The values required by construction, results of Barrett Values Centre data

So I was interested to know when we’ve had conversations leading up to this interview there’s actually some data that you’ve got in connection with the construction industry. So would you like to share that with us? Yes so the organisation’s data has been analysed to show up what it is that seems to be the most important for people in terms of the desired culture that they want to see in the industry. The things that got most voted as having the highest request for an increase in this particular value to show up and also those things that were linked to a business needs score-card for the industry.

So what showed up through that analysis is that people are calling for more information sharing and open communication. They’re calling for more accountability and employee recognition and they’re calling for leadership development and increased balance between home and work. That shows me that there’s a request really for more personal mastery in the industry that would underpin the theme of collaboration. Collaboration is definitely a buzz word in the industry at the moment.

What I’ve found really interesting to come out of what you said there was that it definitely links with the themes that are coming through in the industry right now So we’ve got building information modelling which is coming into play so it’s mandatory for centrally procured projects that the government are procuring it’s mandatory to produce a model So this is a three-dimensional model of the building and what that needs is collaboration so this technology needs that level of collaboration and sharing information and this is one of the challenges that the industry has so a lot the time they don’t actually understand what the collaboration actually means but also what I found interesting was that we came out of a recession.

In the recession the industry clamped down on training and development Yes. So obviously now there’s a call for… they want that leadership training but also the fact that people are recognising as well they need to have that work life balance So I think those, the results of that survey I think they really do reflect what’s called for and what’s happening in the industry right now but what we need to do is actually be able to do it.

Yes and I think reflecting on your own values is actually a great starting point to do that It is a good starting point because if people are living their own values in the workplace then they’re more engaged and if they’re more engaged then you’re going to have a higher revenue growth in the industry. There are many many studies and the resource pack that comes with your program is full of lots of evidence research, case studies. There was one that was 2008 Hewitt and Associates in conjunction with the Barrett Values Centre.

163 organisations in Australia It showed a direct correlation between a healthy values sorry, unhealthy values in a workplace creating an unhealthy work culture creates low engagement which really brings down the revenue growth and the reverse is true. High… healthy culture, positive values in the workplace raises…. correlates with high employee engagement which directly correlates with revenue growth brand recognition, talent attraction shareholder value increase, profit. Competitive advantage, in essence in this day and age is linked to the culture you have in the workplace.

The question I would pose to people engaging on this program is; ‘given your personal values results those things that you find are important are there any of those values that could be expressed in the business context through being more open in your communication and sharing information or by taking more accountability or holding others to account or by giving or receiving recognition in the workplace or by leadership or growing your own leadership or by managing your balance of home and work if any of that speaks to you in terms of your personal values results then there’s a real opportunity here for a win win because the more that you live your own values the more happy, fulfilled and congruent you feel and if those values fit in with what the industry is calling for the more the industry is going to thrive.

To have a competitive advantage you need an organisation that’s adaptive, responsive, has a cohesive, talented whole that’s united by some shared values so as I say in the research and the resource pack attached there is a wealth of information about the business case for supporting the alignment of personal values and business values in line with the business strategy and what difference that makes to the outcome for an industry OK brilliant well thanks for sharing that information it’s been really interesting My pleasure. It makes business sense to do it so thanks for sharing that with us Thank you for having me.