Branding has become a crucial ongoing process now; organizations have budgets & plans for building the right impression in minds of customers. As if print media & electronic media were not enough, now there’s also social media to do branding on. Company branding activities are defined & controlled by the management. Company brand means how a company is perceived by customers & people from outside.
But what about the internal customer?
The employees are an organization’s ‘first customers’. This is where Employer branding comes into the picture because the internal customer should always come first. Employer brand means how an organization is perceived by its own workforce. The employer always has a ‘brand’ – irrespective of whether it has been consciously developed or not. Employer branding is clearly driven by its employees & other stakeholders.
Company branding is considered of prime importance but there is also a need to focus on employer branding equally. Consistency is a key issue here. Employees expect consistency in how their organization presents itself to outsiders & what really happens inside. So it is necessary to plan strategy & actions for creating a good brand both outside of & within the company.
How can a digital pinboard like CircleYard help in internal employer branding?
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Delivering Elevator Pitch, Mission Statement
Organizations can create an elevator pitch for employees. The elevator pitch can be combined with media like images, videos as well as audios & posted regularly on CircleYard. Delivering a message through such media introduces brevity, makes the message more attractive & thus, makes it easier to remember. Similar branding exercises can be carried out with organization’s mission & vision statements.
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Connecting management with employees
CircleYard’s ‘Employee Recognition’ feature acts as a connecting link between management & employees. Anyone in an organization can rate anyone. While posting, there is an option to make the Employee Recognition post viewable to everyone in the organization. This lets the management publicly recognize employees who deliver while adhering to the organization’s mission & values. Such recognition helps in reinforcing the mission & values which contribute to building a strong employer brand.
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Monitoring company culture
Organizations need to constantly evaluate whether the employees are feeling connected to the company’s culture. CircleYard’s ‘Surveys’ & ‘Q&A’ features let anyone create surveys & ask relevant questions. Appropriate surveys & questions can be planned for regular internal research & analysis. Regular surveys & analysis provide clarity in strategizing for the future.
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Documenting activities & events
‘Events’ feature of CircleYard allows anyone to post about an event or activity in advance. After the event, images & videos can be posted to cover how the event went. All posts are available for future reference. It is necessary to document all activities undertaken by the management as it adds to the employer brand.
Employer branding also builds an indirect link between the organization & prospective hires. When existing employees speak well about the company to their friends, it increases the aspirational value of working for such a brand. Digital pinboards like CircleYard effectively sustain Internal Employer Branding efforts & ensure a smooth journey from employer brand positioning to employer brand promise.