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In an effort to keep you informed and knowledgeable, we invite you to view our monthly Willmott HR Thought Leader Showcase. This is a medium for friends and affiliates of Willmott to share their wisdom on pertinent HR topics.

This month's featured HR Thought Leader is Ken Cochrane, President, ADAMS/Advertising, Design, And Marketing Strategy

Internal Branding:

Making your employees brand ambassadors

More and more, companies are relying on internal branding—the communication within an organization of the external brand strategy coupled with human resources efforts—to better serve their clients and improve employee retention. This shift toward a more comprehensive branding effort has become an integral communications strategy for many organizations. As competition continues to grow and globalization makes the world smaller, building an enterprise-wide brand twill be crucial to bring new opportunities and better serve your customers.

Branding in its basic form is your promise to your marketplace. The key to any successful business is fulfilling the promise of the brand. The mission of branding is to effectively communicate in your markets to win business—which is why we spend so much time and effort communicating our brands. Often overlooked is who’s behind our promise, our employees—motivated employees lead to happy clients, which leads to an increased bottom line.

Employees

All brands have three brand touch-points: visual, written and personal interaction. Though you may have articulated the brand in writing and through your visual appearance, have you taken the time to assure your employees reflect the brand? The communicators on your front line—sales people, account managers, service folks, receptionists, and customer service representatives all represent your brand. Every time they interact with your client or prospect, they leave an impression.

Enterprise wide branding begins with everyone within the organization accepting and buying in to the brand. This often proves to be one of management’s most crucial tasks—getting all the communicators in the boat to row in the same direction—because the results can be profound. Approach internal branding as a journey rather than a destination. Commit to regular communications and workshops throughout the company. It’ll increase the significance of your message, keep it top of mind, and motivate employees to take the promise of the brand seriously.

Clients

A satisfied client is one that keeps coming back for more while recommending your product or service to others. One bad experience can expel a client for life. For instance, if a client speaks with a representative of your organization and is treated badly or receives inconsistent messages, they may never come back, regardless of the quality or price of what you have to offer. In today’s marketplace, there are so many choices that the differentiator between competing organizations is often the client experience.

Future employees

Consider your promise to your employees. It’s what you expect from them and what they can expect from you in return. As your organization and its employees grow, you will eventually need more great employees. Attracting these qualified individuals may prove difficult if your brand is not aligned both externally and internally. Developing clear messaging and communicating it through a deliberate campaign sets you apart in the labor pool and can distinguish you as an employer of choice. A strong internal brand can save considerable time and money by allowing you to shorten the hiring process, recruit better employees, diminish salary sensitivity, and improve retention of your talented people.

You and your employees must bring the brand to life

Your employees are your greatest asset. They are the ambassadors of your brand. What they say and how they act is as important as what the client sees and reads. Building an enterprise-wide brand will lead to greater focus, improved internal and external communications, better decisions, higher moral, better client retention, and an improved image within your markets.

You can learn more about building an enterprise-wide brand by contacting Ken Cochrane at ken@adamsstrategy.com