You probably already know the importance of a strong employer brand, but did you know that it’s just as important to find ways to activate it? That means creating clear strategies related to your mission, your values and the things that make your company unique. According to LinkedIn’s Employer Brand Statistics report, companies with a strong employer brand reduce their cost-per-hire by 50% and see a 28% reduction in employee turnover.
We’ve written in the past about the best ways to activate your brand externally. Today, I want to focus on the best ways to tell that story to your existing team and help your employees become passionate about your mission.
Communicate your brand values effectively
One of the best ways to get team members excited about your brand is to help them understand its importance and how it can impact others. A great way to do this is to emphasize your company’s core values and make them a part of your team’s day-to-day work. This can include posting them in a prominent place in the office, including them on your website and talking about them and highlighting employees who illustrate them at team meetings. In addition to allowing team members to develop a better understanding of the brand, this can help them identify how the brand aligns with their personal values and how they can bring those values to bear on their work.
Pro Tip: Make your mission a part of everything you do — from small projects to company-wide meetings. This can ensure that everyone is on the same page about the company’s mission and that they’re working together to bring it to life.
Get your team members involved
Companies like Starbucks, IBM and Walmart are powerful examples of how internal brand activation can lead to success. The key thing they have in common: making their employees stakeholders in the brand-building process by asking them to take the lead on new projects and employee-focused initiatives. This is a great way to ensure that team members feel empowered within the company and that they take pride in sharing their work with others.
Pro Tip: Encouraging employees to take an active role in educating others can go a long way toward helping them feel even more empowered about their work and their role within the company. It can also forge strong connections across teams and demonstrate the importance of having a unified brand.
Go all-in on engagement
Few things are more important than engagement when it comes to recruiting, and the same is true for activating your employer brand. To get your team members on board with your mission, it’s important to prioritize engagement in a big way. This should include employee-focused programs and regular team meetings, as well as the opportunity for employees to share insights with others in the organization.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget the fun. Company-wide events, team-building activities and social media initiatives can be a great way to bring your team closer together and offer them the chance to highlight the things that matter most to them both within and outside of the company. Why not try a fun video competition that’s shared internally? Get creative!
The bottom line: Your employer brand is who you are as a company and getting your team members involved in a meaningful way can get them excited about your work and the things you stand for. It can also be a powerful way for employees to become brand ambassadors by proudly sharing their work and success with those outside the company.
To learn more about developing and improving your employer brand, learn the top 3 tips for employee retention and strategies to beat out the competition with killer employer branding.
