Black Jade Creative

Ever think about employee branding?  Well now you will.

Employee branding is an indirect branding effect using company employees to help characterize the company’s Employer Brand. In other words, this is a way of helping your brand through good word-of-mouth by the people who work for you.

I read an article about a month ago about McDonald’s having a huge hiring event.  McDonald’s has hopes of changing the public’s view on working there from a “dead-end, last resort” type of job, into a career path with possibility of growth and development.  Does employee branding have anything to do with the way others judge working at a company?

I was curious to learn why it is viewed as OK for someone to get a job at Starbucks compared to someone getting a job at McDonald’s.  Both pay hourly, both hire people of different genders, ethnicities and ages, and both have uniforms.  I made a few attempts to contact someone from McDonald’s and Starbucks to see what they think about their employee branding and what it means to them…. but got no answers in return….ooo the life of an intern.  Luckily, the folks at Schupp Company, Fleishman-Hillard, and Scottrade gave me great insight about employee branding and how it keeps their companies successful.

Each company had a slightly different emphasis on employee branding and the best way to make the most of it.

Michael Buffa, a junior team member at Schupp Company tells me he has always known Schupp Co. to have a solid reputation as a great place to work. He shared with me that Schupp Company is currently in the process of discussing their brand positioning, and how to empower employees to live that brand and share those experiences.

“Schupp Company has been very fortunate in the past in getting some great PR around St. Louis,” Buffa says, “we have received numerous “Best Place to Work” awards, appeared on news stations, and have been able to talk about overall agency credibility.”

This is a case of a company riding high on the quality of its work but by the reputations of its employees as well.

Michael tells me the people he meets say, “Oh wow, you work at Schupp?  I hear that is a great place to work!”  He says luckily they haven’t had to work too hard in the past to maintain Schupp Company’s great brand name.

Michael still knows that in the age of social media and transparency Schupp’s next step will be to work at maintaining the status they have established in the past.  I learned Schupp Company empowers you to do what you want to do.  If you view their website, you can clearly see that the employees have everything they need to stay creative, positive, and enjoying their home away from home.  Schupp Co. offers money to decorate your office area, beer, coffee, agency trips, the ability to bring your dog to work, a workout center, pool table, and other fun stuff to stay motivated.

Looks like employee branding is a piece of cake here…. and they actually might have cake in the office as we speak.

Fleishman-Hillard also takes great pride in employee branding, but in a more “actions speak louder than words” sort of way. I was pointed in the direction of Agnes Gioconda, Chief Talent Officer at Fleishman-Hillard who gave me great responses to all of my employee branding questions.  Agnes said that employee branding at FH is all about living the culture no matter whether you are in the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, or Europe.  It is about making sure that employees live by the code of ethics from day one and that their guiding principles of mutual respect, teamwork, and old-fashioned “client comes first” customer service is the global tapestry that is “our team”.  It is believed that you need a team of diverse employees who want long and rewarding careers, and FH wants them to have different points of view, educational and professional backgrounds, and personal experiences.

“Employee branding helps our clients feel confident that they will have the same exceptional client service around the globe.  Employee branding supports a seamless approach to integration supported by a unique and thoughtfully chosen network of experts.  It’s this consistency of high quality client service that has fueled the growth of FH,” says Agnes.

When I asked Agnes what they do to keep a great work place and name versus other companies that might not have such a good reputation, she said, “the bottom line is that you need to live by your code of ethics.   These guidelines should never go out of style, mutual respect, teamwork and old-fashioned “client comes first” customer service.”

Prestige and fun are both parts of what companies do to help with employee branding. Compensation is also a biggie on that list.

At Fleishman Hillard pay reflects their philosophy to attract and retain the highest caliber team in the industry.  Individual pay is determined by individual performance, level of responsibility, and assignment.  Employees are rewarded for their contributions with both financial and career opportunities.

My last stop was Scottrade where loyalty reigns supreme.  Here I got in touch with Leigh Hamer who stated, “In 31 years of business Scottrade has never had a layoff. Scottrade has given quarterly bonuses each quarter since instituting the practice 28 years ago. In three years the firm has more than doubled its workforce to 3,500 associates nationwide. We look for individuals who can live and support our culture; this extends to every job offer from interns to executives. More than 23 percent of our current branch managers began their careers with Scottrade as interns and more than 18 percent of our associates started as interns.”

Reputation is also a big driver of Employee Branding.

Glassdoor.com recently named Nestle Purina Petcare #1 of its “Top

Companies for Work-Life Balance,” list based on info from  according to employees.  The Nestle Purina staffers stated they get a gym, on-site daycare, credit union, and company store where they can shop.  The company is very understanding of giving its employees a flexible work schedule and even lets their employees can even bring their pets to work if needed.  In fact, Nestle Purina is looking for interns and entry-level job seekers to fill roles. You can find out more from STL Today.

Nestle Purina isn’t the only St. Louis company on the list. Scottrade ranks number 20 on Glassdoor’s “Top Companies for work-life balance,” which relies on the input of employees.

Prestige, fun, loyalty, reputation and of course compensation, it is clear to me employee branding does impact the way others view a company.  If the employees like working there, then others will want to work there as well.  Though it is very important to have a college degree if not higher degrees as well to get a job at one of these “Best Places to Work,” it is also important to see what these companies do in the long run for their employees.

In my opinion I do not know if any minimum wage paying job will ever be on quite the same level with employee branding as companies where you are salaried with a full time position, however there should always be opportunity to advance and move up in the work place, and these types of jobs are usually where positive employee branding is accomplished.

Article by: Valerie Rieben
Originally Published on AdSaint.com, May 31, 2011

The effects of social media on marketing and branding have caught many CMOs off guard. Just five years ago, it was conventional wisdom that social media would quickly peak and fade in importance. Then two years ago, CMOs found themselves scrambling to launch Facebook fan pages and Twitter streams, trying to catch up with consumers who appeared to be migrating in droves to social networks and smartphones.

While the 30-second TV spot has held its own, the evolution of social media marches on. It continues to grow, and is entering its third stage of evolution. It is now becoming the focal point for consumers and citizens to form strong links and communities centered around shared values and common goals to persuade corporations to participate in building a better world. A few brands have caught on with cause-conscious marketing initiatives like the Pepsi Refresh Project, Starbucks’ Shared Planet, Walmart’s Sustainability Index, Nike’s Livestrong partnership, and Procter & Gamble’s “Clean Water Blogivation” effort, to name but a few.

Social media represents a significant and permanent change that CMOs must embrace. Disingenuous efforts to fast track your social-media footprint simply by stockpiling “fans” will not only prove ineffective but will backfire. Savvy social-media customers know when there is no authentic commitment to engage with them.

The key today is CMOs must shift their strategies from trumpeting their brand as the “celebrity” (with all attention directed inward on themselves) to being the chief celebrant of their customers’ community. This shift entails rethinking many fundamental elements of your marketing strategy. Here is a step-by-step strategy for brands to build customer engagement by leveraging the evolving tools of social media.

1. Define Your Core Values. Rethink how you want to define (or redefine) your brand. What are its core values? Its purpose? The answers should not be framed in terms of admirable but empty promises, but authentically humanistic values that are constructive and shareable within your brand community.

2. Get Leadership Buy-in. As CMO, you need to facilitate the adoption of these values throughout the company. It starts with getting buy-in from your CEO, and must extend down through the leadership and management ranks. You cannot let the inertia of the hierarchical organization become a stumbling block.

3. Align Employees Around the Values and Purpose. Your employee base is your first line of loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising for the brand, so you need to ensure that your brand’s support for social cause resonates with them. A powerful way to do this is to invite the CEO to craft a video message or contribute to a blog especially for employees. Also, promote employee volunteer activities and celebrate the good works they do on their own time within the company culture.

4. Celebrate Your Customers, Not Your Brand. This step is one of the hardest for CMOs who have built their success on traditional broadcast thinking. It involves transitioning from a push to a pull strategy, from “me first” to “we first” thinking. One of the key shifts here is to share the brand’s storytelling with your customers. You must invite them to co-author the stories your brand is telling and allow them to be partners in the distribution of content about your brand. The guiding principles of a pull strategy are as follows:

• Recognize that your story is now your community’s story.
• Lead with listening rather than talking about your own brand.
• Start treating customers as living, breathing people with concerns about the world.
• Invest time and energy in building relationships as well as making profits.
• Expand from a sales focus into a service mentality.
• Become a day trader in social emotion by constantly monitoring your brand’s reputation.

5. Focus customer service on engagement. Be mindful of the social footprint of your customers and see them as partners in disseminating your values rather than as purchasers of your products.

Taking these steps may feel uncomfortable at first, as they probably go against the grain of existing business models, profit centers and incentive schemes. But they are reflective of the new marketplace of customers that gravitate to social media at every chance they can to talk about their brand choices. Your goal is to authentically inspire your customers to become emotionally invested in the company’s success not only because they love your brand but because they respect your values and purpose.

Article by: Simon Mainwaring
Originally Published on AdAge.com, June 1, 2011