Top 10 Company Values in 2024 (& Beyond)

The idea that people want to work at a company where the culture and values align with their own is not a shock or a revelation. According to LinkedIn research, 82% of US professionals want exactly that. Clearly, it’s incumbent on organizational leaders to cultivate company values that job seekers and employees are looking for, in order to attract and retain top talent.

In many organizations, company values were established years ago, likely by people who are no longer part of the workforce. It’s easy to forget that, as culture evolves within and outside of the workplace, company values need to be updated to reflect the present environment as well as current goals and aspirations.

Defining your company values can be a confusing and overwhelming endeavor. There are lots of advice articles online – and lists of ‘core company values’ ranging from 56 to more than 250. Realistically, most companies can only claim a handful or so core values. Beyond that, employees rightfully start to question your commitment and authenticity.

What company values do employees want?

It would be great if we could survey the workers of the world and come up with a universal list of the most sought-after company values. Lacking that, we can look to some of the existing research on job-search priorities and employee attitudes for clues on the most popular company values.

• Personal value and sense of purpose – Recent Gartner research notes an increase in these two important factors, as well as a gap between what employees expect and what employers deliver via the employee experience.
• Diversity and inclusion – Research from Blue Beyond Consulting found 86% of knowledge workers cited pay equity as “very important” to them, suggesting employees expect a broad commitment to DEI issues.
• Good communication and close relationships – After finding that more than half the active workforce says they are open to changing jobs or actively looking, Gallup advises leaders to stay engaged with top performers with a minimum of a once weekly check-in.

Top 10 company values

It’s crucial your company values are more than just a list of vague descriptive terms with no clear context or real world examples. Drawing from current research and employment trends, here are the top 10 company values that employees want in 2024 and beyond.

Again, most companies don’t need to identify 10 core values. It’s better to strongly commit to three or four than do a mediocre job at representing a longer list!

1. Commitment to employee wellness – Employees are people and they want to be treated like whole individuals. 
2. Act with honesty and accountability – When communication (verbal and otherwise) aligns with action, trust tends to build.
3. Cultivate diversity, inclusion, equity and fairness – Companies – and especially company leaders – known for doing the right thing are consistently at the top of ‘best places to work’ lists.
4. Support continued learning – As organizations increasingly move to skills-based structures, employees want meaningful opportunities to learn new skills. 
5. Foster entrepreneurship – Many companies work hard to encourage a sense of ownership, empowerment, and innovation at every level, which can help boost engagement.
6. Approach challenges with curiosity – Making room for curiosity helps open the door for innovative solutions. 
7. Lead with compassion – Research by EY found a strong correlation between empathetic leadership and higher morale, job satisfaction, and inclusivity.
8. Prioritize quality over speed – Employers often urge employees to get work done fast, without realizing that they might be sacrificing quality. By including quality in your company values, you can make your priorities clear.
9. Invest in customers’ success – Most companies include something about a commitment to their customers in the company values. After all, without customers, there is no business.
10. Take intelligent risks – Growth depends on bold action and calculated risks. When employees feel empowered to make data-informed decisions and take big swings, their sense of purpose and personal value can increase.

Making company values come to life

Company values won’t mean much if they’re locked away in a cabinet. The purpose of defining company values is to establish a guidepost that points you in the right direction. If there are significant gaps between your current culture and your company values, spend some time creating a culture change roadmap to align them.

It’s okay – and perhaps even necessary – for some company values to be aspirational, but they also need to be realistic in order to resonate with employees. For instance, if leaders talk about accountability but aren’t holding themselves or others accountable for their actions, nobody will believe accountability is a real company value.

Want to learn more about how Workvivo can help bring your company values to life? Book a demo now.