Organisational values

“Our mission and core values drive our culture and are the foundation of our practice. We measure each decision against these standards.” Chris Hanslik

It is always interesting to look at different organisations and view what they say they do in terms of values.  Quite often, what they say and what you see – may be quite different.

I have just returned from a holiday in which we cruised the Mekong River through Cambodia and Vietnam.  Unfortunately, one of the guests became unwell on this trip and it was very interesting watching the organisation and how they acted for the individual and her family.

The organisation not only advised the family member on how to access health services, but they also sent a crew member who spoke both English and the native language.  The crew member not only assisted them in the travel component but also translated for both the medical team and family.  Not on one occasion but multiple.  They certainly raised their bar when things got tough and it was noted by many of us on this journey.

This has had me thinking about incidents that have occurred at other organisations and how they reacted to adverse conditions.  Did they step up, or down?  I recall many incidents happening in my workplaces over the years and unfortunately, not all were handled so well as this one with compassion and care.  At times, the written values and mission statement don’t match with their actions at all.

One of my workplaces claim that “people care for people”, yet when an incident happened, they didn’t deal with it at all.  When I finally left due to this incident and others, they also denied me an exit interview.  Thankfully I spoke with Human Resources and worked on another way of getting my information out.  This process was clearly directed to allow bad and toxic behaviour to keep going without any solutions.  This is not putting people first!

I have also had great experiences with workplaces and note that when cancer came into my life, a workplace of only two weeks was very supportive.  Both at the time of my operation, radiation and chemotherapy.  This was all happening with COVID and if there were any outbreaks at work, they encouraged me to work from home.  They were exceptional for me at this time and I am very thankful, as I know that the family are from our cruise.