how to operationalize your core values.

figure 1. two abstract figures, one purple and one grey, sitting across from each other at a desk. behind them is a window with clouds. to the right of them is a representation of a desk calendar with the number 31 circled.

When you work for yourself you have the luxury of fashioning a job with traditions you like.

Just guessing here, but I bet you’ve probably jettisoned annual employee evaluations. Now, if you have, I want you to rethink that decision.

Before you scoff, hear me out.

figure 2. sample self-evaluation form asking respondents to rank job knowledge and work quality from 1 to 5 in the context of the core value “we always bring our selves.”

When done right, employee evaluations or an annual review can be a positive experience. They’re an opportunity to:

• revisit core values,

• review your skills, and

• set objectives and goals based on your strengths.

They’re a chance to craft a roadmap that leverages your strengths to do something that interests you and benefits others as well as you.

REVIEW CORE VALUES.

Most reviews contain a laundry list of traits. For example, work under pressure, willingness to take more responsibilities, ability to work independently, and so on. Next to these traits are columns for assigning a rank from 1 to 5.

Sadly, there’s often no context as to why these traits are valued by an organization. How does being exceptional (or deficient) in an area impact colleagues, clients, the world?

figure 3. sample self-evaluation form asking respondents to rank communication/listening skills, open to feedback, and integrity from 1 to 5 in the context of the core value “we champion what we believe respectfully and civilly.”

To me, this is a missed opportunity. Because it’s the perfect place to review core values and think about why something is important. (And organized by core values is so more effective than simply presenting an empty box labeled “Demonstration of Core Values.”)

For our feedback form, I group traits, such as job knowledge, work quality, leadership, teamwork, and so on by our five values. When we finish an engagement (or quarter for those clients on retainer), we have our clients tell us how we did. (If you’re curious about our values feedback form, you can view a copy—no registration required.)

This gives us the opportunity to see if our clients have the same perception of our brand as we do.

figure 4. nine level sales and marketing funnel illustrating measurement of operational efficiency and operational effectiveness. Raw unaware contacts appear at the top of the funnel and are abandoned (removed from future marketing and sales efforts) if the wrong target (not an ideal customer) or nurtured or recycled through marketing and sales efforts until the ideal customer is ready to purchase.

SET BASELINE GOALS FOR EACH CORE VALUE.

Where possible we set baseline goals for our core values. From the nature of what we do—data-informed content strategy and demand generation—we think about delivery in terms of:

• operational effectiveness (what is accomplished)

• operational efficiency (how something is done)

(We even think this way when we’re working on copyediting or writing engagements. It’s why we’ll ask you how you plan to use the content we write or edit.)

Not all of our engagements have measurable results that tie back neatly to our core values. And we don’t always have access to client metrics. But, in line with our second core value “we’re in this together,” we always finish our engagements with next steps for our clients to measure the effectiveness and/or efficiency of our deliverables. (You can check out a sample goals benchmark and tracking form (PDF)—no registration required.)

figure 5. sample goals benchmark and tracking form asking respondents to measure operational efficiency. Respondents record their current metrics, for example percentage of registrations with missing or bad data; average number of touches to sale; average cost per lead (CPL). They then note their desired results and record those metric after implementing a new process or campaign. The final column notes whether changes are positive or negative.

How is your organization operationalizing your core values?

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