diff --git a/src/pepr/uds-operator-config/templates/secret.yaml b/src/pepr/uds-operator-config/templates/secret.yaml
index 60a48989c..503a4b2e0 100644
--- a/src/pepr/uds-operator-config/templates/secret.yaml
+++ b/src/pepr/uds-operator-config/templates/secret.yaml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ metadata:
   labels:
     {{- include "uds-operator-config.labels" . | nindent 4 }}
 type: Opaque
-data:
+stringData:
 {{- range $key, $value := .Values.operator }}
-  {{ $key }}: {{ $value | b64enc | quote }}
+  {{ $key }}: {{ $value | quote }}
 {{- end }}