Align your Values, Align Your Teams

As small companies begin to grow from one or two units into multi-unit operations, one of the first sticking points they experience is aligning the teams from disparate locations effectively and equally. This alignment of purpose allows all your businesses to flourish while still permitting the uniqueness and personality of each individual to shine.

Operationally, many leaders of multi-unit operations “get” the idea of performing group buying, common inventory controls, and common technology to allow for better purchasing, cost control, inventory management and the full spectrum of efficient controls. What many businesses learn too late is how to define and align your core values in a similar fashion. Many new leaders think they must be able to do it all and miss the opportunity to hire like-minded managers, who then hire and train like-minded employees in each unit.

Train your managers in your way of doing business and the core values you hold most dear, and your businesses – and people – will flourish. Train your managers in your way of doing business and the core values you hold most dear, and they become raving devotees who, in turn, then create aligned and enthusiastic front-line employees in all departments, in all venues.

In short, many new multi-unit organizations miss a key component to success – Alignment of Core Values. Specifically, how intrinsic they are to the success of an organization and even more importantly to the people within the organization.  I have based my whole career on aligning my personal and professional core values to the businesses I have operated.  I believe that to meaningfully align a team they must be aligned on values first…then everything else will fall into place. 

What Are Core Values?

Let’s start by first defining what core values are. In short, The Core Values of an organization are those foundational beliefs that are deeply held and upon which the organization bases the substance of how we perform day-to-day work and how we conduct ourselves at work. These values, these foundational beliefs, are held so strongly that despite a changing landscape, despite economic downturns, despite the offer of oodles of money, an organization will not forsake their core values. Indeed, truly great organizations, just like people, will double down on their beliefs, using their core values as a source of strength to help power them through even the most difficult situations. 

During difficult times, organizations should ensure true alignment of values and beliefs with all employees, management, investors, vendors, and other stakeholders. Proper alignment of values with people within the organization will help build the strength of your team and your resolve. Aligning with the right team helps to ensure clear communication and guarantees flawless understanding of goals, needs, shortcomings, and issues that need addressing, not to mention making a more enjoyable workplace environment.

How to Define Your Core Values

So how do we define our core values? It’s not always easy.  It takes an organization time, focus, and deep introspection to define what is most important. Generally, I suggest starting with a clear & concise mission statement. A mission statement is simply the statement of purpose for an organization or its reason for being. It provides a short roadmap or path for the organization in the same way a financial plan does. While a financial plan provides a map of how your organization and operations should work, a mission statement provides clarity on why you want to exist in the first place, who you exist to provide a service or product to, and potentially how you want to provide those goods or services. To create your mission statement, simply ask yourself and your leadership team four simple questions:

  • What do we do?
  • How do we do it?
  • Who do we do it for?
  • What value are we bringing?

Answer those questions (or your own similar questions) as simply and concisely as possible; perhaps add a bit of flower to the verbiage, and you have a simple effective organizational mission statement. The best mission statements are simple and concise. Too wordy and the statement becomes diluted. For example, the Starbucks mission statement is just one sentence: “Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” Simple, concise, and absolutely clear, their mission statement evokes Starbucks' core values. Their core values, backing up the statement, are much more in depth yet still concise and directed. 

Not all mission statements are this tight and compact.  A good mission statement can be a few sentences long and still be clear and concise. But get beyond one short paragraph, and you lose your audience. The key is that it feeds into the core values. In the case of Starbucks, the mission statement flows very nicely into their six values. Having read a great deal about Starbucks since its founding, and like many people having used it as my alternate office, I believe their stated values are clearly communicated and implemented throughout the organization. Most importantly, the mission statement aligns with their stated core values and both breed alignment of people throughout the Starbucks organization.

core values

How to Implement Your Core Values

And here is the crux: Creating your core values is one thing, implementing them is another. The only benefit you get from encapsulating Core Values is if they are communicated, oriented, trained, and used throughout the organization. As guiding principles, they offer no value (pun intended!) if they are not used. They offer no value if no one believes them. They offer no value if they are just blah fluff!  For core values to be effective, they must actually fit within the organizational framework. They must actually be the guiding principles upon which your success depends. They must actually be lived by the leaders at every level of the organization.

So, how do you implement your core values across multi-unit operations and therefore align your teams to a common purpose? It starts with the interview and hiring process. During your interview with a prospective manager or front-line employee, you must get answers to several questions to find out if this person is someone you truly want to hire. For me, there are five:

  1. Does this person have the potential to be an extraordinary employee or perhaps even one of the top three in their department?
  2. If this employee came over for dinner, would your significant other think you were nuts?
  3. If this person were to take a job at your biggest competitor, would you be angry that they are there instead of with you?
  4. If your mother (or any super VIP) was in their station, would you feel confident that she would be taken care of?
  5. Do you feel that they share your core values – will they be a black cloud or ray of sunshine?

Answer these questions internally first. Then, if the answers work for you and you wish to hire that person, move on to discussing your core values and mission statement with the prospective employee.  For me, the best way to do this is during a proper orientation. 

Before ever getting on the schedule or starting a shift, every new hire should be properly oriented to your business and values. You, a senior leader, or a qualified HR person should sit with the new hire(s) and run through your employee handbook and other manuals, paying special attention to how you want to operate the business and the values you expect them to espouse. The new hire needs to hear, explicitly, how you want them to work and why. In this way, the ground rules are set forever, and later in their tenure, you can use your core values as part of every action from day-to-day education, coaching and counseling sessions, and especially annual reviews.

How to Operationalize Your Core Values

From there, how do you operationalize your core values?  The answer is simple, but it does take consistent effort.  You need to include your core values in every facet of your HR and day-to-day workflow. For example, during my time in the early days of Gramercy Tavern and the Union Square Hospitality Group (from 1995 – 2003), I split annual reviews for all employees into two sections. One section a review of the technical skills required for their particular role, and the second section a review of the emotional maturity and embodiment of our core values that was the same for all employees. People working for us knew that technically being a good cook, or server, or manager did not mean you got to keep your job. They knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they needed to be a living, breathing embodiment of our values. As we expanded to more unique individual restaurants, the menu, beverages, and design for each venue may have been different, but the Core Values were still the same. 

How to Retrofit New/Revised Core Values

For a currently operating multi-unit operation, how do you retrofit new or revised values into your ongoing business?  Once again, the answer is simple, but does take effort. Instead of starting with an individual employee at the interview process, you will need to meet with all employees during group sessions to provide them with a fresh re-orientation of your values. Once again, outline your values, but more importantly, outline your expectations of how the team should embody those values and lay out the ground rules for how they will be monitored and evaluated. Most importantly, include the team in the core values development. Ask them how they feel about the process, what they think of the values, and what input they would offer to help this succeed. By engaging the team in the values process, you gain their buy-in upfront, vest them in, and ensure its success.

From this point forward, every decision – operational or otherwise – should be based on how it ties to or positively or negatively affects your core values. Every hire should be based on whether the prospective employee believes in and embodies your core values. Every employee review should include a discussion of how the employee feels as well as how they performed.

While it takes time and effort to instill and install your values the first time, it ultimately makes your life and work easier.  People – even across multiple units – who are aligned with a common mission and purpose are more apt to believe in you, to support your goals and each other, and to be engaged in the success of all businesses. Isn’t this worth a bit of effort?

 

Are you registered for our Crave and Crave on the Menu newsletters? Sign up today!

Plan to Attend or Participate in the 2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 18-20, 2024

To learn about the latest trends, issues and hot topics, and to experience and taste the best products within the bar, restaurant and hospitality industry, plan to attend Bar & Restaurant Expo 2024 in Las Vegas. Visit BarandRestaurantExpo.com.

To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at the 2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo, contact:

Veronica Gonnello ​(for companies A to G)​ e: [email protected]​ p: 212-895-8244

​Tim Schultz​ (for companies H to Q) ​e: [email protected]​ p: 917-258-8589

Fadi Alsayegh ​(for companies R to Z)​ e: [email protected] p: 917-258-5174​

Also, be sure to follow Bar & Restaurant on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest industry news and trends.