Entice the world with the greatness of you. That may sound a bit extreme and self-aggrandizing, but hear me out, there’s a lot of business sense in that statement. It’s all about developing and promoting your organizational brand.
Your organization is more than a product or service. Behind the ‘what’, there is a ‘who’ and a ‘why’ that makes your organization unique. People are loyal to organizations that share values common to their own. Share your story to gain a following, externally and internally.
Drive Success with Your Organizational Brand
As a leader, you want to woo people to your organization. You want people to recognize you as the industry leader because of your product and because of the health of your organization. The brand for your organization should be considered a significant factor in your strategic plan.
- Create a Story
- Tell Your Story
Before you promote your organizational brand, you should have one worth promoting. This takes intentional planning. There is no one-plan-fits-all. Take a look at your employees and reflect on what is most important to them.
During work hours:
What can you do to make their days more enjoyable, which leads to happier and more motivated employees?
- Provide an occasional meal or treat
- Celebrate accomplishments and milestones
- Offer flexible work hours or a remote office
- Recognize holidays that are important to your demographics
- Offer new challenges and further enrichment to interested team members
Outside of work hours:
Think outside the walls of your building. What interests your team members that your organization can contribute to?
- Are your employees interested in softball? Create a softball team. Runners? Create a running group.
- Do they like gardening? Consider a garden plot.
- Are they alumni of a college or university? Get connected with the college’s activities. Teach, mentor, serve and be present on campus.
- Do you employees want to give their time, talent or treasure? Create a community day.
In the community:
Take a look at the community as well. How can you and your employees partner with local charities to make a difference in the community? The experiences you have with local charities can be enriching beyond what you expect going in. The relationships you build through community service can also become very valuable and, potentially, financially profitable.
Your efforts to make your organization a great place to work will certainly pay off. When people are happy with their employer they are not in any hurry to look elsewhere for employment. This gives you a base of committed and motivated employees, saving you on recruitment and training costs.
Tell Your Story; Your Organizational Brand
Once your healthy culture and team chemistry is established, don’t keep it a secret. You’ve developed a story worth sharing.
As a general rule, consumers want to give their business to people they feel they can trust. If they have never heard of you, people are less likely to work with you. We feel more comfortable with organizations that we know something about. And how else would you be known unless you share your story?
A portion of your marketing dollars should be spent promoting your story– your organizational brand. You want the marketplace to hear of your vibrant and exciting organization. You also want the talent workforce to learn of it. Drawing new customers and new talent is a winning formula for success.
It is easier to fill jobs when talent comes looking for you versus you looking for them. So, if you have significant talent needs every year, your focus should be set on marketing and branding your organization.
Map out the specific type of talent your organization needs for success. Then utilize your network, your resources, and your advisors to help you identify where the best employee base is located. Then you can invest your energy in getting your story heard by them.
Be Intentional about Your Organizational Brand
Your organizational brand must be purposely crafted and told. If left to happenstance, people will make their own assumptions and generally be under impressed. To draw loyal customers and employees make your story count.
Are there companies that have won you over by their story?