We regularly celebrate the uniqueness of our culture. It is something we are proud of and we strive to build on it daily. Of course, as we’ve stated before, values do not equal culture but they do form part of DotActiv’s foundation.
As part of our Values campaign, we have unpacked the meaning and application of our various values in greater detail. That’s because when you truly understand the meaning of the words of each value, they become more powerful.
If you would like to read more about our first value - “We are passionate about our business” - you can read this article.
What are DotActiv’s values?
Our values are the foundation and guidelines of our company. They are the key to our success, define who we are as a collective, and set us apart from the competition. They also underpin our vision and mission statements, business strategies, decisions, actions and behaviours as individuals.
When our directors sat down to define the values of DotActiv, they came up with 11. These company values form part of DotActiv’s core existence and are (always) top of mind while working towards our mission and vision.
- We are passionate about our business and promote a positive, energising, optimistic and fun environment.
- We do not tolerate poor performance.
- We strive to get it right the first time, every time, on time.
- We regard change as a constant and adapt accordingly.
- We value mutually beneficial relationships based on cooperative and collaborative teamwork.
- We treat each other with mutual trust and respect and celebrate our differences.
- We build long term relationships with our colleagues and customers.
- We openly demonstrate a commitment to fairness, integrity and ethics.
- We actively encourage, develop and share knowledge.
- We empower independent decision-making and encourage free thinking.
- We understand profitability and the concept of a business within a business.
What is on the agenda?
We will be unpacking the definitions of our sixth value today which is:
“We treat each other with mutual trust and respect and celebrate our differences.”
Let’s break down the key words in our sixth value.
Treat: To behave towards someone or deal with something in a particular way.
Mutual: Used to describe something that is done or felt by all or two people in a group.
Trust: To believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable.
Respect: Politeness, honour, and care shown towards someone or something that is considered important.
Celebrate: To express admiration and approval for something or someone.
Differences: The way in which two or more things which you are comparing are not the same.
Living this value
What do our employees say about how they live out this value daily?
One of our employees, Angeliz Venter, explains:
“For this value, I really looked internally for how this value has reflected onto my life within DotActiv,” she says. “A good example of this is when I had a sales meeting with a big lighting retailer in New York and I had no concrete knowledge about the subject or categories. I contacted Michael Puckering, who works with these categories on one of our accounts to help me understand more about them and educate me on the subject. He assisted me so well with information, visual examples and went out of his way to help me.”
“Even though we are in completely different departments of the business and rarely speak to each other, I could trust my colleague to assist me with gaining context of their categories and assist in the sales side of things.”
Another colleague, Tayla Grifo, also shared her perspective.
“We have a large portfolio of Spanish speaking customers and very few of them have someone who can communicate in English which could potentially lead to non-engagement,” says Tayla.
“It was suggested to make use of Google Translate (as risky as it can be) to start communicating with our non-English speaking clients. It helped - customers who were deemed non-engaging began engaging with us and were more excited about using the software. Communication is one of the fundamentals needed to build rapport and in turn build trust with our clients.”
“Because of the cultural difference between us and our clients, we also decided to conduct some culture research of other countries. It will allow us to gain an understanding of our client’s culture and, in turn, show them that we respect them and their culture, allowing us to nurture our relationships with them.”
“It just goes to show that by recognising our differences we were able to celebrate them and build long-lasting relationships with our clients based on mutual trust and respect.”
Bringing it all together
To further explain this value, one could compare an office to a beehive where a group of creatures are working together towards a common goal. However, the main difference is that while all the bees are the same or similar, in an office environment, each person is different.
Due to these differences, it is important to practice trust and respect in the workplace. Here’s why:
Trust in the workplace has a big impact on how employees collaborate and work together. Research shows that work environments with high trust levels enjoy higher productivity, more energy at work and fewer sick days.
Respect in the workplace consists of inclusion, listening attentively, demonstrating appreciation, making every voice feel heard and being understanding. This is important as disrespectful work environments lead to an unengaged and unhappy workforce.
Respect ensures that a workplace is a comfortable place for everyone. Everyone wants to be respected and comfortable in a place where they spend the majority of their days.
Conclusion
At DotActiv, it is a part of our culture that we celebrate each other and show genuine interest in each other and our differences. This brings us back to the point made - our values do not equal our culture but they are very much part of the foundation. That’s why it is vital that we understand our values and apply them to all of our activities at work.
Interested in working at DotActiv? You can find out more about what positions are open here.
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