Expertise can be described as: “We build our strength on functional knowledge and being recognized as the authority in what we do.” A similar value is “Knowledge”:
“Our business depends on the skills and knowledge of our people and we are committed to developing the skills and capabilities of all of our people.”
An interesting example is this:
“Global experience – local knowledge” (1) this is very suitable for a research company.
This claim is very interesting for more reasons, but mostly because it directly supports this and other side (customer-driven) value. First, it communicates the lessons learned that global experience (what you sell) cannot happen without local knowledge (what you buy), due to cultural differences that operate locally. If this knowledge is communicated directly to the visitor (potential customers) of the site, which makes it very exemplary. An excellent example where values are credible and make sense!
Experience is a corporate asset that can be used without problems. The advantage of this value is that it applies both to people and to an entire organization which makes it very useful in the value statement.
When to use it: The above research company is a good example. Knowledge-based companies value knowledge and experience, which is a success factor for their business.
It is also a very simple value. You can almost measure it. Knowledge is difficult to measure, but related issues like learning, studying, and being open to new ideas and information are tangible items to focus on in the hiring process.
Not all companies will value the element of experience and knowledge equally. It must be fit for purpose.
Values need a balance. Experience is just one of the statement’s values and it focuses on products and services, while a company’s business is successful when these can be sold to customers. Customer focus is therefore a suitable complement, although it is not a very precise value. It would be more appropriate to combine it with: “practical” or similar values where the importance of the knowledge or experience being useless without a clear purpose is highlighted. Otherwise you will be stacking it in a silo and no one will really benefit from it.
Another complementary value is required to foster teamwork, because knowledge-based companies have an implicit dilemma of being stuck with too much individual intelligence, but a lack of organizational intelligence. Think about this when using or recreating your value statement.