Why We Reimagined Our Values at ZircoDATA
More Than Words: Why our Values needed Reimagining
Every organisation has values (No surprise there). Fewer organisations revisit them with the intent to evolve. At ZircoDATA, we recently made that choice, to reshape not only the words on our walls, but the alignment of our mission vision and values with who we are, where we’re headed, and how we serve.
Reimagining our values wasn’t about rebranding. In fact, our purpose was to achieve clarity. The need for change came from something many companies neglect: asking whether our values still reflect how we work, what we expect of one another, and what our clients experience.
Why Companies Revisit Their Values
Company values have a powerful influence on how teams collaborate, how decisions are made, and how consistent a customer experience feels across departments. According to an article published by Forbes, when employees clearly understand and identify with their company’s values, they are more likely to feel engaged, act autonomously within strategic boundaries, and contribute to long-term organisational success.
But here’s the challenge. Clarity fades over time. Values created during one stage of growth may not speak to the culture or ambition of a business five or ten years later. In fact, research from Gallup shows that when values feel out of touch with the daily reality of the business, employee trust in leadership declines significantly.
That alignment between stated values and lived experience is what led us to initiate this shift. Often changes to a company’s identity are reactive, waiting for a major crisis or situation to be the catalyst for change. We wanted to be proactive, realigning our new mission, vision and values to suit who we are today and who we strive to be in the future.
Simpler Words, Deeper Meaning
In case it wasn’t clear, we haven’t just updated a values poster. We have also revisited our mission and vision to ensure they remain meaningful, memorable and actionable. Our mission now centres on protecting and managing sensitive information securely and responsibly. This underpins everything we do, from day-to-day operational tasks to executive decisions.
Our vision sets our trajectory: to lead in building a world where information is protected, respected, and used to create value. These are not abstract ideals that just sound nice to the ear. They help us align every role in the company, from warehouse staff to national leadership, around a common purpose.
Angela Petersen, our Director of HR, described the process as “finding sophistication in simplicity.” Instead of inventing something new, the goal was to capture what already mattered and name it in a way that feels both genuine and actionable.
The Process Behind the Change
Changing values is not something done in a boardroom over coffee, at least not effectively. It took deliberate input across leadership. Workshops were held to understand what mattered to individuals and how those priorities intersected across the company.
All that was desired were values that felt both current and aspirational.
Unity was identified as something that existed in parts of the business, but could be nurtured further between teams, departments and across sites.
Accountability was an original value that was kept because it still defines how we support one another and our customers. It remains central to how we follow through on commitments and deliver consistent results.
Excellence was introduced to represent our continued pursuit of quality in every aspect of our operations. It sets the standard we hold ourselves to. As our CFO Andrew Lemon put it, it’s all about “care, precision and pride”.
Curiosity sparked plenty of conversation. We discussed using the word “innovation,” (a previous value) but it didn’t fully reflect what we wanted. Curiosity encourages questioning, improving, and exploring better ways of working, even within existing systems. It speaks to challenging the status quo and thinking differently.
Trust brought together values like respect, empathy, and integrity. It reflects the relationships we build with one another and our customers, and how we show up daily with reliability and care. As a company that focuses on services around managing sensitive data, trust has always and will always be a fundamental value to us.
From Principles to Practice
A common criticism of company values is that they stay theoretical. That they are buzzwords used exclusively in board meetings or onboarding sessions. That concern shaped the entire rollout of this initiative. From day one, we knew the values had to show up in our systems and structures, not just our announcements and newsletters.
That’s where new programs like our Capability in Action Framework come in. This framework maps out the skills, knowledge, and behaviours required in every role. It brings clarity to what excellence looks like beyond just qualifications or experience, identifying its role in everyday behaviour. For team members, it offers a clear path to development. For leaders, it sharpens expectations and accountability.
Our new recognition initiative, We Love Your Work, brings Unity to life by encouraging peer-to-peer appreciation across departments. And the Curiosity Lab gives employees space to challenge existing processes, pitch new ideas, and shape cross-functional improvements. These have not been implemented as side-projects. They have proudly been embedded into how we operate.
Staying True While Growing Forward
As our CEO Tracey Wagner explained, “Our mission, vision, and values are our north star.” They guide how we move forward and how we make decisions. They also help us check if what we say lines up with how we behave, and if what we’re building stays true to our purpose.
That’s what this refresh is really about. We’ve kept what matters, clarified what was unclear, and added what we need for the future.
Because values only work when they’re both understood and lived.
Values in Practice
Our values influence every service we deliver. When you work with us, you’re engaging a team aligned behind clear principles of trust, curiosity, unity, accountability, and excellence.
From secure document storage to shredding, digitisation, IT asset disposition, and certified translations, our commitment stays consistent.
This is the standard we set for ourselves and what we bring to every interaction.
If that sounds like the kind of partner you’re looking for, we’d love to work with you.
