In a temporary or permanent staffing agency as in any company, values are the main convictions that guide the entire strategy. And while they guide – consciously or not – the creation of the company, they are then often relegated to a document that is passed on to new employees without really reading it. Why not take advantage of the summer to reread them? And maybe even update them?
Do you like summer? Personally, I love it! Long days, starry nights and, above all, the various opportunities to meet friends and give the world a makeover: it’s simple, in summer I feel that time slows down and is suitable for a multitude of activities.
In terms of work, this is also the case: the period of holiday “crossovers” generally allows one to concentrate on files that have remained on the shelf for too long, where the “to do later” files are stored, or even make some changes before the September resumption.
Can spring cleaning be done in summer?
However, it is precisely in this perspective that this article is presented: since summer is a special period in a year, why not take the opportunity to carry out a few projects within your temporary or permanent staffing agency?
I am obviously not talking about masonry here – let’s respect the construction holidays! – but work on the identity and values of your staffing agency. In other words, July and August are, in my opinion, the best times to dust off your corporate culture.
Central concept in employee retention and attracting new talent, we already defined the corporate culture on this blog a few months ago. In the same article, I gave some ideas and tips on how to stand out with an original corporate culture.
Who are the influencers of corporate culture?
But like any culture, that of your staffing agency evolves, follows the fashions of its time or, better yet, influences them. It is therefore important, to stay up to date, to know the trends and to appropriate the codes.
What, then, are the fixed markers of your corporate culture, those which seemingly cannot be moved, and which define the heart of your identity? These are the values of your business.
Thus, dusting off your corporate culture means above all questioning the values that make it up:
- Are the values of your staffing agency still relevant?
- Are they known – and recognized – by employees?
Corporate culture is a matter of values.
Les valeurs de votre agence de placement temporaire ou permanent sont les convictions principales qui définissent la vision et la stratégie de celle-ci lors des prises de décision. En d’autres mots – ceux de Jean-Pierre Lauzier – « les valeurs qui sont appliquées au quotidien sont les fondements sur lesquels une entreprise repose ».
The values of your temporary or permanent staffing agency are the main convictions that define its vision and strategy when making decisions. In other words – those of Jean-Pierre Lauzier – “the values which are applied on a daily basis are the foundations on which a company rests”. (Link in French).
Beyond all the finery of a successful marketing campaign, it is its values that represent a company. So, these are the beliefs by which you want your agency to be identified by the public. As such, they are thus more guides than procedures: indications that one appropriates consciously or not, and which work as guidelines for our behavior.
This is the reason why most companies refer to commonly shared values: respect, ethics, team spirit. It is indeed necessary to ensure that any employee who represents the company can appropriate and identify with the values of the organization.
Indeed, although they are defined and led by the founders, owners and managers of the company, the values are, daily, carried by the employees who make them shine.
Indeed, although they are defined and led by the founders, owners and managers of the company, the values are, daily, carried by the employees who make them shine.
While certain values serve as a “common core” found in most organizations, a company’s core values generally vary depending on its size, industry, or location.
We can therefore carry out a rapprochement that seems relevant to me: just like the values that you project, the employees of your staffing agency have transversal abilities (these famous soft skills) that would allow them to work anywhere, and technical skills (hard skills) that make them ideal employees for your agency.
Thus, in the same way that recruitment practices open to “behavioral skills”, they are also moving towards greater consideration of company values.
It is therefore important to define them well, but also to convey them well. Because, in the words of Jean-Pierre Lauzier: “It is the identification, understanding and execution of values […] that allows all staff to mobilize and take responsibility“.
Why not include your employees in the renewal of your corporate culture?
This finding is leading more and more Human Resources advisers to invite managers to include their employees in the processes of updating the corporate culture. Of course, to maintain a stable and homogeneous structure, the final decisions often rest with the steering group. But that doesn’t exclude the employee from the consultation.
Beyond creating cohesion within your team by allowing everyone to feel involved, it can also make it possible to bring to the table new ideas, whether they come from changes in society or from personal experience of a company’s employee.
The biggest danger? To see the discussions, spill over into personal opinions. You will agree, this is a largely surmountable challenge for anyone who is prepared and has the convening skills to refocus the debates.
For what gain? A renewed or / and strengthened commitment from your team, if the exercise ended with applications that give meaning to the reflection that took place. In addition, your marketing strategy is also enhanced, if it manages to highlight the dusted values and shines your corporate culture.
And how do we do it? If the method remains at your discretion, depending on the particularities of your staffing agency, it is agreed that two to three brainstorming sessions are indicated to develop and then refocus the ideas.
| Some questions to ask yourself when you want to update your company’s values:
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By repeating this exercise every 3 to 5 years, you will ensure that you keep up-to-date values and your practices, but you will also regularly allow new employees to take an active part in the life of the agency.
Finally, keep in mind that you are not dusting off to throw everything away, but rather to bring some shine back to something that was already there. So do not try to bring everything down, but rather to elevate what is already present in your staffing agency.
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