You’d have had to be living under a rock the last few weeks to not have noticed Simon Henry’s disparaging comments about Nadia Lim in the media.

The comments themselves, the outraged response to them, followed by a weak apology and real economic consequences for Henry’s firm DGL as a number of

clients abandoned ship, all point to the importance of corporate culture and values aligning.

Culture is inexorably linked to your company values and the behaviours you want your staff to exhibit.

According to DGL’s website, their values emphasise respect – for their partners, the quality of their staff, ethical practice, and – ironically – “the rich social and cultural

diversity of our communities.”

That’s why Henry’s comments, coming directly as they did from the chief executive, where so shocking.

Devoid of substance, they dismissed everything that Nadia has achieved in her professional career to focus on how she looks, and suggested her company has traded

off her appearance. This shows a total lack of respect.

If Simon Henry really believed in his company values, his comments would not have made the light of day.

From an HR perspective, his remarks raise a red flag for the likelihood of a toxic internal culture.

If you tolerate behaviour that is not in line with your company values, you create a toxic culture, which in turn leads to reduced productivity.

Poor company culture also drives resignations. Staff rate a company’s culture as one of the key issues in terms of attrition. It is often more important than pay and

work/life balance when people are deciding whether to stay or leave.

With such a competitive labour market in Central Otago, local companies can’t afford to not adhere to their values and create a positive culture.

So, take heed of the media storm that Henry stirred up and think about checking that your businesses values and actions align.

Your company values should become empowering decision-making tools that promote your brand, and leadership needs to come from the top.

Embracing your values leads to conscious thoughtfulness, greater diversity, inclusion, and respect.

The outcome is greater productivity and better staff retention, a win for any organisation.