By Paula Santonocito, AIRS Senior Strategist
When it comes to recruitment and retention efforts, don't overlook the importance of internal branding. Relax -- no one is advocating that employees be tattooed with the corporate logo. However, quietly drumming an identity into their subconscious may not be such a bad idea.
The Media Isn't the Only Message
Companies have no problem investing in external marketing. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) projects that 1999 advertising expenditures in the United States will come in at $215 billion, which is an increase of almost seven percent from 1998. Citing a robust economy, new electronic technologies and increased e-commerce transactions as factors for increased spending, IPG shows increases in every media category. Yet, as companies dole out more and more dollars for marketplace recognition, organizations often neglect articulating a corporate image to employees.
But what exactly does such an undertaking involve? While knowing what message is being communicated to customers is part of it, there's more to the process than a quiz on slogans and what they mean. Internal branding is about creating and maintaining an identity with employees that facilitates external objectives and reinforces corporate culture.
More than a Swoosh
In a Fast Company article, author Eric Ransdell points to one company that has taken atypical measures to share its heritage with employees. Going beyond the usual historic blurb found in a new-hire booklet, Nike actually has a full-fledged, corporate-storytelling program.
Ransdell says an understanding and appreciation of heritage are essential components of corporate culture at Nike. And he cites how company storytelling is intended to inspire innovation. By infusing employees with a sense of the past, it is Nike's belief that employees will want to share in its future and thus contribute to its legacy.
According to Ransdell, storytelling at Nike is not confined to new employee orientation. Tech reps participate in a program that includes learning about the past.
Letting It Fly
While Nike relies on the power of history, other companies are focused on ensuring that internal perception matches current external positioning. Why? For one thing, reinforcement helps with message consistency when it comes to customers. But this may be one of several goals of an internal branding program, such as the program implemented at Southwest Airlines.
An article in hr-esource details how the Dallas-based airline expanded the "freedom" theme of its consumer advertising campaign to an internal communications program aimed at marketing benefits to employees. The project was undertaken because it was discovered that not all employees knew or understood what benefits were available.
According to hr-esource, the airline hired benefits consultants and an advertising agency to create its internal brand. The process, which involved employee input and message review, resulted in internal communication that resembles external advertising in both look and content.
Hr-esource quotes Southwest Airlines Vice President of People Libby Sartain who says that marketing to current employees builds trust and "helps attract, retain and engage top talent."
What's Brand Got to Do with It
It should come as no surprise that a successful internal branding program has far-reaching effects on an organization. Employees are your best spokespeople. Not only can they help market your company to customers, they can also spread the word to their friends, family members and acquaintances, a.k.a. potential employees.
And guess what? Employees who understand a company's identity are more likely to embrace it. Support, in turn, translates into greater productivity. All these things add up to job satisfaction, which is a key factor in retention.
Unfortunately, internal branding doesn't come in a one-size-fits-all package. Your organization's program will be dictated by its values and customer focus, as well as its ability to facilitate change.
It's about Behavior
So says Vanguard Consulting, an organization that works with companies on the behavioral aspects of internal branding. According to Vanguard, when it comes to internal branding, identifying a company's internal values and the brand promise it makes to its customers are the first steps in the process. From there, it's about how to make sure the two get aligned.
"One of our operating principles is that the face you show your customers is the same face you should show your employees," says Stephanie Jackson, Vanguard principal. This can involve any number of strategies, including attention to internal partnering in order to eliminate company turf wars and empowering people to make decisions that affect the frontline.
According to Jackson, when an organization makes changes that translate brand promise into employee behaviors, there can be a widespread effect. Typically, customer service is enhanced which impacts the bottom line positively. But there are other benefits as well. "What happens is that you get job satisfaction, personal contribution, and building of value," says Jackson.
Vanguard Consulting, which is based in the San Francisco area, is usually called in when an organization is working with a PR firm on the communications aspect of an internal message or shortly thereafter. Vanguard will work in conjunction with those interested in documenting and delivering the message, but the organization does not get directly involved in that aspect of the process.
Although internal branding is a relatively new term, Jackson says Vanguard has been involved with affecting organizational change for 20 years. In the past, she says, it was referred to as leadership and internal cultural change or internal cultural alignment.
Talking the Talk
But now internal branding is among the hot seminar topics at many conferences. One group, the Chicago-based Advanced Learning Institute (A.L.I.) at http://www.aliconferences.com , hosts entire events devoted to internal branding. To date, four internal branding conferences have been held. Materials from these conferences are available for purchase at the A.L.I. Web site.
While internal branding may not solve all your retention and recruitment dilemmas, an internal message that's consistent with external objectives can play a big part in successful team building.
-- Paula Santonocito is a writer and communications professional who has written about a variety of business and management issues and is now a contributor to AIRS research. This article is reprinted by permission from AIRS, a global leader in Internet recruitment, tools, news and information. For more information on AIRS, please go to http://www.CollegeRecruiter.com/pages/airs.php . Copyright © Hanover Capital Management Corporation 1997-2001. All Rights Reserved
