Internal guidelines define the course of conduct of the cooperative. They create the corporate culture and will help to initiate possible new members into the cooperative. The guidelines should be written down in the member contract, which is discussed in a separate section in this guide. The guidelines visible to all members of the cooperative can evolve and they can be amended, if they proof dysfunctional over time. In this, the guidelines diverge from the official statutory rules of the cooperative, which requires an amendment to be filed in the Trade Register.
Quality matters are an excellent example of common guidelines. Another example is the supply obligation: can a member, and in which cases, sell their products or services outside the cooperative. The supply obligation, i.e., a member’s obligation to use the cooperative services, can also be consolidated in the official rules if it is reasonable for the common benefice of the members that they market all their products through the cooperative. The fees charged by the cooperative for its overall costs are an essential section of the guidelines. As is the compensation a member may receive from the cooperative as a salary or product price, which can be varying for different members or their teams according to the type of customer or project in question. The basis for pricing and the part of the overall costs should be agreed upon beforehand. Sometimes, the tasks agreed in common might accumulate with certain same persons. Therefore, it is a good idea to decide on the rotation of tasks and duties.
Cooperative values are a good base for its functioning: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, and solidarity apply, plus ethical values, like integrity, transparency, social responsibility, and caring for other people. These values should be the leading star of all activities in every cooperative. The cooperative values can then be supplemented by internal entrepreneurship, customer satisfaction, members’ learning, quality criteria, etc. We must remember, of course, that values written on a board mean nothing if they are not respected.