Identifying and integrating a set of core values into your practice can help you stay centered and create growth in your team. Recognizing your values also helps to define your firm and determine the ideal client you want to model for the practice. This will give your team a firm set of principles to help guide them in their development. Below are our top tips for integrating values into your practice.
Start at the beginning
Set the standard during the hiring process by communicating how important your value system is to your practice. Share the values of the practice and ask your candidate to share theirs. This will give prospective employees a sense for what the practice stands for before they join your team. Knowing the core principles of a new employee is just as important as their work ethic, so make this topic a nonnegotiable when hiring.
Brainstorm
Schedule time with your team to share and discuss your value system. Use this time as a team building activity to dive deeper with your group. Do not allow a virtual work environment to stop you—some employees may feel more comfortable sharing their values in a remote setting anyway. Start by discussing your personal and practice values. Then, encourage the team to share their own. Take notes on their values to show them that this topic matters to you.
Consistency
Talking about values once a year does not mean you are living them. Bring these up in routine practice meetings. Draw lines from your successes and goals to how they relate to your values. Ask your team for feedback on how the company is living its values and encourage them to provide details and insight. They may have tips that you may not have thought about yet.
Incentivize
Celebrate wins and explain how they relate to your values. Reward and incentivize your team to live the practice and personal values. Ask team members to share a goal they have achieved, how it relates to their values, and how they will feel success from that.
Share
Encourage your team to share the practice values with your clients. Encourage them to enlighten clients and the community on how your practice lives their values. Be sure to communicate the “why” behind them. Show them by doing and living them out. Reinforce it visually by having them posted in office common spaces and in key marketing materials.
A practice that cares about integrity will use their value system for attracting the right talent, doing the right thing for clients, and being a good advocate for their communities. How will you use your values with your team and clients?
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