Dream employers – a brand story

At the launch event for the Dream Employers, as a participant of the panel – James Garriock, CEO Insync Surveys – asked me to respond to the following questions… I share with you the essence of my answers.

1. Brand is the most appealing attribute for a Dream Employer. What builds a brand and do you think a strong brand equates to a great employer. Why?

Brands are built in the hearts of our customers through the relationships they have with that organisation. Every customer touch point adds or detracts from that relationship, brand is not advertising, but how people experience the brand. It is the people they meet, the stories they hear, what they see on social network sites that form people’s opinions about a business. People question if they can trust and believe the story. It is no different in building an employer brand.

In the Dream Employers report we see that Australians and Kiwis believe in these brands… but the number one way that people validate what they believe in is by checking with existing employees. If the story that employees tell about a business is different to what people believe to be true then the brand reputation is damaged.

This is why employees are the new customers. Each employee has a voice (and could be a personal publisher), as such it is up to leadership teams to stay vigilant and committed to the employee experience – because that will mirror the customer experience.

2. Not everybody has the money to create a household brand name. What other ways can employers make themselves more attractive?

I don’t really agree that it is the size of the budget that creates a ‘brand name’. In fact, quite the contrary – all the marketing funds in the world cannot change perceptions. ‘Icing on mud pie’ springs to mind. Think BP – at them moment people are confused. All the promotional budget spent on ‘convincing’ us that it is a ‘clean brand’ – when a mishap has undone this notion. I have no doubt that the leadership team is committed to a clean planet. But the incident (actions) outweigh that belief.

I shared the story of when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, and focused the business back to its core purpose – cutting many programs and products. It was not advertising that has put Apple where it is today – it is the execution of its purpose… it’s never ever giving up commitment to produce the best devices on the planet. The consumer promise is met with integrity so the word will travel. People believe in what it stands for – and the advertising reinforces that.

So it is not the size of the budget that counts – it is the commitment to vision, values and keeping people aligned that will make the difference in creating a household name – together with the authenticity of the message.

3. Reward and recognition was rated just a highly as pay, and personal interest. Why do you think this is?

People have a choice – if people have talent and determination it is up to them to choose where they work. Once that person is inside an organisation it is also up to that person to determine how much of their ‘discretionary’ effort they choose to give to that organisation.

It is a fundamental of human nature – the need to belong and be noticed. More than ever there is a melding between the work week and weekend. People want to contribute to something bigger than themselves… and simply recognising people’s contribution does so much for making that person feel great about where they work and why they choose to work there.

We know that people will forget that they were acknowledged within a week of receiving the accolade. Which is why reward and recognition programs are so important. It means there is a platform of saying ‘thanks’. Leaders and managers are reminded that it is an imperative because a program is in place.

It is not hard to notice what people contribute – but a structured approach to recognition will make the difference of making sure that no one gets forgotten.

Naomi Simson is considered one of Australia’s ‘Best Bosses’. She is an employee engagement advocate and practices what she preaches in her own business. RedBalloon has been named as one of only six Hewitt Best Employers in Australia and New Zealand for 2009 and awarded an engagement scorecard of over 90% two years in a row – the average in Australian businesses is 55%. RedBalloon has also been nominated by BRW as being in the top 10 Best Places to Work in Australia behind the likes of Google. One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a passionate speaker inspiring people on employer branding, engagement and reward and recognition. Naomi writes a blogand is a published author – and has received many accolades and awards for the business she founded – RedBalloon.com.au.