From application to client relationship: core values in action

Formulating core values is the easy part. Bringing them to life is where it gets interesting.

At Glasnost we worked on our core values for years before they truly became part of how we worked. Not because we did not know them, but because it takes time to embed them in every process. Here I share how to do that, from the hiring conversation to the client relationship.

Step 1: Make them visible

Sounds obvious, but most companies do not do it. Hang them up. Literally. In the office, on your website, in your onboarding pack. Not as a design element, but as a topic of conversation.

At our place the core values hung in every meeting room, with a short explanation underneath. Not so much for ourselves (we knew them by then) but for clients and applicants. It makes visible who you are and who you are not. And that attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones. Both good.

Step 2: Build them into your hiring process

A hiring conversation is essentially a first measure of fit. Most conversations are about CV and experience, while the real question is whether someone can and wants to function within your culture.

My approach: for every core value, one or two behaviour-oriented questions. Not "are you entrepreneurial?", because everyone says yes to that. But "tell me about a moment you set something up without anyone asking you to." What they tell, and what they do not tell, is your answer.

And let your core values speak in your job ads too. Don't write about what the job entails, but about who fits with you. You get fewer responses. But the responses you do get are far more relevant.

Step 3: Test them in onboarding and evaluation

The first hundred days determine whether a new colleague grows into your culture or stays on the edge. Build the core values in explicitly: in your welcome conversation, in your 30-60-90-day check-ins, in your first performance conversation.

And dare to intervene early. If after three months someone clearly does not fit the core values, it will not get better after six. It only gets more painful — for them and for your team.

Step 4: Use them in performance reviews

Here it gets uncomfortable. Because testing on core values also means having conversations with people who do perform but do not fit the culture. And those are the hardest conversations there are.

But that is exactly where culture is built or broken. If you keep a top sales person who undermines the team culture, you signal to the whole team that results outweigh core values. And then your core values are worth nothing.

Step 5: Test clients on your core values

This is where most founders bail. Because turning away clients feels like throwing away money. But the wrong client costs you more than the revenue ever brings in: it eats your team, your margins and your culture.

So build a fit check into your sales process. Not just "can we do this?" but also "do we want this?" With this client, this way, for this budget. If it does not add up on one of those axes, it is usually wiser to say no.

And dare to part ways with existing clients that no longer fit. That is not a luxury, that is hygiene.

Putting core values in action is not a quarter-long project. It is a habit you build over years. But once it is in place you never have to carry the culture alone again — the whole company carries it with you. And that is exactly what a scalable business needs.