Aligning employees with brand strategy

A strong brand is grounded by a clear purpose and a brand strategy that translates it to internal and external audiences.. The brand strategy: • informs employees about the brand posit

ALIGNING

EMPLOYEES WITH

BRAND STRATEGY

A Point of View

Bill Faust

Managing Partner

@ologie

Internal Branding

Every year organizations spend millions on extending their brands through external

media like advertising and public relations.

brand if your associates don’t know how to deliver on it? Or why they should care?

A strong brand is grounded by a clear purpose

and a brand strategy that translates it to

internal and external audiences.

The brand strategy:

• informs employees about the

brand positioning (mindset)

• engages associates by helping

them understand their role (skill set)

• inspires associates by making

the purpose tangible and

meaningful (motivation)

This approach ensures consistent

delivery of the external brand and

strengthens employee engagement.

Branding From the Inside Out

PURPOSE

IN TER NAL AUdIENc E

EXT ERNAL AUdIENcE

BR AN d STRATEG Y

Brand and Purpose

To make life easier

and more fun

through innovation

To be hospitable

To be a relentless ally for every investor

To be a place to meet, work, relax, and enjoy

To enable people to experience the joy

of driving

To give the freedom to fly

To create happiness for people of all ages, wherever

To save people money so that they can live better

To fuel the athlete

in everyone

To provide choices for nurturing the body, the community, and the planet

Creating Alignment

Philosophical

Alignment

(Mindset)

About the strategy:

Purpose

Vision Values

Behavioral Alignment

(Skill set)

About the brand:

Identity Experience Actions

Emotional Alignment

(Motivation)

About their role:

Engagement Inspiration Incentive

across each segment of the employee population:

Bottom line: Strong internal brand alignment is highly linked to business performance And associates want it

High associate engagement in a brand can

improve employee performance by 20%.

A global survey on employee engagement shows that:

engagement today

the company realize its vision

Creating Alignment

Employee Value Proposition

Some internal brand programs include a promise

to employees That promise is the Employee Value

Proposition (EVP) It defines the commitment between

employee and company — and strives to balance the

needs of both

Balance the needs of company and employees

EVP

Great place

to work

What’s in it for me?

(My role in delivering the brand promise and executing the business strategy.)

deliver the brand experience externally

Internal Branding: Elements

• Tagline or rallying cry

– Communicates the “big idea” to associates – Simple and succint with language associates can relate to

• Promise statement (Value Proposition)

– Expands on the ideas communicated in the tagline – The “give and get”

– What the company expects from me (experience) – Balance between rational and emotional benefits

•Proof points

– An inventory of “reasons to believe”

Why is Internal Branding Important?

Articulating the value proposition helps us to:

• Align people, programs, and practices to:

– Support the business and brand strategy – Drive associate perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors

compelling way

– What can I do to help execute the brand strategy? (desired behaviors and employee expectations)

– How do I fit into the organization? (my role) – Why do I matter? (the reason I work here)

Communicating the Brand Strategy

Through a systematic approach, a brand strategy can be reinforced at every turn Over time, it grows stronger, even more authentic, and self-reinforcing as it is translated to:

1 FUNcTIONAL TOOLS

2 BEHAVIORAL TOOLS

3 INSPIRATIONAL TOOLS

click here to see Univita Health’s philosophy video

thank you