Let's really value our values

Early this morning I heard a great speaker on the radio for Safer Internet Day talking about the power of the internet to do good, to help more people and change the world. Their call to action was to fill the internet and social media with more good things. The content chimed much more with my values than yesterday’s Financial Times article about an organisation using a new way to measure the health of the organisation - the happy:grumpy ratio. The thinking behind the ratio is that, apparently, by creating a less cut-throat workplace, employees are happier and more likely to do the right thing. Surely this is less down to happiness and more down to changing the organisation’s values? Values are important, especially in the third sector. They are critical to why people choose to work in the sector and why many organisations exist.  Fundamentally there is a common desire to change the world, to make things better and improve lives. Many organisations were founded because someone thought, “It doesn’t have to be this way”.

For our sector, trust is critical. This means our actions and behaviour have to align with our values.

If anyone is in any doubt, there is a good summary report from the organisation Great Place to Work, Organisational values are they worth the bother? The recent TFN story about CRUK is a good example where the values behind the behaviour could be questioned. For our sector, trust is critical. This means our actions and behaviour have to align with our values. CRUK is a large organisation. It will no doubt ride out this ‘storm’, and I am sure it will learn internal lessons for the future. But no organisation in our sector can afford for values to become out of kilter with behaviour. The potential implications are too big. However, we must also recognise that all organisations change over time. It’s important to take stock periodically as organisational values are likely to change.  At SCVO we are currently looking at our strategic plan for the years ahead. This a great chance to take stock and think about our organisational values that underlie our new strategic plan. It’s the ideal time to ensure our organisational values drive our behaviours and are still the right ones to prioritise in the future. Like many people in the third sector, we want to make the world a better place. Let’s all keep our values at the forefront of our minds.