Building

1
Building Enforcingan Employer Brand Why,
What How SCMP Conference June 1, 2004
W W W . W A T S O N W Y A T T . C O M
Presented by Helene Li
2
Managing Brands

Fundamentally, a brand is a promise a company
makes to consumers. Microsoft Corporation
A great brand is a story thats never completely
told. Scott Bedbury (Nike Starbucks)
3
Whats in a Brand?

• Helps you stand out from the crowd
• Sets you apart from competitors
• Allows you to be distinctive, unique, different
• Reflects your culture
• Symbolizes who you are, what you believe in
• A potentially powerful marketing tool

4
Whats a corporate brand?

• Logo, symbol, trademark
• An image
• Corporate vision, values
• Mission statement
• A catchy song, slogan
• Caters to a specific niche, target market
• Positioning statement
• An experience

Corporate brands are typically recognizable in
the external market.
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Whats an Employee Brand?

• Extension of your corporate brand
• Embodies corporate vision, values
• Consistent with mission statement
• Reflected in people/HR policies and programs
• Employer value proposition

Unlike corporate brands, the employee brand is
not as easily discernible to its target audience
- current and potential employees. Therefore, it
must be marketed and communicated just as
vigorously!
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Our Key Stakeholders
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In short
Brands evoke emotions
Positive or negative images
Employees choose employers they can believe in
External corporate brand values must be driven by
employees
External corporate brand internal employee
brand must be aligned for optimum brand equity
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What is Internal/Employment Branding?

• Selling the Brand Inside. You tell customers
  what makes you great. Do your employees know?
  Internal branding is the best way to help
  employees make a powerful connection to the
  products and services you sell. When people care
  about and believe in the brand, theyre motivated
  to work harder and their loyalty to the company
  increases.
• Colin Mitchell
• Harvard Business Review

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Communication Marketing Model
Employee Communication
Consumer Marketing
Action Our goals are the same and I will share
with others
Sustained loyalty and advocacy
Commitment I love the brand
Satisfaction and ongoing relationship
Informed participation and usage
Acceptance I prefer the brand
Grasp of roles, key info, and value
Understanding I understand the brand
Awareness I am aware of the brand

Informed cues and perception
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Branding in China Satisfaction Brand Equity

• How satisfied are corporations with their
  investment in brand management?

• How many corporations measure their brand equity?

Source Watson Wyatt Branding Survey in Greater
China 2004
11
Branding in China Budget Allocation
Effectiveness

• Budget allocation

• Effectiveness on marketing budget spending, from
  corporations view

Source Watson Wyatt Branding Survey in Greater
China 2004
12
Branding in China Employee Understanding
Number of Communication Programs on Corporate
Brand
Source Watson Wyatt Branding Survey in Greater
China 2004
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Implications

• Branding strategies, especially in China, are not
  fully effective and integrated
• Need to strengthen the marketing effectiveness
  and integration of branding activities
• While corporations emphases brand communication,
  they lack assessment of its effectiveness
• Better communication assessment and effective use
  of communication tools
• While surveyed corporations have clear knowledge
  about their brands, employee branding will help
  employees at all level further consolidate their
  brand knowledge
• Better alignment of employee and customer
  brandings to increase the effectiveness of
  branding investment

(For full survey report, please contact Watt
Wyatt Communication Practice in Hong Kong)
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What Are The Key Positive Employee Attitudes
That Drive Commitment?
Understanding WorkChina
Increased Commitment

• Leadership Management
• Performance Management
• Communication
• Work Environment
• Job Satisfaction

Shareholder Returns
HIGH
MID

• Compensation

• Benefits
• Training and Dev.
• Innovation
• Teamwork

OTHER
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Key Findings From WorkChina
Teamwork

• Chinese employees rate their companies quite
  high in the area of teamwork. Scores are much
  higher in China on these items than they are in
  the US.
• Scores were most favorable when referring to
  teamwork within the immediate workgroup.
• Scores were much lower when referring to
  teamwork across departments or functions

Finding

• Chinese companies need to find ways to improve
  their cross-functional knowledge sharing and
  teamwork.

Implication
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Key Findings From WorkChina
Communication

• Chinese employees generally rate their companys
  quite high in the area of communication.
• However, companies score less well in the areas
  of communicating about pay (41 favorable) and
  communicating about benefits (47).

Finding

• There is still a lot of room for improvement for
  Chinese companies in this area.
• Effective communication about pay and benefits
  is essential given the talent market in China.

Implication
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What Drives Employee Loyalty?

• A recent Fortune study on the best places to
  work
• Employees attributed their loyalty not to money
  but to two other factors
• Feeling that they belong
• Feeling that they are part of a mission bigger
  than their job

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Why Create an Internal/Employment Brand?

• An Organizations Perspective

Having a strong brand for employees is a
competitive advantage and a strategic
advantage. Beth Sawi Chief Administrative
Officer Charles Schwab

• Increased employee loyalty and decreased employee
  turnover.
• Lower system-wide communication costs and
  consistent messaging.
• Enhanced recruitment and retention.

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Why Create an Internal/Employment Brand?

• An Organizations Perspective
• Improved financial and market performance/value.
• Enhanced customer experience.
• Greater employee initiative.
• A clear and defensible strategic direction
  (regardless of market changes)
• Increased productivity and improved operational
  efficiency.

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Branding Protocols to Remember

• Identify and reinforce organizational values.
• Actively involve employees in the development of
  the brand.
• Ensure all employees become brand ambassadors by
  encouraging participation and ownership.
• Commit to creating a brand that employees are
  proud of and that reflects external brand and
  internal culture
• Align with business strategies.

21

• Emotion is the common currency of all brands.