One of Inter.link’s major recent projects has been a re-evaluation and relaunch of its company values.
This article explores how these values define Inter.link, from internal communication and teamwork to delivering high-quality NaaS (Network as a Service) offerings across Europe.
What are Company Values?
Before delving into Inter.link’s new company values, let’s define what company values are overall.
Achievers, the employee recognition platform, defines company values (core values) as “the set of ethics and principles that govern a company’s decision making and actions. They also serve as the foundation for the company culture, and the behaviors expected by its workforce.”
So these values are essential for creating the company’s identity, showing internally and externally what makes the company unique.
Why are Values Important?
It can be easy to dismiss company values as marketing words to put on a website and then forget about, however when thought is truly put into defining those values and how they affect an organisation, the positive impact goes beyond the organisation, and even beyond that organisation’s clients.
The Harvard Business Review created an article called ‘Make Your Values Mean Something’ which explores the different types of values (today’s article is about Inter.link’s core values) and how to ensure that a set of values permeate through an organisation so they are upheld on a daily basis.
Values guide behaviour, including how we interact, how we do business, and shape our culture and create a feeling of belonging.
How Did Inter.link Choose its New Values?
Our people and culture team evaluated the long list of values which were put together at the company’s inception, then they arranged calls with staff to gather their thoughts and to see what the overlapping values were that everyone most identified with.
During these calls they asked two questions:
What would you miss the most about Inter.link?
What do you do every day that makes Inter.link what it is?
The purpose of these calls was not to build a consensus, the new values were not decided by voting after all, but to gain insight into what staff found to be valuable about Inter.link, including what makes Inter.link special even in day-to-day work. This included everyone across the company, with responses gathered from people of different departments, seniorities etc.
CREDO: Inter.link’s New Company Values
The people and culture team took their findings from the calls and streamlined them, considering patterns in opinions and priorities. They put together new company values which represent who we are, highlight what is important to us, and help to guide our actions and decisions.
These values are listed below and were presented at the company offsite along with a team exercise to make sure the values resonated across the company.
Collaborate
Responsible
Environment
Doer
Open
When presented at the offsite, each value within the CREDO acronym contained examples which expanded and clarified the importance of the value for Inter.link
Collaborate
– We support each other with mutual respect
– We adapt to different working styles
– We empower others and act as a role model
Responsible
– We take ownership in our triumphs and mistakes
– We make decisions and see them through
– We find solutions
Environment
– Everything we do is in respect of Mother Earth
– Our office is virtual, and our team is global
Doer
– We get our tasks done
– We challenge the status quo
– We thrive for progress towards excellence
Open
– We have an open door policy
– We communicate openly and constructively
– We foster transparency internally and externally
How Can You See Inter.link’s Values in Action?
Although CREDO is a new launch of Inter.link’s company values, these pillars have already been part of this organisation for a long time, and you can already see them in practice.
For instance, ‘Environment’ is shown to be important to us through our commitment to sustainability. Inter.link is B Corp certified, carbon neutral, and working to reach Net Zero emissions.
We even go as far as to choose sustainable options for travel to offsites and company events, and partner with establishments that also live up to this value.
In addition, the ‘Open’ value is already exemplified by the transparency in our services and portal which shows pricing, network locations, performance statistics of our network, and more. Even internally, we strive to be transparent in communicating any changes, or even goals we have as a company or a team. An example of that is how every Friday, each team shares their successes for everyone in the company to see.
Interested in Working at Inter.link?
Click here to visit our careers page.