BUSINESSES communicate a lot. Many love to boast about soaring revenues, or the strategic restructuring of their organizational response committees (whatever that means).

But often missing from a firm’s communications strategy is something absolutely fundamental to its operations: its values.

Recent high-profile scandals have made it clear that many businesses do not properly communicate their values. This failure directly and indirectly effects the economy—a fact that is especially concerning given the possibilities of a double-dip recession and the fragile state of global markets.

Just look at how the News of the World phone-hacking scandal has exposed its owner, News Corp., to questions about the company’s values and the efficacy of its leadership. Had the company more openly communicated what it stands for, News Corp. may not have been vilified so thoroughly. Despite numerous protestations from CEO Rupert Murdoch and his top lieutenants that the firm’s values align perfectly with the public’s best interests, the damage has been done.

Values without proactive employee communication of their importance might as well not exist. A firm may host a companywide meeting to reaffirm its employee-engagement program, but how often does that effort start with a bang only to fizzle out as people move on with their day-to-day tasks? Employee communications have never been a more important component of a CEO’s management toolbox.

What else can businesses do to better communicate their values?

Ask employees what’s important to them. Seek their input on how well the company’s work and employees reflect their value system. Remember that generalized concepts like “integrity” and “commitment” have different meanings to people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Establish core values across the company, not just within management. Employee buy-in is crucial; your people must feel a certain ownership over value creation.

Live your values. Embrace your corporate values and be mindful of them in every decision you make—both in good times and bad. Never forget that actions speak louder than words.

Few companies get every component of the business of values just right. Value setting is a tough business, fraught with multiple challenges and divergent agendas. But once those values are set, every CEO would be wise to communicate them and live them as though his business depends on it. Because it just might.

Rosanna M. Fiske is chairman and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America. She is also director of the Global Strategic Communications master’s program in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Florida International University.