The Intersection of Brand and Culture: Leveraging Engaged Employees as Brand Ambassadors Presented by: Cindy Mielke, CPIM IMA Recognition Council President
Strong Brands Command a premium price Pave the way for product expansion Thrive during a down economy Withstand turbulence better Demand more leverage with partnerships Fuel stock price/shareholder value Attract the best talent
Your brand is a living business asset that is a key source of value to your business
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Zappos Impressive credentials Achieved $1 billion in revenue in 10 years Strong rate of repeat customers and word-of-mouth marketing Consistently on Fortune s 100 Best Places to Work list High customer service ranking Zappos strategic plan Customer service is not their #1 priority, culture is.
J.D. Power Airline Satisfaction Survey #1 in 2014 = JetBlue All careers at JetBlue start with Cultural Immersion training Cultural storytelling by executives Honest and transparent reveal of strategy Jettitude
Employee Engagement Less than ONE THIRD of workers were engaged in 2014 51% of workers were not engaged 17.5% were actively disengaged
Market Leader Characteristics Customer Experience Foresight & Innovation Brand Investment Image Management Measuring & Monitoring Design Marketplace Vitality Organizational Stature 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Marsh & McLennan Companies: ViewPoint Delivering the Brand Promise through Employees
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So, Who s Job is Employee Engagement, Anyway?
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Reviews Gain Power Traffic to top 10 review sites up 158% 92% have more confidence in online info 70% consult reviews before purchasing 51% of consumers use internet before making a purchase 46% feel they can be brutally honest online 34% use social media to air their feelings 26% to express dissatisfaction 23% to share likes
Feedback Impacts Brand 82.5% Use Trip Advisor for Every Trip 83% Read and Post Reviews 77.6% Reviews Reduce Regret 76.5% Adds Fun to Travel Planning 17
Brand Link Re-defined Enthusiastic, engaged employees have never been more important!
(Insurance) agents in the top quartile for engagement achieve over four times the account growth of agents not in the top quartile. - The Forum: Business Results Through People
Organizations that deliver truly outstanding customer support will be the winners in the new economy. Customers expect an experience that reflects a product or service marketing promise. - Incentive Research Foundation 20
Recognition Drives Engagement Aon Hewitt: Recognition is one of the important drivers of employee engagement Bernsin & Associates: Organizations that design and deploy strategic recognition programs realize a 14% higher employee engagement index score than those without systematic recognition And, a 15% improvement in employee engagement can yield a 2% gain in operating margins.
Top Need: Alignment Leaders Today, brands extend past the characteristics of the product into its deeper DNA. Further, they are strengthened by consistency. The strong brand is one that is aligned, inside and out.
Steps Toward Improved Culture and Engagement Communicate Collaborate Join the Conversation Celebrate Appreciate/Recognize
Cultivating Brand Ambassadors Communicate Imagine and advance a vision Articulate your vision in as few words as possible Give employees latitude to deliver brand promise Let employees preview marketing INSPIRE vs. tell
Cultivating Brand Ambassadors Collaborate Establish an employee marketing council Encourage employees to experiment with products Allow employees to represent you in the community Capture innovative ideas in a formal program Promote job shadowing and mentoring Lift the ban on social marketing
Social Media Brand You can t control the conversation, so join it. Nearly everyone is social these days Not feasible to hand-pick or restrict social representation Cultivate a culture worth broadcasting Focus more on empowering a positive culture vs. social media policy
Cultivating Brand Ambassadors Celebrate Leverage progress as a means to perpetuate your brand Package momentum in external marketing Match real faces with the brand use employees in marketing Establish celebration rituals that are tied to small wins Acknowledge failure as a means to make improvements
Cultivating Brand Ambassadors Appreciate/Recognize Capture and reinforce your core values in action Establish tangible metrics to gauge success Assess employee understanding of your brand promise and reinforce competence Recognize and highlight employees who successfully live the brand
A Final Review Brand is NOT a logo or a tagline Brand is exemplified by ENGAGED EMPLOYEES A robust and vibrant CULTURE is a byproduct of employee engagement CULTURE fuels brand Social media feedback impacts brand; join the conversation! Recognition is an important engagement driver Communicate/Collaborate/Celebrate/Appreciate
Thank You! Cindy Mielke, CPIM IMA Recognition Council President Phone: 402-960-4026 Twitter: @Cindy_Mielke LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cmielke
Bibliography Recognition Council Whitepaper, The Intersection of Brand and Culture: Leveraging Engaged Employees as Brand Ambassadors, 2014 Recognition Council Whitepaper, It s Personal: The Brand, the Consumer, and Employee Recognition, 2013 Gallup Survey: http://www.gallup.com/poll/181289/majority-employees-notengaged-despite-gains-2014.aspx Gallup Great Workplace Award: http://www.gallup.com/events/178865/gallupgreat-workplace-award-current-previouswinners.aspx?utm_source=gallup_great_workplace_award&utm _medium=topic&utm_campaign=tiles Top Need: Alignment Leaders blog by Tim McMahon, Clinical Associate Professor at Creighton University
This presentation was produced by the Recognition Council, a strategic industry group that educates and promotes the benefits of recognition and rewards to the worldwide business community. More information is available at www.recognitioncouncil.org. 32