We are excited to announce an important change: Kaspien’s Leadership Principles are being replaced with #OneKaspien Values.
Our #OneKaspien Values
We Are Partner Obsessed
Our customers are our partners. Every decision is focused on building mutually beneficial relationships that deliver results.
We Are Insights Driven
We make data actionable. Our curiosity drives us to discover opportunities early and often.
We Create Simplicity
We challenge the status quo. We take the complicated and simplify it.
We Take Ownership
We make things happen. We hold ourselves accountable and have a bias for action.
We Empower Each Other
We welcome and learn from diverse experiences. Our empathy ignites innovation and empowers meaningful change.
Why Did We Make the Change?
Words have power. That’s why it’s so important that we be intentional about which words we use. When we asked ourselves about the intent of our Leadership Principles, we worked our way back to the root question: who are they meant for? The answer: our people.
Kaspien is a mission driven and partner-obsessed company. Achieving our mission and delivering value to our partners starts with our people. Our #OneKaspien Values define the behaviors we seek and cultivate in our employees. When we embrace these values and demonstrate these behaviors, we are primed to achieve our goals.
What Changed?
Employee-Centric Messaging
The first and foremost change is that all our values had to be written with our employees as the intended audience. Do they describe behaviors that we can seek in job candidates? Do they describe behaviors we seek when assessing for raises and promotions?
We can use our #OneKaspien Values during interviews. “Tell me about a time where you created simplicity. Tell me about a time where you took ownership for a project. Tell me about a time you learned from others and applied your learning to improve a process or result.” The people who can readily answer them are the people we want on our teams.
From 7 Principles to 5 Values
One of our values is “We Create Simplicity.” Recalling five items is simply easier to remember than seven. We simplified by eliminating redundancies.
Specifically, we combined “We are Partner Obsessed” and “We Deliver Results” because being partner obsessed requires that we deliver meaningful results. Likewise, we combined “We Innovate” with “We are Simple in Our Approach” because what is innovation but taking the complicated and simplifying it?
Changes in Word Choice
You’ll notice that most of our Leadership Principles were preserved in some way, but all underwent some revisions. We’d like to explain a few of those of those changes:
We are Simple in Our Approach >> We Create Simplicity
The key problem is the former phrasing was passive. The latter is active. “Create” is also a powerful word here, as it implies that the default state is not simple; it is complex, and we take an active role in simplifying it.
We are Owners >> We Take Ownership
Similar to the previous example, the former phrasing was too passive. The intent remains the same, but the wording makes it much clearer: We take accountability for our actions and the results. The buck stops here.
We Believe in the Power of Diversity and Teamwork >> We Empower Each Other
While grammatically “believe” is an action word, the phrasing “we believe in” was simply too passive. It implies that diversity and teamwork are something to be believed in or not, rather than something that is objectively beneficial. We wanted a value that described action, because it’s what we do with our diverse experiences and teamwork that matters. At Kaspien, they ignite innovation and empower meaningful change.
“Principles” vs “Values”
Why did we shift from Leadership Principles to #OneKaspien Values? “Principles” implies rules to live by. “Values” implies things we deliberately embrace. The distinction, while subtle, is important because we want to hire and grow people who share these values.
There is also the added benefit that the word “value” brings to mind that we value our employees and create value for our partners, two things we’re strongly committed to.
Why the Hashtag?
We chose to incorporate a hashtag in #OneKaspien because, in the age of social media, a hashtag transforms a declaration into an invitation. #OneKaspien is an invitation to join, share, and contribute to the Kaspien story.
Values that Drive Meaningful Outcomes
Our teams put a great deal of thought and care into this change, and we hope it shines through. Our #OneKaspien Values define the behaviors that permeate our culture. These behaviors are the input. Their output is meaningful results for our partners.
If our values resonate with you, you’d likely fit in well here. Visit our careers page to view current openings!
