Walk into any corporate office and you’ll likely spot them: corporate values printed on glossy posters, etched into lobby walls, or buried in employee handbooks. These aspirational statements represent what organizations claim to stand for: integrity, innovation, collaboration.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: most companies struggle to translate these ideals into the lived reality of their workplace culture.
Corporate values are the principles that guide decision-making and behavior within an organization. Workplace culture, on the other hand, is what actually happens day-to-day. The unwritten rules, behaviors, and experiences that shape how work gets done. When these two elements align, magic happens. Employee engagement soars, retention improves, and organizational performance reaches new heights.
“You don’t get to set and forget your culture and values like a rotisserie chicken.” Aubrey warns.
In our recent What the FTE? podcast episode, Aubrey Blanche, founder of The Mathpath and former Global Head of Equitable Design at Culture Amp, shared her proven framework for operationalizing values in ways that actually stick. Her approach cuts through the corporate fluff to create authentic alignment between what companies say they value and how they actually operate.
The Problem of Values Misalignment in Organizations
Values misalignment creates a credibility gap that employees can spot from miles away. When leadership preaches “work-life balance” while sending emails at midnight, or champions “psychological safety” while penalizing dissenting opinions, the disconnect becomes toxic. This isn’t just about hypocrisy-it’s about broken trust.
The consequences ripple through every level of the organization:
- Employee cynicism replaces genuine engagement
- Talent retention plummets as people seek authentic cultures elsewhere
- Decision-making becomes inconsistent without clear value anchors
- Brand reputation suffers when internal reality doesn’t match external messaging
Many companies attempt quick fixes through surface-level initiatives. Pizza parties labeled as “team building.” Diversity training that checks boxes without changing behaviors. Wellness programs that ignore systemic burnout. These performative culture initiatives often backfire, creating more skepticism than support.
The data tells the story: Gallup research shows that only 23% of employees strongly agree that they can apply their organization’s values to their work. When values exist only on paper, workplace culture challenges multiply, creating environments where people show up physically but check out mentally.
Aubrey Blanche’s 3-Part Framework for Operationalising Values
When organizations struggle to bridge the gap between stated values and lived culture, they need a systematic approach. During our conversation on operationalising values & culture, Aubrey shared her proven framework from her work at companies like Atlassian and CultureAmp, for embedding values into the real mechanics of work.
Aubrey’s approach cuts through the noise of corporate platitudes with three concrete steps that transform values from wall art into operational reality. Her framework focuses on operationalizing values through intentional design at three critical touchpoints: attraction, selection, and development.
Part 1: Crafting a Clear Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
The foundation of authentic culture starts before anyone walks through your door. EVP clarity serves a dual purpose: attracting the right people while enabling candidate self-selection for those who won’t thrive in your environment.
This strategic honesty prevents costly mis-hires that drain team energy and morale. The data supports this approach: LinkedIn’s Employer Brand Report shows 75% of job seekers research an employer’s brand before applying, while Gartner research indicates that EVP-aligned organizations reduce employee turnover by nearly 70%.
Practical strategies for developing EVP clarity include:
- Be explicit about pace and expectations: If your company moves fast, say so upfront
- Show values in action: Instead of listing “equity” as a value, demonstrate specific initiatives and outcomes
- Highlight leadership style: Describe how decisions get made and who has input
- Use employee stories: Let current team members explain what thrives and what challenges them
Treat your EVP as a filter, not just a recruitment tool. The goal isn’t to appeal to everyone-it’s to help the right people opt in while making it easier for misaligned candidates to opt out.
“Getting your EVP clear is a really good sorting mechanism.” Aubrey says. “It helps the wrong people self‑select out.”
Tip: In this context, leveraging social media in recruitment marketing can be a game-changer. By effectively utilizing social media platforms, organizations can enhance their EVP visibility, showcase their authentic culture, and attract candidates who actually align with their values.
2: Embedding Values into Processes and Decision-Making
Once your EVP attracts the right candidates, the real work begins: operationalising values throughout your hiring and performance systems. Aubrey Blanche’s second pillar focuses on embedding values into the mechanics of how you evaluate, promote, and develop talent.
“Don’t ask what someone believes. Ask what they’ve done.” Aubrey says.
This shift from hypothetical to behavioural questioning transforms how you assess cultural fit. Instead of asking “Do you value collaboration?” try “Tell me about a time you had to build consensus on a team project. What worked? What didn’t?” You’re not fishing for the right answer-you’re observing patterns in how candidates actually operate.
Harvard Business Review confirms that behavioural interviews predict future performance far better than values-based questions, and McKinsey finds organizations that prioritize people performance deliver revenue growth plus better retention and morale.
Aubrey recommends pre-building value-aligned questions into your hiring toolkit. For example, if “courage” defines your culture, ask about times candidates pushed back on senior stakeholders. If “innovation” matters, explore how they’ve challenged existing processes.
The same principle applies to performance reviews, promotions, and everyday decision-making. Values become operational when they’re woven into the systems that shape careers and recognize contributions.
3. Building Values-Aligned Leadership and Accountability
The third pillar of Aubrey Blanche’s framework tackles the most critical-and often overlooked-element of operationalising values: embedding them into your performance and accountability systems.
“Values are useless unless they show up in your systems,” Aubrey says. “And performance reviews are one of your most powerful systems.”
Most companies evaluate employees based solely on KPIs, completely ignoring how those outcomes were achieved. Aubrey argues that values should be baked into the performance process-not as soft metrics, but as real drivers of promotion, compensation, and feedback.
This approach is gaining serious traction. Great Place to Work’s 2023 Workplace Trends Report identified values-based performance management as a rising differentiator among high-performing organisations. When values are used to recognise and reward-not just punish-they start shaping behaviour at scale.
Consider this: if “inclusion” is a company value, leaders should be evaluated not just on team output, but on how psychologically safe their team feels. If “curiosity” drives your culture, create space to recognize employees who challenge the status quo or propose breakthrough ideas.
Aubrey’s practical advice? Keep it simple. Pick 1–2 core values and add them to your performance review template. Ask: “How did this person embody our values in the past quarter?” Then ensure that feedback drives real action.
Culture doesn’t just happen. It requires structure, systems, and reflection.
If you’d like to hear Aubrey unpack this with examples, missteps, and yes – Certn’s retired bike program – listen to the full episode of What the FTE?.
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