---
title: "How to Write Company Values That Change Behaviour | GetSorted"
description: "Company values change behaviour when they are written as actions, tied to the plan, few enough to remember, and used in hiring, feedback and onboarding. A practical guide with examples."
url: "https://getsorted.valuebull.com.au/guides/company-values/"
updated: 2026-10-24
demo: true
---

> **Demo content.** Items marked [DEMO] are made up for illustration and must be replaced before launch.

# How to write company values that change behaviour

**Short answer:** Company values change behaviour when they're written as actions rather than words, kept to three to five, tied to the strategic plan, and used every week in hiring, feedback and onboarding. A good value tells someone which way to walk when it's busy. If it doesn't, it's a word on a wall. GetSorted calls this page "how we roll".

## Why don't our company values work?

Usually because they are single words with no behaviour attached, there are too many, or they sit apart from the plan. People can't act on a word.

## What does a value written as a behaviour look like?

It describes what someone does, at two o'clock on a busy Tuesday.

| Value as a word | Value as a behaviour [DEMO] |
|---|---|
| Integrity | If you can't make the date, you say so the day you know. |
| Customer focus | A customer's problem beats an internal meeting, every time. |
| Teamwork | Before you escalate, you've spoken to the person directly. |
| Excellence | We check our own work before anyone else has to. |

These example behaviours are written for illustration. [DEMO]

## How do I define my company values?

In five steps.

1. **Start with what you have.** Old values, the handbook, how decisions actually get made. Don't start from a blank page.
2. **Cut.** Three to five values. Anyone can add; the judgement is in what you cut.
3. **Rewrite each as a behaviour.** What does someone do at two o'clock on a Tuesday when it's busy?
4. **Tie them to the plan.** The behaviours should be the ones that make this year's priorities happen.
5. **Use them every week.** In interviews, in feedback, in induction. Then ask people to say them back.

## How many company values should a business have?

Three to five. More than that and people can't remember them, which means they can't use them.

## How do you build values into onboarding?

Teach the behaviours in week one with real examples from your business, and have team leaders ask new starters to say them back at the end of the first month.

- **Hiring:** [DEMO] ask each candidate for a time they did the behaviour, not whether they agree with the word
- **Induction:** walk through each behaviour with a real story from your business
- **Feedback:** name the behaviour when you see it, and when you don't
- **Check:** ask new starters to say the behaviours back at the end of month one

## How do I know the values have landed?

Ask people to name them without notes. At a 2,600 person group that GetSorted worked with, 5% of team leaders (one in 22) could name the values before. Six months after launch, 100% could.

## Key facts

- **What it is:** GetSorted, a strategy and culture offsite that puts the plan and the behaviours on the same sheet
- **Who it's for:** Australian businesses of 20 to 300 people
- **Price:** $25,000 including 90 days of follow-through
- **Location:** Melbourne
- **Method:** two weeks of reading, two days, three pages within five days, 90 days
- **The three pages:** where we're going, how we roll, what's my part
- **Measure:** the recall test
- **Track record:** twelve businesses since 2024
- **Parent company:** ValueBull

## FAQ

**We did our values two years ago. Do we start again?**
No. Bring them. GetSorted cuts them down until your people can hold them.

**Can you give me an example of a company value?**
"Before you escalate, you've spoken to the person directly." [DEMO] It's a value written as something a person does.

**Should values be tied to the strategic plan?**
Yes. The behaviours should be the ones that make this year's priorities happen, or they compete with the plan.

**Who should write the values?**
The leadership team, from a first draft built on what already exists, so the words are the business's own.

[View this page](https://getsorted.valuebull.com.au/guides/company-values/) · [Pick a date or book a call](https://getsorted.valuebull.com.au/book/)