Kurt Tyack, director at Signarama Southern Africa, says the sign industry is chaotic by nature. But sometimes the chaos is not just caused by the industry itself. Sometimes it’s amplified by something much simpler: a lack of clear core values.
After more than 20 years in the sign industry, working in almost every role from production and installation to leadership as a franchisor, I have seen how important core values are in keeping a business aligned.
Without them, teams often pull in different directions. Accountability can slip, shortcuts are taken and mistakes happen. When that happens, the customer is usually the one who suffers.
Core values provide a simple framework for behaviour. They guide how people act, particularly when pressure is high and decisions need to be made quickly.
I remember a project early in my career where a sign had to be installed before the opening of a shopping mall. Four of us worked through the entire night to complete the job, finally loading the sign onto the installation vehicle at around 2am so that it could be installed by 6am ahead of the 9am opening.
Nobody asked us to stay. But everyone understood the commitment we had made to the client and what needed to be done. That kind of response only happens when a team shares the same mindset.
Core values can also become a powerful management tool. One of our franchisees recently involved his entire team in defining their values. Later, when issues arose, the conversation was no longer personal.
Instead of saying, ‘You’re doing this wrong,’ the message became much simpler: ‘That’s not how we do things here.’
Because the team had agreed on the values together, they became a shared standard rather than something imposed by management.
Another common challenge in the sign industry is hiring purely for skills. Technical ability is important, but if someone does not align with your values, they can quickly disrupt the culture of a team. Skills can be taught but values are much harder to change.
Getting Started With Core Values
For sign company owners who have not yet defined their core values, the starting point does not have to be complicated. A few practical steps can make the process much easier:
– Involve your team. While leadership may guide the process, involving staff helps create genuine buy-in.
– Hold a workshop. Set aside time to discuss what behaviours and attitudes define the business at its best.
– Keep the list manageable. Six to eight core values is usually enough to guide behaviour without becoming overwhelming.
– Define what each value means in practice. Words like integrity or accountability can mean different things to different people, so it is important to clarify what they look like in everyday work.
– Use them in the business. Refer to them in hiring decisions, meetings, performance discussions and customer service situations.
The most successful sign businesses do not just define their values, they live them. They display them in the workplace, refer to them in meetings and recognise staff who demonstrate them.
When done properly, core values align teams, improve accountability and strengthen a company’s reputation. And in an industry as demanding and unpredictable as signage, that alignment can make all the difference.
SIGNARAMA
+27 83 278 9000
kurt@signarama.co.za
https://www.signfranchise.co.za/
