Our foundation is built upon a set of six core values that serve as the guiding principles behind everything we do. These values embody the essence of our business philosophy and shape the way we engage with our customers, partners, and each other.
The customer comes first in everything we do. We offer a surprising assortment of good quality products at the lowest possible prices. With our customers’ interests in mind, we keep costs as low as possible. The value Customer Focus guides everyone at Action, not just our staff working in the stores.
We believe that teamwork gets the best results. It is important to offer to help each other, because together we can achieve more. As a team, we share ownership, we have common goals, and our deliverables are clear. Successes and disappointments are to be shared, and we address issues within the team immediately – transparently and respectfully.
In a rapidly growing organisation, losing simplicity – one of our original strengths – is a big risk. Many larger organisations become political, complex and bureaucratic and lose their edge. Maintaining simplicity does not mean idealising a lack of structure. Quite the contrary: making and keeping things simple requires structured, controlled ways of working across large parts of our business.
Discipline encompasses all of Action’s values. When we are disciplined, we are on time and prepared for meetings, which is respectful to others and also enhances teamwork. Being disciplined and sticking to the rules means we are cost conscious and keep things simple. Most importantly, we are disciplined in always keeping the customers’ interests at the forefront of our minds.
This is the cornerstone of our business model. Cost consciousness is not about not spending money; it is about spending money efficiently and keeping costs low, all in the interest of our value proposition to customers. We want to use simplicity and scale to save money and offer the lowest prices. This is a key value that guides us in staying humble.
Respect is what we owe each other as human beings. This value is important when it comes to customers, colleagues and business partners. Combining sympathy and kindness with direction and clarity to create a sense of belonging and safety. We maintain a culture in which giving and receiving constructive feedback is always considered a sign of respect.
During this time of rapid growth, it is important that we stick to our DNA: our values and discipline that have brought us to where we are today. Our way of working and interacting with each other and our customers is the basis of who we are, what we can do for our customers, and our success. We have described this (co-)working method in a code of conduct. The code is intended for all Action employees.