Most companies already have values.
They’re printed on IDs, flashed on screensavers, and framed in the lobby. People can recite them during town halls.
But when a customer explodes, or a deadline slips, or a manager needs to correct someone’s behavior, the values suddenly go quiet.
Parang décor lang.
This is where small shifts matter.
You don’t need a huge “Values Program” to make values real. You just need to design moments where people can see, hear, and practice the values in their actual work.
Here are ten simple shifts you can start this month.
1. Shift from posters to real stories
In one company I worked with, HR kept repeating: “We value teamwork.” People nodded and went back to their silos.
So we tried something else.
At the start of their weekly meeting, the manager asked, “Can someone share one small story of teamwork you saw this week?” For five minutes, the team traded real examples — someone staying late to help, someone stepping in for a sick colleague.
No slides. No lecture. Just stories.
Every story made “teamwork” feel less like a slogan and more like something you can copy.
Try this: At your next meeting, ask for one short story that shows any of your values in action. One story per week is already a shift.
2. Shift from many values to one value for 30 days
You probably have 5, 7, maybe 10 values.
If you push all of them at the same time, people remember none.
One HR head, Liza, decided to focus on just one value per month. For April, it was “Ownership.” Every Monday, she asked managers to answer one question with their teams:
“Where did we show ownership last week? Where did we avoid it?”
By the end of the month, people were using the word “ownership” on their own. They could give examples. They could spot when it was missing.
Try this: Choose one value. For the next 30 days, make it your theme in meetings, huddles, and recognition.
3. Shift from “nice work” to values-based recognition
“Good job team” feels nice. But it doesn’t teach anything.
In another organization, a supervisor changed how she said thank you. Instead of “Good job,” she started saying:
“Thank you for staying to finish the report. That’s Responsibility in action.”
Over time, her team started using the same language:
“I appreciate your Respect when you listened to the client, even if you didn’t agree.”
The value becomes a label for the behavior you want repeated.
Try this: When you say thank you, add the value behind the behavior. “That was [VALUE] because you [SPECIFIC ACTION].”
4. Shift from generic role-plays to real situations
Role-playing can feel corny when the scenarios are fake.
One sales team used to practice with scripts like, “You are a customer buying a TV…” Nobody took it seriously.
We switched to their actual complaints from last week. A late delivery. A double-charged card. A rude email.
They replayed the situation twice: first, how it actually happened; second, how it would look if they applied Respect and Service.
Suddenly, the room was engaged. Kasi totoong buhay na ito, di ba?
Try this: For your next training, use real incidents from your own customers or internal conflicts. Ask, “How would this look if we lived our values here?”
5. Shift from inspirational walls to a “Values in Action” wall
I saw a company wall filled with stock photos and quotes about excellence. Beautiful, but nobody looked at it.
We replaced it with printed slips where people could write:
“I saw [Name] live [VALUE] when they [SPECIFIC ACTION].”
People started posting stories. The wall filled with names and concrete behaviors.
Visitors stopped and read. Staff took photos. It became a live record of culture, not just a decoration.
Try this: Create a physical board or a digital channel called “Values in Action.” Fill it with short, specific shout-outs from peers.
6. Shift from “HR will handle values” to manager-led habits
In one organization, everyone thought values were an HR project. “Si HR na bahala diyan.”
The culture shifted when line managers started using values in their own routines:
- In 1:1s: “How did you show Excellence this week?”
- In daily huddles: “Our value today is Safety. Any risks we should flag?”
- In project debriefs: “Where did we fail to live our value of Respect?”
When managers owned the language, the team followed.
Try this: As a manager, pick one regular meeting and add one values question. Keep it simple. Keep it consistent.
7. Shift from “culture fit” gut feel to values-based hiring questions
Many interviews stay at “Tell me about yourself,” then end with a vague “mukhang okay naman.”
One company added a few simple questions based on their values:
- “Tell me about a time you admitted a mistake at work. What happened?”
- “Describe a moment you served a difficult customer. What did you do?”
They weren’t looking for perfect answers. They were listening for real behavior: honesty, ownership, service.
Over time, they noticed fewer mismatches. People who joined already lived parts of the culture.
Try this: For each core value, add one behavioral question in your interviews. Look for stories, not slogans.
8. Shift from “values talk” in orientation to mentoring in real work
New hires often hear a values speech on Day 1 — then are left to figure it out on their own.
One client changed this. They chose “culture carriers” — employees who quietly lived the values — and paired each new hire with one of them for the first 90 days.
No big extra workload. Just:
- sit together in key meetings,
- shadow difficult calls,
- debrief what happened (“Where did we show our values? Where did we miss?”).
New hires learned faster because they saw values in action.
Try this: Identify 3–5 people who model your values well. Ask them to mentor new hires, focusing on real situations, not theory.
9. Shift from blame to “values clinics” after mistakes
When something goes wrong, it’s easy to look for someone to blame.
In one hotel, complaints were handled like an investigation. People got defensive. Nobody learned.
The GM changed the approach. After a major complaint, they held a short “values clinic”:
- What happened?
- Which values were missing here?
- If we applied Service and Respect, what would we do next time?
They still held people accountable, but the conversation became about learning and alignment, not just punishment.
Try this: After a problem, ask: “Which value did we fail to live? How do we handle this situation differently next time if we honor that value?”
10. Shift from top-down campaigns to team-owned experiments
The best changes are owned by the team, not only announced by leaders.
In a manufacturing firm, HR asked each department to design one small values experiment:
- The warehouse team created a “Safety Buddy” system.
- The finance team set a 24-hour response rule for internal requests to live Responsiveness.
- The sales team used a simple “honesty check” before sending any proposal.
Every month, teams presented their experiments and what changed.
They weren’t waiting for a big HQ program. They were creating their own shifts.
Try this: Ask each team: “What’s one small, 30-day experiment we can run to live this value better?” Support them. Celebrate what works.
You don’t need perfect posters or big launches to make values real.
You just need to design small, repeatable shifts in how people meet, decide, recognize, hire, correct, and learn.
Start with one team, one value, and one simple shift.
Live with it for 30 days.
Then build from there.
If you’re building a business and you are playing to win…
Let’s install one shift that moves metrics.
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