster in the break room, isn’t going to cut it if you want your team to be inspired and live by these values every day.

It’s important to find interesting and captivating ways to communicate these values to the organization. One of the more popular choices is to create a video with different team members discussing what a specific core value means to them. Don’t just include senior leadership either; adding a variety of cross-functional team players will make it more relatable and meaningful. 

Swag is also another great way to get your team members inspired, especially if it’s something they can keep in their workspace (by the way, this is where a poster can come in handy). 

If you really want to create a memorable way to evangelize these values, consider unveiling all of the above as part of a keynote presentation. If you have remote team members, don’t forget to include them, too. Every member of your organization should participate in learning about your Core Values. 

Bring your Core Values to life. 

The best way to demonstrate how your Core Values actually play out within the organization is to provide solid and real-world examples of how the values are applied to specific situations. 

This might mean looking back at previous situations or decisions and showing how things would change since your Core Values have been established. You might also consider having your leadership team discuss the various initiatives they are implementing that directly relate to the Core Values. 

They should seep into every aspect of your brand. 

Now that you’ve got your Core Values, get your marketing team involved. Every aspect of your organization’s brand should be based on what your Core Values are; they should be represented in everything from your website, to social media posts and even job postings. Your marketing team can help to implement these across the organization. An established set of Core Values will also serve as a great basis for new content for the organization’s website, as well as for social media campaigns

Update internal documents, training, and onboarding. 

It’s always a good idea to revamp your internal documents such as code of conduct or employee handbooks. And there’s no better time to do it once you’ve updated your Core Values. 

If you haven’t already, make sure that your Core Values are a highlighted part of any during the hiring process. According to Forbes, "employers should trade 90 percent talent for just 10 percent character.  Hiring the person who best fits your team is vastly more important than the technical expertise that they may bring."

Potential employees should be aware of your team’s core values as soon as they read a job description. This not only helps to attract good candidates and talent, but it also ensures that you’re introducing the Core Values (your organization’s DNA) early on in your potential employee’s experience. 

Consider offering additional training or presentations on your Core Values with your existing team members as this will give them the chance to ask questions and voice any concerns they might have. 

Gamification isn’t just for software. 

Most team members react very positively when they are recognized for their work and efforts in front of their co-workers. Positive reinforcement will also motivate and encourage good performance. As the Right Management and Globoforce’s Workforce Mood Tracker study reported in 2012, recognized workers are more engaged, more satisfied and love their jobs more.

Consider offering Core Value ‘cards’ that co-workers can award to each other when they notice someone practicing or exemplifying a specific Core Value. Those cards could be used for a free PTO day, a raffle, or a gift card. This will keep the Core Values within sight and in front of mind for the workforce, making them rewarding and useful. Simply put, happy employees make for a happy company and build a stronger company culture, thereby decreasing employee turnover rates and enabling teams to work better together.

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