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Every company has a list of core values, carefully crafted to represent their ideals. However, I would guess that very few employees are even aware of their company’s core values, let alone use them as a guiding principle. If the employees aren’t living out the core values, then who is?  Can those values be trusted? How do they separate your company from the pack? And most importantly, how does the company ensure that the services and experiences they provide are being passed along to their clients? 

Until a few years ago, C.E. Floyd was in the same boat. Very few, if any, of our employees could name our Core Values. Today, I can say with confidence that they all can and that it has fundamentally improved how we operate.

In May of 2018 we overhauled our core values to better fit our company and to differentiate us from our competitors. Our leadership sat down and identified what C.E. Floyd stands for and what makes it different from other General Contractors. This process took place over the course of several discussions and resulted in five truly unique values that define what it’s like to work with and for C.E. Floyd: 

• Never Shirk
• Service above All Else
• Prepare for Success
• Firm but Fair
• Work Hard/Play Hard

We were thrilled with our new set of values, but the next challenge would be getting buy-in from our employees. Without it, the values would be unique, but hold no value.

Gaining Buy-In and Living the Core Values

In June of 2018 we used our All Hands Meeting to introduce the new core values to the company. We were initially met with some hesitancy and confusion. We also received feedback that the core values would need to be explained to our clients and trade partners. “Good!” was our response. We’d welcome the opportunity to tell someone what makes us unique. We could see there was still skepticism, but we were encouraged by the conversations and feedback.

The values needed to be on display for everyone to see. Our Marketing department went into overdrive and made sure our new core values would be on display on our business cards, t-shirts, jobsite trailer signage, marketing graphics, and our office walls. There was no way they were going to be missed!

To make the commitment to our core values known both internally and externally, we also went through the additional steps to trademark our mission: Building Visions and People™. We believe that when our employees live out our core values, we create camaraderie, a greater sense of purpose, and spaces that truly reflect the client’s vision.

In order for our core values to have lasting importance, we needed to live and breathe them. We made the core values an integral part of the quarterly performance conversation so that at least four times per year we were having a discussion with each employee about how they are living up to the values. We made it clear that adherence to these core values was critical to career progression.

Lastly, we needed to celebrate our employees living out the core values on a regular basis. We created a recognition program in which employees could nominate each other for demonstrating a core value. Each quarter we round up the nominations and distribute a booklet celebrating these stories. The Core Value Recognition Committee selects five finalists – one from each core value. Each finalist receives a sticker for their hard hat displaying the relevant core value for all to see. From these finalists, the leadership team selects the overall winner for the quarter. At the quarterly All Hands meeting the winner is announced and the Golden Hammer is passed down from the previous quarter’s winner. The Golden Hammer winner also signs our logoed conference room table, securing their place in company history. Additionally, they get to create a custom bobble head in their likeness!   

Buoyed by the opportunity for employees to recognize their coworkers for going above and beyond, the program gained traction and nominations started coming in. The stories were shared and celebrated. Each quarter we’d get more nominations than the previous one. We also began to hear people referencing the core values in conversations with their coworkers: “That’s what I call Preparing for Success, right there!” or jokingly: “I hope you’re not going to Shirk your responsibility!” Before we knew it, the values were etched into the company lexicon and our people were buying in. 

The buy-in was not because the core values were crammed down everyone’s throats, but because of a gradual understanding of how the core values were integral to what makes C.E. Floyd a special place to work and a company revered for the level of service it provides. The stories and quarterly conversations provided many examples of how living these core values positively impacts employee performance, our projects, our company, and most importantly, our clients.

Creating Positive Lasting Effects

With an understanding and belief in the core values each employee has gained a “CEF moral compass” to guide them when faced with a challenge. As one employee reflected when faced with the option to take a short cut to fix a mistake and have the weekend off or to fix the mistake the right way and have to come in with a crew over the weekend, “’Never Shirk’ crept into my mind…do the right thing even though it will impact our team.”

The recognition program has had a galvanizing effect within the company. One employee noted that, “The recognition program allowed me to see how many dedicated team members there actually are and that they share the same appreciation for the values that I do.” Knowing that everyone was fighting together for the same cause made the employee feel that “CEF was worth putting 110% into every day”.

The outcome is a company where everyone believes and shares in the same vision. Everyone knows what’s important and has a compass to guide them in trying situations. It has become a part of our culture. No matter which team we place on a project, we know these critical elements of our service will be consistent and authentically passed along to our clients. For a company who operates on 93% repeat or referral business, living by our values is an absolute necessity.

Read about our Golden Hammer winners.

To learn more about how C.E. Floyd can help you with your next construction project, please contact us.