employer branding published article

8/8/2019 Employer branding published article

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www.employerbrandinstitute.com

Fea ture Artic leLeade rship a nd Emp loye r Branding

by David Parks - Senior Associate Employer Brand Institute

In the a grarian ag e, a brand wa s a ma rk on c att le to de note ownership. In theindustrial age , a b rand w as an imp rint on ma c hinery to d eno te a leve l of quality.Fast-forwa rd to todays c onsumer d riven, informat ion age and b rand ing ha sbe c ome fa r mo re c omplex. Brand ing to da y is a strate gic to ol that helps c ompa niesc ut throug h the c lutter and sea of sameness in the marketp lac e for prod uc ts and fo rpe op le. A strong b rand c omma nds atte ntion and evokes a c onnec tion both withc ustom ers and employee s.

It b ec om es the shorthand for making g ood c hoice s in a c om plex, risky, andc onfusing ma rketp lac e.Ten yea rs ago, the te rm Employer Brandingwa s not even part of our voc ab ulary. Myea rly experienc e in this evo lving arena wa s with a p rog ram c a lled Brand Youdevelop ed by my fo rme r business partne r, Tom Peters. The g oa l was to helpem ployees be the very be st ve rsion o f themselves through foc using on their streng thsin the wo rkplac e. Unfortunate ly the m arket interp reta tion wa s very different fromwha t w as expec ted . The g eneral percep tion a mong c autious and skeptica l HR andtraining buyers wa s tha t instea d of b uild ing a stronger brand , Brand You wo uld

have a nega tive internal effec t by help ing va luab le em p loyee s dust off resumes,ma rket themselves and g et new jobs. As an ea rly arriva l to the sc ene o f emp loyerbrand ing, Brand You had a fa tal flaw - it failed to ma ke the c onnec tion be twee nthe individua l brand and the o rga nizational brand.

The Business Case fo r Employ er Branding

Tod ay, the land sc ap e has c hanged d ram atica lly; Employer Branding is now wide lyac c ep ted as a v ita l c om ponent of o rga niza tional suc c ess. The c ollec tive thinking o fbusiness has ma tured and a c lea r line ha s been draw n be tween ROI and e mp loyerb rand ing. In 2005, Watson Wyatt c ond uc ted a study on internal comm unic at ionswhic h found:

Com pa nies that c ommunic ate more e ffec tively have a 19.4% higher ma rketpremium.

Shareho lder returns for organizat ions with the mo st effec tive c om munica tionswe re 57% higher then fo r firms with less effec tive c om munica tions.

The business wo rld dem ands fac ts and figures; it ne ed s to know the ROI be fore it w illinvest. But here s the p aradox b rand c hoice s a re a lmost a lwa ys dete rmined byem ot ions, not b y fac ts and figures. Colin Mitc hell c ap tured this we ll in his Harva rdBusiness Review a rtic le Selling the Brand Inside whe n he sa id :
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp;jsessionid=CB1HEUDXVZFX2AKRGWDSELQBKE0YIISW?articleID=R0201J&ml_action=get-article&pageNumber=1&ml_subscriber=true&referral=2533http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp;jsessionid=CB1HEUDXVZFX2AKRGWDSELQBKE0YIISW?articleID=R0201J&ml_action=get-article&pageNumber=1&ml_subscriber=true&referral=2533


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The goa l of an internal brand ing c am pa ign is very similar to that o f an externalcam pa ign: to create an emotional connection to your comp any.

Lea ders Walk and Talk the Brand

Organiza tion lea ders p lay the bigg est role, both strateg ic a lly and beha viorally, indefining the b rand a nd setting the sta ge for delivering on the b rand p rom ise.Lea ders a re - or should b e - the wa lking talking examples of the b rand va lues of a norga nizat ion. When Microsoft launc hed their external b rand c amp aign RealizingPotential bac k in 2002, they simultaneo usly launc hed an internal lea dershipdeve lop ment initiative. The p rog ram, spea rhea ded by CEO Steve Ba llme r, wasc alled the Microsoft Lea dership Benc h Prog ram. The p rog ram sta rted with exec utives

examining persona l va lues and then making c onnec tions bac k to the o rga niza tionalva lues at Microsoft . Ba llme r himself set the stage fo r c hange b y saying , This is ago od time to take stoc k ourselves and our mission, to unde rsta nd how others

pe rc eive us, and think ab out how w e c an d o a be tter job explaining who we a re

and w hat ma tte rs to us.

There is the externa l brand , whichis what customers, clients,sha reho lde rs, sup pliers andprospe c tive employeesexpe rienc e, and then there is the

internal. The two should b esync hronous. In a resea rc h stud yexploring the interplay be tween persona l and organiza tional values, clarity ofpersonal va lues was found to have most significa nt imp ac t on employe es

commitment to the orga nization. When emp loyee c om mitment is high, jobsa tisfac tion rises correspond ingly (Posner & Sc hmidt , 1993). With Brand You we w eredefinitely on to something by sta rting w ith a persona l exp loration o f va lues. Tod ay,the line be twe en individual succ ess and delivering organiza tional imp ac t is veryclear.

The goa l of an internal branding c am pa ign is

very similar to that of an external ca mp aign: to

c reate an em otional connection to your

company.

For leaders, persona l va lues serve as guideposts. They shape judgments, responses

to othe rs, and com mitment to go a ls. They a re e ffec tively Brand You. Your brand isyour rep uta tion; it is wha t you re know n for. Think of it as a bank a c c ount you b uildc red it (cred ibility) when you are c onsistent to your va lues. When you stray from yourva lues or fail to deliver on your promise, you c rea te a deb it. It d enigrates yourpe rsona l brand and imp ac ts your employer brand negatively bec ause it affec tsc ollea gue s and c ustomers. Studying lea dership a nd Employer Brandingc ounts forlittle if you ha ven t stud ied yourself and don t know wha t you sta nd for. Lea dershipdeve lop me nt is self-deve lop ment. Effec tive lea ders show up e very day and c rea tetheir brand, m oment-by-mom ent and interac tion-by-interac tion.

http://www.magazine.org/Advertising_and_PIB/Case_Studies/index.cfm?CaseStudyID=84http://www.magazine.org/Advertising_and_PIB/Case_Studies/index.cfm?CaseStudyID=84http://www.magazine.org/Advertising_and_PIB/Case_Studies/index.cfm?CaseStudyID=84http://www.magazine.org/Advertising_and_PIB/Case_Studies/index.cfm?CaseStudyID=84


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The Big Three

The streng th o f emp loyer brand ing is d irec tly linked to a n orga niza tion s ab ility toga in leverage in three b ig a rea s: Attraction, Retention, and Engagement ofem ploye es. Ac c ord ing to a 2005 Glob a l Workforce Stud y by Tow ers Perrin the sing leb igg est d river resulting in em ployee sa tisfac tion is rep uta tion of the c om pa ny as ago od employer. Here a re three e xamp les of c om pa nies in d ifferent industries tha tillustrate the power of emp loyer brand ing in ac tion.

1. Attraction Sta rbuc ks CEO Jim Dona ld sa id in a rec ent NPR interview , get tingpeop le is our biggest c halleng e a s we p lot our growth ove r the ne xt five yea rs.

In a ny given w eek Sta rbucks will ope n b etw een 20 and 40 stores wo rldwide .

Rec ruiting new partners [emp loyees] is c ritica l to fuel this grow th. The p ow er of theSta rbuc ks b rand and its c om me rc ial suc cess is dazzling. Cha irma n How ard Sc hultzbest a rticulate s it in his let ter to shareho lders in the 2005 annua l rep ort: The humanc onnec tion it s the found ation of everything we do a t Sta rbucks. One c ustom er,one b arista, one c om munity, one g rea t c up of c offee a t a time.

What s c lea r is tha t the streng th o f the Sta rbuc ks b rand lies in its peo ple.Undersc oring the ir c om mitment to emp loyer brand ing , Sta rbucks launched a newlea dership initiative tha t would further enhanc e their lea ders ab ility to live the b randand grow the next g eneration o f lea de rs. The Authentic Lea der At Starbuc kslaunched in 2005 and is c urrently be ing dep loyed to its pop ulat ion o f 140 Vice

Presidents.

2. Retention St. Ag nes Med ica l Cente r emp loys over 2,800 in Fresno, Ca lifornia.There a re fe w industries whe re the p inc h for a ttrac ting a nd reta ining ta lent ismo re a c ute tha n in hea lth c a re, pa rticularly in Ca lifornia .

Rick Bolton, former Senior VP of Peo ple at St. Agnes took a unique approa c h toa ttrac ting a nd reta ining ta lent. While his com pet itors we re o ffering RNs hiringbonuses of $6,000-8,000 or jet ting off to internat iona l rec ruitment fa irs, he put a sta kein the g round and w orked on making St Agnes a ma gne t for talent. His strategywa s to foc us on the rea son w hy pe op le leave their job s. Acc ording to Ga llup s

ongoing research, 71% of emp loyees leave their job d ue to the lac k of qua lity ofrelationship with their boss.

Bolton set to w ork c rea ting a lead ership d eve lop me nt platfo rm for manag ers andexec utives a t St Ag nes. Call it lea dership develop me nt or build ing bet te r bosses, thestrategy p a id o ff. In a four-yea r time frame , turnove r red uced d rama tica lly and StAgnes ac hieve d a rec ord b rea king retent ion rate o f 93%.
http://www.bluepointleadership.com/casestudies/index.php?link=000136http://www.bluepointleadership.com/casestudies/index.php?link=000136


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3. EngagementOne of the be st examples I ve ever witnessed of emp loyee enga ge ment in ac tionwa s at a tec h trad e show . Walking the aisles, I wa s suffering from brand ove rloa d asc ompe titors c lam ored to c omm and atte ntion. As I wa lked towa rd one p artic ularsta nd I felt a d istinc t c hange in environm ent. The music had a c oo l rhythmic b ea t;the g iga ntic supe r white expo stand p rovided a c lea n ba c kdrop highlighting thebrand in an a lmo st temp le-like wa y. How ever the thing tha t impressed me mo st wasthe animated, passionate and engaging discussions taking place betweenemployee s and p rospec tive c ustom ers. Who w as it? I am sure youve a lrea dygue ssed - Ap ple Comp uter.

App le has a m ag ic touc h when it comes to c rea ting a c ulture whe re em ployees are

missionary driven. Extrem e engagem ent , as illustrate d by this quote from an Ap p leb log ge r, reve rses the trad itiona l role o f manage rs and lead ers: For many years, themost c hallenging m ana gement task at Ap ple was keeping the e mp loyees fromwo rking them selves to dea th.

The o riginal vision from Steve Job s a t Ap p le wa s "Ma n is the c rea tor of c hange in thiswo rld . As suc h he should be a bove systems and structures, and not subordina te tothem." It is no wo nder tha t the advertising ta g line o f rec ent yea rs is Think Different .This c aptures Ap p le's philosop hy and the lea dership vision p rov ides a lic ense forinnova tion. Vision provides me aning. Day-in-da y-out lea ders who a rticulate a c lea rvision will help e mp loye es und ersta nd where the orga niza tion is hea ded ensure a

higher level of enga gement.

Building Better BossesEarly in my leadership deve lop me nt c a reer, I ac quired a term tha t c aptures p rec iselythe hollow version of Emp loyer Brand ing. It s c a lled Lea dership b yLamination . Thisis when employee s are g iven nice ly laminate d c ards with va lues printed on themtha t a re ofte n at odds with the ac tions and b eha viors of their ma nag ers and leaders.Pictures and poe try is the ea sy pa rt - the ha rd part is c onsistently living the brandvalues.

The role of a lea der can be summa rized in ma ny wa ys but essent ia lly it boils dow n to

four key a rea s:

1. Lead ing by examp le and being the ir true, honest a nd authentic selves.2. Having a vision that enga ge s and c omp els emp loyees to g o the extra m ile for

the o rga niza tion.3. Enab ling o thers by providing the to ols, d irec tion and information to do their

jobs effectively.4. Building a community tha t shares and strives for the same c om mo n va lues.

Lea de rs effec tively provide the c orporate g lue that b onds pe op le toge ther.


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All four areas a re vita l for orga niza tional lea ders to impa c t a nd strengthe n EmployerBranding. My c ontention is tha t build ing bet ter bosses is indeed the key to suc c ess inthe Employer Brandingarena . Exec utive lea ders who foc us a la rge pa rt o f theirstrategy, time and budge t on b uild ing be tte r bosses will ultimately crea te strong, vital,organizations that a ttrac t, reta in and enga ge top talent.

The last word g oes to my o ld p a l Tom Peters who e loq uent ly summa rized the essenc eof Employer Brandingwhen he sa id: When the b rand is c lea rly understoo d b yemployee s, va lued by emp loyee s, and emb od ied and expressed on a da ily ba sis,then you've a c hieved Brand Inside.


About the a uthor

Dav id Parks is Vice President a t Bluepoint Leade rship Deve lopme nt and Senior

Assoc iate of the Employer Brand Institute.

He is ba sed in San Francisco, CA and c an b e reac hed atda vidp arks@bluepo intlead ership.com

Bluepoint Leadership Development ignites the passion and accelerates the

development of leaders at many o f the worlds best known glob al brands such as

Mic rosoft, DHL, Starbuc ks, and Siem ens. www.bluepointleadership.com
http://www.bluepointleadership.com/http://www.bluepointleadership.com/

employer branding published article

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