By Paul Binsfeld, president and founder of Company Nurse, LLC

Almost every company has a set of core values. But not every company stands by them. It’s not until each member of your organization truly understands and becomes a reflection of these values that you can begin to build a great culture.

A culture that people take notice of. That people want to be a part of.

That’s what we learned at Company Nurse. When we redefined our core values in 2016, we looked at the everyday actions of our team and the components of our culture that people loved the most; that made them want to come to work. And we went ahead and made them our core values:

  • Do the right thing
  • Go the extra two miles
  • Driven to find solutions
  • Compassion for everyone
  • Work together to work it out

Focusing on and developing these values has proven to build a culture so strong that we are able to not only maintain low turnover rates but attract back employees who had left us for new opportunities.

Why does this work? Because we don’t just expect our employees to live out the core values, we make sure we, as a company, practice what we preach. Here’s a little insight – directly from employees who have returned – into each of our core values and how they help create a culture people can’t stay away from.

Do the Right Thing

We first must make sure we do the right thing for our employees and make work a place where they feel comfortable. As one rehired employee puts it, “I need a company that cares about its employees.”

We provide our employees with the training and materials they need to succeed and feel confident in their positions. Delivering constructive feedback, kindly, ensures that we do just that.

“Company Nurse allows employees greater flexibility and ensures their employees are able to relax and be stress-free while performing their job. No other company…made me feel comfortable —  until I started here,” states another employee who rejoined our team.

In turn, our employees do the right thing for each other, our clients, and our company.

Go the Extra Two Miles

Each day, we are inspired by the passion our team members have not just for their career, but for their family, their friends, and their activities outside of the workplace.

And we go the extra two miles to make sure our employees make the most of their personal time. Another returned employee explains, “The company works hard to provide flexibility and work-life balance for its employees.”

This means flexible hours, work-from-home days, and actually encouraging employees to take vacations (those PTO days are there for a reason!).

Employees remember when you go the extra two miles for them — especially when it impacts their lives outside of work.

Driven to Find Solutions

With our innovative nature, we had to include “driven to find solutions” when developing our core values. When we started as pioneers in our industry, it was important for us to develop innovative services that no one had ever used before.

Although today we are well-established, we continue to develop creative solutions to enhance our processes and services for our clients.

And we take the time to find real solutions that work for the long-term. As one of our team members states, “I returned to Company Nurse because I’d rather work smart than work hard.”

Compassion for everyone

Yes, we want our staff to be talented, but that doesn’t mean anything unless they are kind. A workplace is not effective unless people feel welcomed and encouraged to work in it.

We make sure we are not only kind to our employees, but that they extend that kindness to each other.

We have had several employees return, specifically citing, “Company Nurse has a wonderful culture and even more wonderful employees! The environment is welcoming and supportive.”

Work together to work it out

At Company Nurse, each team member understands that they are, in fact, working as part of a team.

People come back not only because they have found their “co-workers are helpful and supportive” but that “everyone is willing to jump in and help to find solutions and truly work as a team.”

Our employees appreciate a culture where they feel connected to the team and each other.

 

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Putting time into developing valuable core values can mean the difference between a culture people want to avoid and one that people can’t get enough of.

Click here to learn more about Company Nurse and why we were named one of the Top Companies to work for in Arizona.