Employer branding: developing a strong brand in 6 steps, together with HR
With brand ambassadors as the ultimate result
VIM Group
How do you build a strong brand? A question that has been answered in many ways, but usually from an external focus. Not surprising, because until a few years ago the brand was, for most organisations, an instrument you only used for your marketing communications. But the belief that the brand should play a more important role within organisations has gained considerable ground in recent years. The brand long ago stopped being merely a (too) beautiful promise to the market.
Organisations realise that the brand is no longer only a matter for the marketing & communications department. A welcome development, but at the same time we see that the brand still struggles to gain a foothold across the breadth of the organisation. How do you break through this as a brand manager? One of the ways is to involve HR in managing and implementing the brand within the organisation: from onboarding to exit. Below I show how to approach that both practically and effectively, in 6 steps.
Employees carry a strong brand in their heads and in their hearts
Behind the scenes, many organisations are paying more and more attention to living up to brand promises. We see the brand becoming part of the strategy more often and getting attention in the boardroom. Strong brands, after all, have an internal culture in which employees carry the brand in their heads and in their hearts. Our research already showed that the role of HR in this is crucial. The results showed that organisations that take brand management seriously also devote a great deal of attention to implementing the brand within HR. In organisations where brand management and HR work closely together, the brand becomes more than a marketing communications tool. It enables the shift towards a brand that underpins everything the organisation does. But how do you go about this collaboration?
1. Make sure your core values are also your brand values
An important first step in the collaboration is reaching consensus about what the organisation stands for and what is expected of employees. In many organisations HR still uses core values for this, intended to encourage certain behaviour and thereby pursue a desired culture. The brand organisation, on the other hand, works with brand values. Not ideal, because this way organisations quickly end up with seven or more values. Not only hard to remember, but downright impossible for employees to live up to across the board. Today, inside is increasingly outside, which raises the question of whether core values (which are internally focused) are still all that relevant. Brand values connect the inside and the outside world and internally emphasise what is being promised externally. By steering internally on brand values, employees are helped to convey the brand in the right way. By paying attention to this in every phase of the employee journey, you increase the chance that employees bring the brand positioning to life. Both internally and externally.
“Today, inside is increasingly outside, which raises the question of whether core values (which are internally focused) are still all that relevant”
2. Make ‘brand fit’ an important part of the selection process
Conveying the brand starts with your employees. It is no coincidence that internal branding has become an important part of brand management in recent years. Ideally, the DNA of employees already matches the values of the organisation from the outset. One of the brand managers in our research put it nicely: “Our HR department is constantly looking for people with our own DNA. We can teach new employees anything, but not how to fit our culture”. By using the brand values as the starting point in employer branding and recruitment communications, you not only create a consistent brand image, you also ensure that the people applying are the ones who fit the brand best. In the application process you then use the brand values to assess candidates. That is how you make brand fit an important part of the selection process.
3. Make your brand an important part of onboarding
It seems so obvious, but far too often we see that the brand plays no role at all in the onboarding of new employees. A missed opportunity, because it is precisely in this phase that you lay the foundation for good employeeship. So make sure the brand becomes part of the introduction programme. Take new employees through where the company comes from (corporate story), what it stands for (brand positioning) and what all of this means for their role in the organisation. Think carefully about how to make this part enjoyable, too. Telling a long story backed up by a few slides obviously leaves a far weaker impression than really letting people experience the brand. Preferably with as many senses as possible at once. Besides making the brand enjoyable for new employees, the brand of course also has to be practical. Show how the brand identity should be applied in the materials that employees create themselves. It would not be the first time employees create their own (off-brand) email signature or use their own PowerPoint template for their (external) presentations. With the right instructions and the right tools you can prevent that.
“Telling a long story about the brand leaves a far weaker impression than really letting people experience the brand. Preferably with as many senses as possible at once”
4. Give the brand a role in training and development
In many companies (internal) training courses or development programmes are offered fairly regularly. Usually focused on a substantive aspect of the work. It is rare for the brand to be given a role in these courses. A shame, because this is the ideal moment to bring the brand to employees’ attention again. In the ideal situation the internal development programme is set up in line with the brand values. You then link the brand directly to competencies that are relevant in day-to-day work. Take a brand value such as ‘daring’, which can be the starting point in sales training (commercial skills) or in training for call centre staff (assertiveness). But training aimed purely at conveying the brand – such as e-learning and (brand) games – is an option too.
“Where a (board) game used to be developed now and then as a fun gimmick, I have since experienced several brand escape rooms from the inside”
Where a (board) game used to be developed now and then as a fun gimmick, I have since experienced several brand escape rooms from the inside. The perfect place to bring team building and the brand together. Another way to bring the brand to life is workshops in which employees work on the brand values together. Whatever someone’s role or position, everyone is asked to think about what he, she or the team should keep doing, start doing or stop doing in order to express the brand to the full. By linking personal or departmental goals to this as well, useful and enjoyable initiatives emerge that give the brand a boost.
5. Let your brand values be the basis for appraisal and feedback
Setting goals is a good first step to get employees working with the brand. Although formal performance and appraisal interviews are being used less and less in practice, brand values can still form the basis for regular feedback. In doing so you make employees more aware of the contribution they (can) make to conveying the brand, and at the same time you underline its importance. The brand thereby becomes more than a marketing communications tool and shows that everyone within the organisation has a responsibility to contribute.
6. Say goodbye in a way that is worthy of the brand
Finally, do not underestimate the impact that former employees have on your brand. This (ever-growing) group knows the brand well and, having left, holds an independent position towards it, which makes them highly credible. When this group is positive about your brand, former employees act as ambassadors for your organisation. In their daily lives and new work experiences they meet potential new customers for your brand. So make sure you part with employees in a good and brand-worthy way. On top of that, organise alumni activities that keep this group connected to you and that you can use to keep your brand on the radar of their network.
