For an organisation to achieve optimal employee engagement, it must communicate with its audiences clearly, appropriately and consistently and back this up with appropriate behaviours. Employees need to believe what they read, hear and see.
The CEO and senior team need to champion communications that inform and motivate employees, that consistently reinforce company values and attitudes with a ‘look & feel’ and voice that is recognised as belonging to that organisation. They must demonstrate a caring and responsible attitude and always remain visible and accessible.
Communications play a key role where regular ‘face to face’ meetings are difficult to arrange – either because people are in different locations or they simply cannot find the time as a result of intense workloads. They bridge the gap of painting the bigger picture of ‘what’s happening at the top’ and how it impacts on the way the business is run and its future potential.
Feed in the ‘bigger picture’ messages as well as the day-to-day stuff. Communications to employees should clarify the organisation’s vision, direction and values on an ongoing basis. This will deliver a level of comfort that the organisation is in safe and capable hands and reinforce the importance of the role that employees play in achieving objectives.
“I’ve really no idea what they have in mind”
When communications don’t happen, employee engagement diminishes.
> CEO and senior management start to become invisible
> employees become critical of the senior team and perceive that they don’t care or don’t want to make their intentions known
> employee morale begins to suffer and motivation goes out the window
“I’m busy. I’ll read it next week”
Too much communication on the other hand can be bad. Employees can find it difficult to filter out the important messages that they need to take note of. Communications can become bland, featureless and struggle for original content. They ‘move off the radar’. Once this happens it is very difficult to re-engage with employees.
“That’s not what my manager told me”
Frontline managers often become the messengers of organisational goals, strategy and performance. Care must be taken to ensure that they communicate messages accurately and consistently and have the necessary training and tools to do so. Failure to do so may cause them to shy away from the responsibility or make a half hearted effort which is inconsistent with communications from other managers. Fragmented and diluted messages may do more harm than good. Managers should be well briefed on the objectives and content of communications to ensure enterprise-wide consistency and take up. Organisations should adopt best practice by briefing managers, sharing the information with them and giving them direction on how it should be delivered to employees.
“Some of it got lost in the translation”
Avoid disengagement with other offices and business units. Internal communications are more difficult where offices are in multiple locations or an organisation comprises different business units. They may need to be adjusted to suit local audiences, local culture and languages. What works in Papua New Guinea may not work in Manchester, and what works in a filling station may not work at the refinery. Respect cultural differences and ensure communications are tailored specifically to local conditions. It requires help from people on the ground who possess insight and in-depth knowledge of the local audience –
> does the message need to be adapted?
> does it need additional explanation?
> does it need to be translated?
> will it cause offence?
> is the style and tone appropriate for this audience?
> will it make any sense?
“We forgot to include the creative WIIFM factor”
One of the main aims of internal communications is to motivate employees and hopefully inspire a change or enhancement in behaviours. To achieve this often means engaging with them creatively on an intellectual and emotional level and delivering on the WIIFM factor – What's In It For Me. By this I mean having a recognisable theme such as sports to provide a performance-related aspect to the communication – teamwork and striving to win... or space travel – the quest to go beyond accepted limits and chart new territory. The hope is that the employee will relate to the metaphor and be inspired by the brand vision, embrace the challenge, engage as a team member and push the boundaries.
“The community has a lot of respect for my employer”
More and more employees want to be reassured that they are working for an employer that conducts itself in an ethical and responsible manner and respects local communities and the environment – an employer that is not subject to adverse media attention for unseemly CSR behaviour and malpractice. The big mistake many companies make is not to involve employees in the development of CSR strategy and communications. Let them contribute and be part of it. Get them to understand what it is all about and how important it is that the required behaviours must be demonstrated by everyone, not just the company. It deserves a lot more effort than just ticking the boxes in the annual CSR report.
Remember that it is highly likely that the investment you make in internal communications will not only have a positive effect on your employees but also on the financial performance of your business.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Australia – Is your employer brand under threat?
How are the deteriorating economic conditions in global markets affecting companies’ employer brands? Business confidence in Australia has dropped to its lowest levels since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, influenced by soaring food and fuel prices and high interest rates. Regardless of this, it is suggested that unemployment will remain steady at 4.3%.
The National Australia Bank’s monthly business survey indicates that employment conditions have deteriorated to record their first negative monthly reading in over six years.
In Australia Hudson produce a regular report on the state of employment entitled the ‘Hudson Report on Employment Expectations’. This substantial report which has established itself as a key socio-economic indicator for the Australian market surveyed more than 7,000 employers from more than 19 core industry groups.
The results for the July-September 2008 quarter include the following:
> 34.2% of these employers indicated an intention to increase permanent staff levels, a fall of 3.7% over the previous quarter
> figures for individual states were:
ACT 30.0%
WA 52.8%
QLD 42.2%
SA 42.8%
NSW 32.8%
VIC 28.3%
The continuing resources boom is helping maintain employer optimism at the peak, however sentiment in construction/property/engineering is the highest at 53.4% with resources a close second at 45.8%.
> 52.6% expected to maintain present numbers of staff
> 6.6% intend to decrease permanent staff levels
Overall these reports are not painting a particularly bleak picture. Although business confidence has obviously dropped, there is no suggestion of massive layoffs, bankruptcies and recruitment stoppages.
The difficulties experienced by recruiters to find quality talent remain and are unlikely to diminish for some time. Organisations are still faced with the continuing task of retaining top talent and keeping them engaged and motivated.
I guess those people at Heywood Innovation still have a job to do.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Share on Facebook
The National Australia Bank’s monthly business survey indicates that employment conditions have deteriorated to record their first negative monthly reading in over six years.
In Australia Hudson produce a regular report on the state of employment entitled the ‘Hudson Report on Employment Expectations’. This substantial report which has established itself as a key socio-economic indicator for the Australian market surveyed more than 7,000 employers from more than 19 core industry groups.
The results for the July-September 2008 quarter include the following:
> 34.2% of these employers indicated an intention to increase permanent staff levels, a fall of 3.7% over the previous quarter
> figures for individual states were:
ACT 30.0%
WA 52.8%
QLD 42.2%
SA 42.8%
NSW 32.8%
VIC 28.3%
The continuing resources boom is helping maintain employer optimism at the peak, however sentiment in construction/property/engineering is the highest at 53.4% with resources a close second at 45.8%.
> 52.6% expected to maintain present numbers of staff
> 6.6% intend to decrease permanent staff levels
Overall these reports are not painting a particularly bleak picture. Although business confidence has obviously dropped, there is no suggestion of massive layoffs, bankruptcies and recruitment stoppages.
The difficulties experienced by recruiters to find quality talent remain and are unlikely to diminish for some time. Organisations are still faced with the continuing task of retaining top talent and keeping them engaged and motivated.
I guess those people at Heywood Innovation still have a job to do.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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Thursday, June 5, 2008
Too many empty chairs...
It seems that despite much publicised recessionary trends we still have too many jobs that can’t be filled. Or is it that too many employment brands aren’t functioning the way they should? Or are people just too interested in excessive amounts of leisure time?
According to a recent Manpower survey Australia in particular is experiencing difficulties getting bums on seats with 52% experiencing difficulty finding staff. Mind you it’s even worse elsewhere - take Singapore for example with 57%, Hong Kong with 61%, Japan 63% and Romania 73%. Anyone want a job in Romania? On a worldwide basis 31% of employers have this challenge.
As you would anticipate, there is a reverse trend in the Americas, where most of the present economic problems are rooted. Here employer numbers having trouble finding employees have more than halved compared with last year.
In biggest demand are skilled manual trades, sales reps, technicians, engineers, management/executives, labourers, administrative assistants, drivers, accounting and finance staff and IT staff. But surely there should be an even bigger demand for employment branding consultants to help sort out this mess! You have our phone number right?
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singpore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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According to a recent Manpower survey Australia in particular is experiencing difficulties getting bums on seats with 52% experiencing difficulty finding staff. Mind you it’s even worse elsewhere - take Singapore for example with 57%, Hong Kong with 61%, Japan 63% and Romania 73%. Anyone want a job in Romania? On a worldwide basis 31% of employers have this challenge.
As you would anticipate, there is a reverse trend in the Americas, where most of the present economic problems are rooted. Here employer numbers having trouble finding employees have more than halved compared with last year.
In biggest demand are skilled manual trades, sales reps, technicians, engineers, management/executives, labourers, administrative assistants, drivers, accounting and finance staff and IT staff. But surely there should be an even bigger demand for employment branding consultants to help sort out this mess! You have our phone number right?
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singpore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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Thursday, May 29, 2008
HI POD - Are your employees leaving before you find out their name?
Listen to HI POD - Are your employees leaving before you find out their name?Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Are your employees leaving before you find out their name?
Hey guess what, the latest statistics out there in employer branding land suggest that 25 percent of new recruits decide how long they will stay by the end of the first week in their new job. It goes further to suggest that over 50 percent make that decision by the end of the first month. I guess first impressions count after all.
HR managers had better be very afraid.
Early leavers bolting for the door cite the following reasons…
1. Lack off cultural fit with the existing team
Did they not get to meet with the team before saying ‘yes’?
2. Misunderstandings as to what their role involved
Was it in writing, was it discussed at length and did they get the chance to discuss the role with fellow workers?
3. Being left unsupervised and unsupported too early
Did they have a supervisor and a buddy system?
4. They were not inducted properly nor given the support at the start
I’ll say that again… Did they have a supervisor and a buddy system?
5. They really were not interested in the first place
The interviewer should be trained to spot this in the application submission and detect any hesitation at the interview
6. They fear not being successful in the role
Perhaps they need more encouragement to get them through the first few weeks and to address any questions and concerns they may have
Employers need to know their own limitations and those of job candidates. A recruitment agency must take on the huge responsibility of identifying both and plan accordingly.
Post placement surveys of each new employee are essential to identify mismatches and misunderstandings so that appropriate action can be taken to rectify the situation. This can be tricky as some candidates have the ability to mask their true feelings down to a fine art, particularly if they have not as yet developed a sufficiently high level of trust in their new employer.
It is generally accepted that there are five key questions to be asked when selecting new employees:
1. Do they understand the organisation’s brand?
Can they identify positive aspects of the organisation’s brand? Can they identify how the organisation is differentiated from others? Do they understand what are the organisation’s values, vision and positioning in the market?
2. Are their behaviours appropriate?
Is the employee stable? Do their recognised habits fit with this role? Do they understand the company culture and know how to fit in?
3. How motivated are they?
Do they want to go the extra mile? Do they have business acumen? Do they want to get involved? Do they have the organisation’s success at heart?
4. How innovative are they?
Can they identify challenges and issues, think through them and find a solution?
5. Knowledge
Can they actually do the job? Do they understand what it entails? Do they have the education and training that enables them to perform the tasks required of them?
6. Comfortable in teams
Do they want to help people? Do they have the people skills to work together as a team and leverage other people’s ideas and involvement?
Tick these boxes and you’re likely to land a long term employee. If they leave early I guess you’d better engage a review of your employer brand. Or perhaps it’s the office wallpaper?
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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HR managers had better be very afraid.
Early leavers bolting for the door cite the following reasons…
1. Lack off cultural fit with the existing team
Did they not get to meet with the team before saying ‘yes’?
2. Misunderstandings as to what their role involved
Was it in writing, was it discussed at length and did they get the chance to discuss the role with fellow workers?
3. Being left unsupervised and unsupported too early
Did they have a supervisor and a buddy system?
4. They were not inducted properly nor given the support at the start
I’ll say that again… Did they have a supervisor and a buddy system?
5. They really were not interested in the first place
The interviewer should be trained to spot this in the application submission and detect any hesitation at the interview
6. They fear not being successful in the role
Perhaps they need more encouragement to get them through the first few weeks and to address any questions and concerns they may have
Employers need to know their own limitations and those of job candidates. A recruitment agency must take on the huge responsibility of identifying both and plan accordingly.
Post placement surveys of each new employee are essential to identify mismatches and misunderstandings so that appropriate action can be taken to rectify the situation. This can be tricky as some candidates have the ability to mask their true feelings down to a fine art, particularly if they have not as yet developed a sufficiently high level of trust in their new employer.
It is generally accepted that there are five key questions to be asked when selecting new employees:
1. Do they understand the organisation’s brand?
Can they identify positive aspects of the organisation’s brand? Can they identify how the organisation is differentiated from others? Do they understand what are the organisation’s values, vision and positioning in the market?
2. Are their behaviours appropriate?
Is the employee stable? Do their recognised habits fit with this role? Do they understand the company culture and know how to fit in?
3. How motivated are they?
Do they want to go the extra mile? Do they have business acumen? Do they want to get involved? Do they have the organisation’s success at heart?
4. How innovative are they?
Can they identify challenges and issues, think through them and find a solution?
5. Knowledge
Can they actually do the job? Do they understand what it entails? Do they have the education and training that enables them to perform the tasks required of them?
6. Comfortable in teams
Do they want to help people? Do they have the people skills to work together as a team and leverage other people’s ideas and involvement?
Tick these boxes and you’re likely to land a long term employee. If they leave early I guess you’d better engage a review of your employer brand. Or perhaps it’s the office wallpaper?
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Importance of People and Brand
People often assume that ‘branding’ is the sole domain of the marketing department in their organisation. In my experience it takes organisations a long time to recognise that brand promises must be delivered by all the people in the organisation, at all levels, all of the time. Customers are quick to spot the inconsistencies in brand delivery when they happen and can be very unforgiving.
Business articles on branding inevitably discuss the broader aspects of organisational, corporate, or employer branding. Organisations are waking up to the concept that having strong brands requires ongoing focus on the roles played by people, service delivery, process efficiencies, environments and consistency of experience delivered to customers by each one. Each relies on the other, with people being the overriding factor that determines overall success.
The employer brand must build positive perceptions externally as well as internally, particularly in the way an organisation promotes itself in the recruitment market place. Job applicants need to experience the company brand from everyone they meet, everything they read and everything they see – from viewing the first recruitment ad, through the interview process and at the point of induction.
It is important for an organisation to test how successful their employer brand is with new recruits, at each touch point that influences the candidate’s perception of the employer brand. This should be extended to identify employee, customer and stakeholder perceptions of the brand and the degree of consistency between them.
The customer experience of the brand should be paramount. Your people need to deliver on the brand promise and consistently develop better experiences for the customer that engage with them and win their hearts. At all customer touch points employees must display appropriate behaviours built on self-esteem, confidence and pride in the organisation.
Employees fully engaged by the brand are a key factor in differentiating businesses from competitors.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
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Business articles on branding inevitably discuss the broader aspects of organisational, corporate, or employer branding. Organisations are waking up to the concept that having strong brands requires ongoing focus on the roles played by people, service delivery, process efficiencies, environments and consistency of experience delivered to customers by each one. Each relies on the other, with people being the overriding factor that determines overall success.
The employer brand must build positive perceptions externally as well as internally, particularly in the way an organisation promotes itself in the recruitment market place. Job applicants need to experience the company brand from everyone they meet, everything they read and everything they see – from viewing the first recruitment ad, through the interview process and at the point of induction.
It is important for an organisation to test how successful their employer brand is with new recruits, at each touch point that influences the candidate’s perception of the employer brand. This should be extended to identify employee, customer and stakeholder perceptions of the brand and the degree of consistency between them.
The customer experience of the brand should be paramount. Your people need to deliver on the brand promise and consistently develop better experiences for the customer that engage with them and win their hearts. At all customer touch points employees must display appropriate behaviours built on self-esteem, confidence and pride in the organisation.
Employees fully engaged by the brand are a key factor in differentiating businesses from competitors.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
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Sunday, April 13, 2008
Employer of Choice
Almost 20% of the hits on my branding & communication company's website are from organisations seeking information on employer branding!
Is this 1/.symptomatic of there being no suitable job candidates out there or 2/.are companies afraid that they are just not perceived as great employment opportunities?
Is 1/. or 2/. correct? They both are.
No.1 is definitely the case in an Australian market which presently favours employees as a result of increasing skill shortages. It's a highly competitive market out there, there just aren't the same numbers of candidates looking for those vacancies. The economy has been strong for a long time, unemployment rates are low, we've had it pretty good. Whether or not 2008 is going to be the year of the big recession and big change is still being debated and perhaps may never happen. So what can you do about it?
You focus on No.2
The priority task for HR managers is to attract and retain talent by gaining a better understanding of employment branding and the benefits it provides.
"If the people on the inside don°t understand and respect your brand it's highly likely those on the outside don't.
To become an employer of choice employers need to define, nurture and manage the image and reputation their organisation wishes to grow in the minds of employees. Employer (a.k.a. employment) brands must engage with employees, inspire positive perceptions and communicate all the great things about the employment experience.
All too frequently new employees' job experiences fail to live up to recruitment promises, prompting disappointment and diminishing respect for the organisation's brand. In order to retain and motivate staff, organisations need to regularly reinforce and consistently deliver the offer that was made at the point of recruitment.
It is heartbreaking and increasingly expensive to have a valued employee, one who you considered crucial to your future success, leave and accept a position with a competitor. No employment experience is perfect. There will always be reasons why employees become dissatisfied and look elsewhere for new job opportunities. Most can be overcome and tend to be the result of little or no assistance in helping employees understand the organisation's brand and what it should mean to them, not coping with organisational change and confusion resulting from poor or non-existent communication.
In our experience key requirements of employment branding that have arisen in recent years are:
1/. satisfying employees' work experiences
2/. positioning the brand in the minds of employees and nurturing a positive perception
3/. regular communication to inform and motivate them and inspire respect for company culture, vision, procedures, policies, fellow employees and the executive team
4/. continuing education to help them work better and achieve more
5/. recognising and celebrating achievements and milestones
Listed below are situations that are likely to prompt organisations to consider their employment brand and related communications. Do you recognise any of them?
> launch of a new corporate brand
> merger or acquisition of new organisation
> change in organisation's culture or vision, perhaps inspired by new CEO
> company restructuring
> launch of new workplace initiatives
> changes in internal procedures or processes
> employee awards scheme
> employee social and environmental initiatives
> launch of new products
> brand repositioning to fend off competitors or tackle new markets
> brand extensions add new complexity
> appointment of new CEO or management team
> workforce retrenchments and reallocation of resources
> brand needs realigning with core values
> brand perception gap between managers and workforce
> business units have differing perceptions and motivations
> new employee induction materials
> training materials
> graduate recruitment
> documentation of organisation's procedures and policies
> regular communications to inform and motivate employees
> intranet not available or not working
> launch of new products or interest in new area of business
> HR is overstretched and needs external help
As you can see from the above, your employer brand can be challenged on many fronts.
To overcome these challenges, stakeholders need to be able to:
> identify and focus on key issues affecting the success of the organisation's employment brand
> recognise the gap between current and desired perceptions of the employment brand and how it measures up to those of competitor brands
> seek professional help to generate ideas and solutions.
To provide clarity on what is working and what is not, I recommend you make the following a priority. Audit your branded applications and communications collateral. Determine whether they are building a positive perception of your organisation, its positioning, its products and its employees. Gather information from current and prospective employees and measure their perceptions and motivations. Determine where the gaps are and what needs realigning. With this insight you will be well on your way to understanding what needs fixing. How you fix it is the big challenge.
In my experience managers tasked with this employer brand review are 'too close to the coalface' to make an unbiased and objective appraisal of the situation. An experienced external consultant is often the answer.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singpore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Share on Facebook
Is this 1/.symptomatic of there being no suitable job candidates out there or 2/.are companies afraid that they are just not perceived as great employment opportunities?
Is 1/. or 2/. correct? They both are.
No.1 is definitely the case in an Australian market which presently favours employees as a result of increasing skill shortages. It's a highly competitive market out there, there just aren't the same numbers of candidates looking for those vacancies. The economy has been strong for a long time, unemployment rates are low, we've had it pretty good. Whether or not 2008 is going to be the year of the big recession and big change is still being debated and perhaps may never happen. So what can you do about it?
You focus on No.2
The priority task for HR managers is to attract and retain talent by gaining a better understanding of employment branding and the benefits it provides.
"If the people on the inside don°t understand and respect your brand it's highly likely those on the outside don't.
To become an employer of choice employers need to define, nurture and manage the image and reputation their organisation wishes to grow in the minds of employees. Employer (a.k.a. employment) brands must engage with employees, inspire positive perceptions and communicate all the great things about the employment experience.
All too frequently new employees' job experiences fail to live up to recruitment promises, prompting disappointment and diminishing respect for the organisation's brand. In order to retain and motivate staff, organisations need to regularly reinforce and consistently deliver the offer that was made at the point of recruitment.
It is heartbreaking and increasingly expensive to have a valued employee, one who you considered crucial to your future success, leave and accept a position with a competitor. No employment experience is perfect. There will always be reasons why employees become dissatisfied and look elsewhere for new job opportunities. Most can be overcome and tend to be the result of little or no assistance in helping employees understand the organisation's brand and what it should mean to them, not coping with organisational change and confusion resulting from poor or non-existent communication.
In our experience key requirements of employment branding that have arisen in recent years are:
1/. satisfying employees' work experiences
2/. positioning the brand in the minds of employees and nurturing a positive perception
3/. regular communication to inform and motivate them and inspire respect for company culture, vision, procedures, policies, fellow employees and the executive team
4/. continuing education to help them work better and achieve more
5/. recognising and celebrating achievements and milestones
Listed below are situations that are likely to prompt organisations to consider their employment brand and related communications. Do you recognise any of them?
> launch of a new corporate brand
> merger or acquisition of new organisation
> change in organisation's culture or vision, perhaps inspired by new CEO
> company restructuring
> launch of new workplace initiatives
> changes in internal procedures or processes
> employee awards scheme
> employee social and environmental initiatives
> launch of new products
> brand repositioning to fend off competitors or tackle new markets
> brand extensions add new complexity
> appointment of new CEO or management team
> workforce retrenchments and reallocation of resources
> brand needs realigning with core values
> brand perception gap between managers and workforce
> business units have differing perceptions and motivations
> new employee induction materials
> training materials
> graduate recruitment
> documentation of organisation's procedures and policies
> regular communications to inform and motivate employees
> intranet not available or not working
> launch of new products or interest in new area of business
> HR is overstretched and needs external help
As you can see from the above, your employer brand can be challenged on many fronts.
To overcome these challenges, stakeholders need to be able to:
> identify and focus on key issues affecting the success of the organisation's employment brand
> recognise the gap between current and desired perceptions of the employment brand and how it measures up to those of competitor brands
> seek professional help to generate ideas and solutions.
To provide clarity on what is working and what is not, I recommend you make the following a priority. Audit your branded applications and communications collateral. Determine whether they are building a positive perception of your organisation, its positioning, its products and its employees. Gather information from current and prospective employees and measure their perceptions and motivations. Determine where the gaps are and what needs realigning. With this insight you will be well on your way to understanding what needs fixing. How you fix it is the big challenge.
In my experience managers tasked with this employer brand review are 'too close to the coalface' to make an unbiased and objective appraisal of the situation. An experienced external consultant is often the answer.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singpore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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