A Plexiglas value compass provides orientation in the corporate culture
Branding is always a process. Bonner Werkstätten has also been on the path of brand development for some time. The new corporate design has now been completed and implemented – and the company has now reviewed and reorganized its values. It is very important to the workshops that the cultural values are firmly anchored in the company’s day-to-day work and philosophy. They are not meant as good advice, but as a binding basis for action for every employee at every level of the hierarchy.
The first step was for the employees themselves to crystallize the eight new guiding values in several workshops – this is the only way they can be integrated into the corporate culture in a lively way. In the written form, attention was paid to brevity and comprehensibility so that the values could be quickly memorized. The second step involved the question of how the mission statement could be incorporated into daily activities: How can you remind employees of these aspects on a daily basis, in what form are they particularly present to employees?
We found an unconventional answer to this question: instead of a presentation or a handout, we designed a very special object – the “value compass”. It integrates the company values in short and long form and reminds employees of the common foundation through its daily presence. The object consists of eight printed Plexiglas panes, which together form a column. Depending on how the panes are arranged, all the values can be placed next to each other or rearranged again and again. In this way, the value compass invites a playful examination of the Bonner Werkstätten mission statement.
To complement this unusual measure, we designed a pocket flyer and a wall panel that summarize the new values for all 1,500 employees.
