Our values as an organisation frame how we will deliver Council Plan priorities. We believe values are key to creating a fairer, more prosperous and more sustainable place for all communities. They inform the way we work and underpin relationships with partners, customers and communities. 

Our values 

Identifying our values as an organisation will play an important part in supporting the success of the Council Plan.

In the summer of 2024, we carried out engagement activity to look at what values were important to our employees and leaders and how they influenced the way they work. 

Our employees were asked to consider: 

  • would the values be fit for the organisation’s future 
  • can they be lived by on a day-to-day basis from the front-line employee to the chief executive
  • are they unique to describe Dorset Council 
  • will they help deliver a positive customer experience

Using the data and evidence gathered, our values are: 

Respect

We value our differences, we treat everyone with fairness, dignity, and understanding.

Openness

We welcome new ideas; we are honest, positive and inclusive. 

Together

We combine our strengths with others to achieve a shared purpose and common goals.

Accountability

We take ownership for our work, our actions and our decisions.

Curiosity

We aspire to learn, explore, and adapt to new opportunities and experiences.
How we develop our workforce will be key to realising our ambitions, and we need to ensure that our values reflect in the way that we work and how we engage with partners and residents. Our values act as guiding principles, defining what we believe is important in the ways that we work together. Embedding the values in the way that we work will enable us to achieve our ambitions for Dorset.

Our equality statement  

We believe equality, diversity and inclusion is everyone’s business. Our services and facilities must be accessible to all. We will strengthen relationships with communities and support our diverse workforce and the diversity of Dorset.  

You can read our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy in full here.