This is the fourth article in our ten-part Walking the Talk series on how companies can move beyond certification and truly embody B Corp values in daily practice. After exploring Leadership Commitment, Strategic Integration, and Values-Aligned Roles, we now turn to a dimension that often determines whether values remain aspirational or become part of how people actually work.
Many companies discover that values do not spread simply because they are written down. Without shared learning, values become unevenly practiced. Some employees internalize them deeply, while others are left guessing how values should guide their decisions.
From our experience at LIFT working with 500+ social enterprises over the last 15 years, we have found that employee education is one way to close that gap.
What We Mean by Employee Education
Employee education refers to how well people across the organization understand the company’s purpose, values, and impact commitments, and how supported they feel in applying those values in their work.
In the LIFT B Corp Values Assessment, this dimension looks at patterns such as whether values are reinforced beyond onboarding, whether managers have the language to coach through a values lens, and whether employees feel equipped to navigate real trade-offs. The assessment is designed to help teams surface dynamics they often already sense but have not fully named.
Strong employee education goes far beyond a single onboarding presentation or annual training. It weaves values into onboarding, ongoing learning, leadership development, and everyday conversations, especially when ambiguity or tension arises.
At its core, this dimension asks “have we given our people what they need to live our values well?”
Why Employee Education Matters
Many companies assume that values will naturally cascade once they are documented and communicated. In practice, the opposite often happens. Without shared language and guidance, employees are left to interpret values on their own.
This uncertainty shows up in everyday B Corp decisions. A customer service representative hesitates on a refund because she is fearful of what her manager will say. A manager avoids a tough feedback conversation because values like equity or dignity feel important but hard to translate into expectations. Over time, these moments add up, leading to inconsistent decisions and disengagement.
When education is done well, employees understand how to navigate real trade-offs between stakeholders. B Corp values stop feeling abstract and become practical tools people use when decisions are hard.
What This Can Look Like in Practice
Some organizations begin by focusing on awareness and shared language.
Vector Global Logistics, a U.S.-based Certified B Corp, recognized that while employees knew the company was a B Corp, many did not understand what that meant in practice. During B Corp Month, the company hosted internal B Corp 101 sessions explaining why it pursued certification and how employees could contribute. Interactive activities, including a B Corp-themed bingo game, helped connect impact concepts to real actions and build shared language across roles.
HigherRing, a fully remote Certified B Corp, took a more distributed approach. Leadership integrated employee education into internal communications throughout B Corp Month, sharing short resources, hosting trivia and scavenger hunts, and creating space for dialogue about what certification means in daily work. Education became participatory rather than a one-time delivery.
Both examples reflect employee education efforts focused on building comfort, shared language, and engagement.
When Employee Education Is Deeply Embedded
Some organizations take employee education even further, using it to shape habits, behaviors, and norms over time.
Animikii, an Indigenous-owned digital agency and Certified B Corp, offers a strong example of what this can look like when education is culturally grounded and ongoing. Animikii’s values are rooted in the Seven Grandfather Teachings from Anishinaabe culture: Humility, Truth, Honesty, Wisdom, Respect, Courage, and Love. Rather than treating these values as abstract ideals, Animikii integrates them into how employees learn, reflect, and set goals.
Each year, team members create an Authentic Accountability Agreement, a structured reflection process that aligns professional goals, development priorities, and contributions to the community with the company’s values. Each goal is explicitly connected to one of the seven teachings. Education happens through repeated practice, not a single training. Employees revisit what the values mean in their work, how they show up in relationships, and where growth is needed. Over time, the teachings function as shared norms that guide decision-making, collaboration, and accountability.
How to Strengthen Employee Education, Practically
One of the most common questions leaders ask is “how do we get better, given where we actually are?”
This section is designed to help you identify which description feels most familiar based on lived experience, and to offer a small number of practical adjustments you could realistically make without launching a major initiative.
1 .Minimal Engagement
If there is minimal engagement around your company’s values, it can cause issues. For example, this might look like your values living in leadership language, onboarding slides, or external communications, with little connection to daily work. Employees may know the company is values-driven, but struggle to explain what that means for their role.
To address this, you could try:
A short, plain-spoken explanation of why the company chose B Corp or values-based commitments, grounded in one or two real decisions.
Concrete examples tied to actual roles.
One visible, repeatable signal that values matter, such as a brief reflection at all-hands or a standing question in team meetings.
At this stage, the goal is orientation. People need shared language before they can apply it.
2. Sporadic Engagement
At this stage of cultural embodiment, sporadic is the key word. Some folks on your team may talk about values regularly, while others rarely do. Education shows up in bursts, often driven by individual managers, then fades.
If this sounds like your company, you could focus on:
Giving managers a small set of prompts they can rely on when decisions get murky.
Folding values into moments that already matter, especially retrospectives, project debriefs, and performance conversations.
Appreciating team members in a public way for actions that embody the company’s values. For example, at LIFT Economy, we have an “appreciation” team chat where we appreciate other folks on the team for actions or behaviors that are indicative of our core values.
The work here is about consistency. Values should not disappear once onboarding ends.
Frequent Engagement
At this level, values are already part of the organization’s vocabulary. Employees can generally name them and see how they apply. The work here is about depth and relevance.
You can try strengthening the practice by:
Making space for conversations about real tensions and trade-offs.
Letting employees influence what education focuses on next, based on where values feel unclear in practice.
As a leader, using vulnerability to model where you could have made a decision that better aligns with the company’s B Corp values, and committing to doing better next time.
At this stage, employee education shifts from reinforcement to being a living and breathing part of the culture. Unfortunately it does need to be continually reinforced (especially by leaders), or the culture will slowly revert back to “average.”
Reflection Questions for Leaders and Teams
How do new hires learn what your values look like in practice?
Where do employees hesitate because expectations feel unclear?
How often do managers explicitly connect values to decisions and feedback?
What habits or norms are being reinforced, intentionally or not?
The Road Ahead
Employee education helps connect intention to action. While early efforts focus on awareness, more mature organizations build shared language, habits, and norms that reinforce values through daily practice. Full embodiment occurs when education is continuous, practical, and embedded in how people learn, lead, and decide together.
For teams looking for a structured way to reflect on this journey, the LIFT B Corp Values Assessment can serve as a helpful companion, not as a checklist, but as a conversation starter.
In the next article, we’ll explore Part 5: Policy and Operations Alignment, and how written policies, systems, and everyday practices reinforce the values your people are being asked to live.
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