How To Apply Values Using Q&A

Allstate is a Fortune 100 company. They have five values:

• Honesty, Caring and Integrity
• Inclusive Diversity
• Engagement
• Accountability
• Superior Performance

Surprisingly, Allstate does not list their values on their website. But they do have an impressive 48-page Code of Ethics document that talks about “Values in Action”.

A key theme throughout the document is operating with integrity. Since integrity is such an important value, I’m not sure why they didn’t make this a standalone value instead of mixing it with Caring…

Nevertheless, to help reinforce this message throughout the Code of Ethics document, Allstate management has included an impressive 16 examples of expected behaviors or decisions that they expect from employees. They’re all labeled Integrity in Action and are structured in a Question & Answer format.

The use of Q&As is a brilliant way to provide real life examples in a familiar setting. Each question appears as if an employee is asking someone in HR about a real problem or concern. The answer provided sets a clear bar on appropriate behaviors and/or decisions.

Q&A Examples

Here are just three Q&A examples from Allstate’s Code of Ethics document.

Example#1:

Q: I work at the Customer Contact Center. I’ve nearly closed the sale of an auto product to one of our current home- owner policyholders. She wants to compare our product with that of a competitor. Personally, it is my opinion that the competitor’s product is not as good as ours. May I share my thoughts on the competitor’s offering with the customer?

A: No. You may not share your personal opinion, but you may provide information on the factual differences and how our product helps meet the customer’s needs. We are committed to selling our products and services based on their competitive merits, not by disparaging the product and service offerings of a competitor. You should reinforce all of the benefits of our offering to help the customer determine if it suits her needs.

Example#2:

Q: I work in Claims and I just received a call from someone at a body shop stating that he towed our customer’s insured vehicle and that it is currently at their facility. They have requested the claim number and the customer’s phone number. I have authenticated the caller, but I haven’t spoken to our customer yet. Should I provide the phone number to the body shop representative?

A: Although you have authenticated the caller, you do not have our customer’s permission to release their personal information. Before you provide the customer’s phone number, you should contact the customer, verify the vehicle’s location and ask permission to provide their personal data to the body shop. Our customers should expect nothing less than our absolute commitment to protecting their personal data.

Example#3:

Q: I use a popular social networking site and want to reference Allstate as my employer, along with my service date. Am I allowed to do this?

A: You are permitted to reference Allstate as your employer. However, if you do so, you will need to add a disclaimer stating that the views you post on the site are your personal opinions and not necessarily representative of Allstate’s position. Always be sure to comply with our Social Media Policy.

Benefits of Q&A Format

Using a Q&A format similar to the way Allstate has done it here provides the following key benefits:

• Makes it relevant. The questions included in the Q&A are the type of questions many employees may encounter or are at least considering. Having these questions appear as if a real employee asked them makes it more personal and real.
• Provides a useful forum to teach. Instead of reading a long list of uninteresting rules, or attending a boring training session, the Q&A format is like storytelling. After each question, employees are keen to read the response and find out “what happens.”
• Creates permission to ask more. Asking a few relevant questions encourages others to ask additional questions. As in group settings, often individuals just need someone else to pave the way for them to ask their question.

Of course, this format is not just for talking about integrity. It would work well to highlight any value. Imagine a document that had numerous Q&As under the headings “Innovation in Action” or “Teamwork in Action” or “Service in Action”.

Q&As can be a great way to bring values to life.

 

What are other benefits of using the Q&A format to highlight values?