Every company wants a strong brand. That’s because strong branding leads to increased sales volumes typically paired with higher pricing. It’s the same reason people pay $4 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks when they can get the same cup of joe at a local café for $1.50. Beyond sales volume and pricing, a strong brand also means increased product lines, greater resistance in economic downturns, more leveraged partnerships and better talent retention and attraction, to name just a few benefits.
Most companies focus their branding efforts exclusively on marketing. And if you count yourself in this crowd, you’re missing out on the best branding out there: your employees. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, “Employees rank higher in public trust than a firm’s PR department, CEO, or founder. More, 41% of North Americans believe that employees are the most credible source of information regarding their business.”
A customer’s experience with a front-line or behind-the-scenes employee means far more than a PR campaign or marketing slogan. And in the days where social media is king, what employees and customers say about your company carries far more weight than any ad space.
To build a strong corporate brand, companies must have employees who believe in the organizations they work for.
How do you build employee engagement? Much to many employers’ chagrin, external motivators like money can’t buy loyalty. Instead, intrinsic factors like personal growth, working for a common purpose and being a piece of a larger whole are the real stuff of which loyalty is made. The good news is that – for those willing to do the work – building strong employee brand ambassadors for your company can be done with three fundamental pieces.
Identify and articulate your “why”
To create employee brand ambassadors, employees must have a reason that connects them to their work. Some call this meaning. Others, purpose. To have a sense of purpose in the workplace, two things must occur. First, employees must have the opportunity to master the skills that they are good at. Then, they must share those skills with a cause – a “why” – that is bigger than themselves. In last month’s article (“What the Harvard Business School doesn’t understand about purpose, but you should” – Business in Vancouver issue 1443; June 27–July 3), I wrote about the need for a corporate purpose statement. That is because most companies can articulate what they do, and even how they do it. Very few can articulate why they do it. And it is this “why” that gets employees committed to their jobs and, as a result, makes them the strongest advocates you’ll have.
Give employees autonomy
For employees to feel connected to their work – and in turn become your organization’s brand ambassadors – employees must feel a sense of autonomy over their job functions. While organizational direction certainly comes from the top, how employees execute their jobs, when they do it or even with whom they do it ought to be left in the hands of the people who know their jobs best: employees. Another way of stating this is something that seems so obvious but is often neglected at most companies: treat your employees like the adults they are.
Build relationships
The biggest factor surrounding employee engagement – and by extension brand ambassadorship – is whether employees feel connected to the people they work with. How well do people at your company engage in healthy, constructive feedback? How well and often do managers praise individuals for a job well done? Are your company rewards programs tied to your values, and not just productivity? These are just a handful of questions that companies must ask themselves in assessing the cultural health of their workplace. •
Casey Miller ([email protected]), president of Six and a Half Consulting, is a leadership and team development specialist. His consultancy teaches organizations the skills needed to create motivated and inspired workplaces.
