How enterprise values drive human experience

When organisations balance human values with business objectives such as efficiency and productivity, they can deliver a better experience for all stakeholders.

Every decision comes down to values. As an individual, is it better to opt for efficiency in the form of instant coffee, or go for the full sensory experience and brew a pour-over cup with freshly ground beans? As an organization, is it better to source the cheapest coffee available or invest the time and resources to ensure an ethical supply chain?

Depending on the situation, many different values can come into play – and that’s certainly true during the COVID-19 crisis. Asked what organizational outcomes they hope to achieve in response to the pandemic, executives say they are prioritizing increased efficiency, improved risk management, and an accelerated shift to digital, according to Deloitte’s “2021 Global Marketing Trends” research. Yet the next three objectives cited reveal the importance of human experience: C-suite leaders also hope to improve customer engagement, retain top talent, and increase their company’s impact on society.

How can executives strike a balance between organizational needs for greater efficiency and people’s universal need for connection? It starts with being more human. Just as COVID-19 and a reckoning with systemic racism led people to reconsider their personal values, organizations can do the same to meet the needs of their customers, workforces, and business partners. By bringing human values to the forefront of their solutions – and balancing the need for efficiency with the need for human connection – organizations can establish a foundation for long-term relationships with all stakeholders.

Values-Based Solutions

Why start with values? Values drive human emotions and actions – and can differentiate one group of consumers from another. Deloitte research reveals that Americans tend to fall into three distinct mindsets in their response to the pandemic. Protectors are most cautious about the coronavirus, while Pragmatists are open to trying new things – so long as safety measures are observed. Prevailers, meanwhile, place a high value on personal freedom and are less willing to deviate from pre-pandemic routines.

When developing solutions to meet customer needs, it’s important for organizations to understand the range of human values across the spectrum from Protector to Prevailer. For example, IKEA’s augmented reality design room – which pairs customers with interior designers to help them visualize how different products might look in a living space – accommodates both customers who want to be more cautious and those who want to try new things. Importantly, this innovation also aligns with the global furniture maker’s vision to “create a better everyday life” for all stakeholders.

Beyond prompting organizations to reexamine customer values, crises like the pandemic can also be an opportunity for companies to look within and redesign enterprise structures to create a more values-driven approach to business. Today, some leading brands have actively engaged in such self-assessment, including PepsiCo. The beverage maker implemented three pillars of policy change – and corresponding measurable goals – to address issues of inequality and systemic racism among its employees, business partners, and the communities it serves. Among other commitments, PepsiCo has pledged to increase recruitment at historically Black colleges and universities, double PepsiCo spending with Black-owned suppliers, and invest $20 million in programs to provide jobs, mentoring, and management training for Black-owned small businesses.

Many companies are reorienting around human values, and there are many ways to do it. Improving the human experience takes more than simply good intentions – it also requires a deliberate and systematic effort to uncover stakeholders’ values and address them holistically.

Becoming a Bit More Human

Reimagining the organization to be more human often starts with empathetic leadership. As part of their efforts to elevate the human experience, business leaders can focus on three strategies:

Search for blind spots. This process most likely starts with the CEO playing an active role in reaching out to the organization’s stakeholders. Ultimately, it’s about listening to customers, employees, and business partners to better understand – and address – what matters most to them.

Look before you leap. When responding to major societal movements or brand crises, it’s not acceptable to remain on the sidelines forever – but sometimes an organization just isn’t ready to jump in, and that’s okay. It’s better to take the time to ensure that a company’s words match its actions rather than reacting quickly and potentially coming across as inauthentic.

Be proactive. How can organizations align their values with those of stakeholders? They can turn to the CMO, who is often seen as the customer champion (and perhaps, more broadly, as the human champion). The CMO can use this position to advocate for the needs of the most important stakeholders and ensure that the entire organization is positioned to address those needs authentically.

Moving fast and striving for efficiency will always be important for businesses, but in times of crisis, values are also essential. When executives pause to reflect on stakeholder needs, they can design more sustainable solutions that tap into the most important element of the human experience – a universal need for connection.