Our six core values represent the priorities for our culture. They drive our behaviours and our attitudes towards our clients, our customers, our channel partners and our associates:
- Client and customer focus
- Innovation
- Empowerment
- Teamwork
- Respect for people
- Integrity
Through embracing and living these values we will achieve superior performance, long term revenue growth, solid profitability and we will deliver the best possible return to our shareholders.
Client and customer focus
Our primary responsibility is to exceed the expectations of the clients, customers and channel partners who use our brands and, in so doing, meet their needs better than our competitors do.
This requires us to be clear what our client, customer and channel partner needs really are – not what we would like them to be – and to measure how well we meet those needs and how well we perform compared to competition. We must avoid being defensive if we fail.
We must respond quickly when our brands fall short of client or customer expectations or lag behind competitors. Complacency and inertia are our biggest challenge.
The only reliable judge of our performance is a client or customer who pays for and uses our brands.
Innovation
We must experiment with new ideas, new products and services and new processes across all dimensions of our business in the context of client, customer and channel partner needs. Thinking how we can improve and add extra value by doing things differently is not the exclusive domain of a few individuals or one particular department. It is up to us all to be continuously on the look-out for ways to do things better, however modest. Sometimes the smallest of improvements can have a significant impact.
We must back experimentation with investment where it is called for and a tolerance of risk. Mistakes will get made. They must be learned from to avoid repetition, not to point the finger of blame.
We must have the courage of our own convictions. We need to be bold and thrive on resistance to new ideas when it arises. Constructive challenge is healthy and can result in even better ideas and solutions.
Empowerment
We must devolve “power” to the lowest practical level in the organisation for informed decision taking, consistent with good governance, prudent business controls and our agreed strategies.
Devolving power means the transfer of accountability for recommending or taking action and keeping the organisation informed as needed. Our associates are talented and skilled and we must be committed to their development and encourage them to take on greater responsibility when they are ready to do so.
We must facilitate empowerment by ensuring that business processes are in place, communication channels are clear and unblocked and relevant measurement and control systems are transparent and adhered to. Empowerment is delegation not abdication of responsibility.
The empowered must act resolutely, stand up for what they believe in, tell the truth and be willing to challenge the status quo. Those who empower must be good listeners, open-minded, empathetic.
The strongest case wins the day, regardless of hierarchy or status.
Teamwork
We believe that more can be achieved through working in teams than as individuals.
We need to communicate and work across organisational and geographic boundaries to meet the ever changing needs of our clients and customers. Few tasks, especially those affecting the satisfaction of client, customer or channel partner needs, can be accomplished in departmental isolation. Most meaningful actions have knock-on implications that require multi-functional cooperation and commitment.
Much has been written on what differentiates a “team” from a group of individuals. The world of sport illustrates well the key success factors for us.
Team members need:
- Commitment to a common goal (what we are aiming to win!)
- An overriding interest in team vs. self performance (unquestioning willingness to cover for other members’ mistakes)
- Clearly defined roles
- Complementary skills
- Coaching and training
- Knowledge of competition
- Flexibility
- Trust
- Agreement on the plan for action
Once a team’s action plan is agreed each member is responsible for executing it faithfully, regardless of any possible prior disagreements. It is healthy to debate and have constructive disagreement on courses of action to be followed but, once a plan is decided and agreed to, nothing short of full team commitment is acceptable.
We do not tolerate those who put their own self-serving interests above those of clients, customers, channel partners, associates or other stakeholders.
Respect for people
Our employee associates are the cornerstone of our success. We are responsible to our associates. Each must be considered as an individual and treated with respect and dignity. Equal opportunity is fundamental to our culture and is reflected in our human resource policies.
We set high expectations of performance from our associates and we want them to feel a sense of pride from their achievements. Each associate makes a meaningful contribution to our performance. Associates have a right to know what is expected of them, why their role matters and how well they are performing it. There must be equal opportunity for employment, development and advancement for those qualified. We foster personal growth.
Associates have a right to know what is happening. Regular discussions take place to keep associates informed and seek out their ideas and opinions. Associates expect to be listened to and have a right to a response.
Integrity
We conduct our relationships with all our stakeholders to high ethical standards. We do what we say we will do. We do the right thing for our associates, our brands and our company – even when faced with personal, professional or economic pressure. We are trustworthy and honest in all our dealings.
Integrity is central to our client and customer focus. Our clients and customers have chosen to trust our brands and us as a company and they expect us to live up to our promises. They expect to pay for what they get and they should not be expected to pay if we fail to deliver. We are empowered to admit our mistakes and to accept responsibility for correcting them.
Integrity is fundamental to teamwork. It is difficult to form teams when team members do not trust each other. Trust extends to knowing that associates and teams will always deliver on actions they have committed to take.
Integrity is key to empowerment. We empower people we trust.