A Fresh Look at Our Core Values

Marcianne Kuethen

February 14, 2017

We recently took a fresh look at our core values to make sure our actions and beliefs are aligned. A company’s core values shape its company culture, motivating its team members and impacting those it serves. Our mission remains the same: Helping clients build high performing teams and helping candidates find meaningful work. However, we did tweak our core values just a little:

Care—Serve candidates, clients, and teammates with love and respect.

Integrity—Don’t cheat to win. Be courageous enough to tell the truth with grace.

Excellence—Always do your best work and don’t compromise, even if it’s difficult.

Curiosity—Always be eager to learn and pursue personal growth.

Profit—Value our work and the difference we make for those we serve.

But talk is cheap, right? It needs to be lived out in the way we do business in order for it to mean something. So we posted our mission statement and core values in every work station and instituted a new practice: Our recruiters are now on the lookout for emails or conversations that catch each other doing something that’s in line with our core values. It’s been great to read some of the comments they’ve been posting on Basecamp.

For instance, one candidate thanked his recruiter for actually calling him back with feedback after his interview for a job he didn’t get. He said, “Nowadays, it is very rare for any recruiters to call back to the candidate to give negative outcome; usually, they just leave us hanging.”

It’s never fun to have to call candidates to tell them they’ve been rejected, but the reality is, for every person who does get the job, several others don’t, whom we have to call with the disappointing news. Our core values influence how those conversations unfold.

Another candidate who didn’t get the job thanked our recruiter for letting him know, and added, “It was refreshing to talk with someone who is willing to listen and openly discuss the pros and cons…I am hopeful that you and I can work together to find me a new company and role…I meant it when I said I was very impressed with you. I have talked to and worked with a great many recruiters, and you by far have outshone them all…thank you very much for your time and honesty.”

Our recruiters are given daily opportunities to show care and integrity, but it’s not always easy. One of our employers was deeply unhappy when a candidate we had submitted backed out before the final interview. It would be natural for our recruiter to become defensive, but instead, he graciously empathized with the employer for his lost time and effort, and took full responsibility for the candidate’s actions. Care, integrity, and excellence mean that we’re in the business of establishing long-term relationships, not giving excuses when something goes wrong.

Taking a fresh look at our core values has increased our team’s sense of purpose. It’s also given them a greater amount of autonomy, because they have a clear set of values by which to measure their actions and decisions. If they approach our leadership team with a decision to be made, the first question they get handed back to them is, “How does this line up or conflict with our core values?” The decision suddenly becomes a lot simpler.

Employers, does your organization have its core values spelled out for all your employees to live by? If not, now is a  great time to define your core values. If you need help getting started, read this post by ThreadsCulture. Their step-by-step guide suggests first asking, “What is important at our company and what is unique about working here?” All you need is a quiet place, an hour of uninterrupted time, a few sticky notes, some 3 x 5 cards, and a pen. Your company culture will thank you later.

Candidates, do you know what your core values are? Defining what really matters to you will impact your career choices in so many ways and determine whether you’re a good fit or a poor fit in your place of employment. If you’ve never given any thought to your personal core values, here’s a great core values exercise that will help you nail them down. Understanding your core values will also help when you create a career scorecard to guide your job search in the future.

Do you know what’s important to you? After taking a fresh look at our core values, we know what matters to us. We hope you experience our care, integrity, excellence, curiosity, and value every time you speak with an Amtec employee. It’s how we plan to make a difference, building high-performing teams and helping people find meaningful work.

Amtec actively serves customers all over the United States who seek top professionals with well-rounded skills. Candidates, if we don’t have the most current version of your resume, please post it, and visit our job board while you’re at it! You or a friend might be a good fit for one of our open positions. Employers, do you need help sourcing and selecting top professionals? Click here or call (714) 993-1900 to request an employee or discuss a workforce management issue.