Imagine you are browsing through your local supermarket, and you spot a familiar product. It was recommended by your favorite food blogger, who shares recipes based on locally available ingredients. You value their advice because you strongly believe in eating locally available foods. And so, you grab that product. 

This is the power of value based relationships. It creates a sense of trust between people and enhances decision-making. 

But what are value based relationships? Can you strengthen organizational relationships through a value based approach? Read the article to find out. 

Highlights

1.
A value based relationship system in which an organization works on values shared by employers and employees.

2.
Employees prefer organizations with a shared value system.
3.11 Ways to Build Value based Relationships Between Employees
Strategize first 
Lead towards a value based approach 
Participatory management 
Ensuring accountability and transparency 
Communicate needs 
Invest in employee education 
Get to know each other 
Mental health matters 
Value your employees every day 
Inclusive workplace culture 
Show that you care

What are value based relationships? 

As the name suggests, a value based relationship is based on shared values. You might be friends with someone because you feel the same about certain ideas. You might like a specific book because it talks about values that are important to you.  

But what happens if a business adopts a value based strategy? It can give rise to a work culture where organizations function on values shared by employers and employees. Such a relationship ensures that an organization operates on a model that allows the incorporation of its core values at every level.  

For example, if a business is interested in adopting sustainable strategies and practices, it would benefit from hiring employees inclined toward saving the environment.  

An organization being run on shared values is a better choice than one that enforces authoritarian practices. Having shared values helps create a sense of belonging among every organization member. Probably that is why employees prefer companies that share their personal values or even have a positive social impact. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs talks about human needs in five basic categories. When people feel a sense of belonging towards an organization, their love and belonging needs are answered. So an organization fulfills its employees’ needs while adopting a value based relationship model.

A report by Edelman explains that trust is the new equity among buyers. It states that consumers are 4.5 times more likely to buy if a brand addresses human rights, 4 times more likely if it speaks out on systemic racism, and 3.5 times more likely if it takes on economic inequality.  

What does this imply? Activism is highly valued in this globally connected world. 

When brands get involved in activism, they develop a relationship with their customers based on shared values. This also establishes trust between brand and their customers.  

Employees, too, are belief-driven and prefer working for social impact and personal values besides salaries and benefits, as mentioned in an article by World Economic Forum. 

People moving jobs seek a better value-fit from their new employers. 


World Ecnonmic forum talks about value based relationships

Employees are more likely to work with organizations that follow a set of shared beliefs. Having shared values ultimately results in enhanced productivity. 

A value based relationship is an essential tool that creates a supportive work environment and ultimately enhances an organization’s outcome. So how can one introduce a value based relationship among employees? Find out 11 ways to do that in the following section. 

11 ways to build value based relationships among employees 

A value based relationship is highly beneficial for an organization. There are several ways to incorporate a value based system between employer and employees and among employees within an organization. 

Strategize first

To begin practicing a value based approach, you will have to develop a strategy that allows you to define or redefine your core values. You can share organizational goals and the company’s vision among employees at all levels.  

Lead towards a value based approach

Switching to value based leadership is vital in changing a company’s policy to suit employee sensibilities. With this, leaders can set a direction and guide employees at all levels. A value based leadership style can also create a proactive company culture and help expand opportunities for the company and the employees.  

Participatory management

A value based organization allows the involvement of stakeholders at all levels. An article by WE Forum states that employees emphasize personal empowerment opportunities where they can provide input into the business. Organizations can encourage shared responsibility, formation of self-managed teams, working groups, etc., to include participation from employees.  

Ensuring accountability and transparency

Employers and employees must hold each other accountable and encourage a culture of challenging each other and receiving feedback. An organization must also be transparent and articulate its core values to its employees. Employees need to reciprocate the same.  

Coca-Cola lists diversity as one of its core values and demonstrates it on its Global Diversity Mission page. The page is public and can be viewed by employees and consumers. By publicly mentioning its value related efforts and goals Coca-Cola also ensures accountability. 

Communicate needs

A need can be fulfilled only when it is communicated appropriately. Organizations should clarify what they want from employees and how to approach a specific need to help enhance productivity and even build trust. 

Organizations need to listen to their employees’ needs as well. Pietential is a tool that can help you in assessing your employees’ needs. Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this tool can help you analyze their basic needs in five categories: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.  

Knowing your people’s needs can help them achieve their full potential. 

Invest in employee education

Organizations should create opportunities to help its members improve their skills. Doing so can reap long-term benefits. You can invest in their development through workshops and orientation programs, alongside offering courses. Helping them with their soft skills is a great approach too! 

Get to know each other

Companies need to pay attention to the values their people live by. It’s an excellent approach to fostering value based relationships within an organzation. Another method can be ensuring that your employees know each other well.

Employee relationships with each other is an equally important tenet of a value based business strategy. Employees with similar goals or values can increase productivity and enhance team spirit.  

A value based organization

An organization doesn’t only have individual employees. It also has a team. Having shared values can help this team produce better results. Casual get-togethers, group activities where members motivate each other, and family days at offices are some exciting ways to make employees comfortable with each other. 

Mental health matters

Mental health and well-being of employees should be considered critical to an organization. Work-related stress can impact their productivity and lower their quality of life. Creating a positive work environment for employees is vital to building value based relationships. 

Value your employees every day

Building value based relationships is not a one-time thing, but needs to be practiced daily. An organization can implement this by celebrating birthdays or work anniversaries. Employers should honor and reward every small win of their employees.  

Inclusive workplace culture

A value based organization is incomplete without diversity in the workplace. By acknowledging the differences between your employees and accommodating their special needs, you convey that their presence and participation matter to the company’s growth.  

An inclusive workplace can ensure better employee engagement as well as employee satisfaction. 

Show that you care

For a better employee-employer relationship, your people must feel valued at their workplace. More importantly, leaders should act as guides by transforming individual employees into an efficient team that believes in the same values.  

Management and leadership should lead by example and practice the values they preach. An organization’s core values should be clearly stated and conveyed to its employees. The culture of a value based organization is shaped by a clear set of rules and guiding principles for making decisions and taking action. These shared values also create a sense of belonging. Through employee commitment and increased productivity, value based culture helps an organization in the long run. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

  1. What is a value based organization? 

A value based organization is a living culture of shared core values. It is different from traditional and authoritarian business approaches.  

  1. Where should one start while building value based relationships? 

Employers should start building value based relationships by adopting a value based leadership style.  

  1. How are value based relationships practiced in an organization?  

An organization should manifest value based relationships at every level. Values can be shared within an organization as a whole, among employees, and between employers and employees.