Did you know that only 4 in 10 employees strongly agree that they know what their company stands for and only 2 in 10 employees feel connected to their employer? A strong brand can help bridge that gap—not by solving every internal challenge, but by fostering a sense of shared values, purpose, and culture.
Dan Pallotta once wrote in an article in the Harvard Business Review, “Brand is much more than a name or a logo. Brand is everything, and everything is brand.”
This is one of those insights that makes complete sense but is easy to miss until something like an HBR article (or this article!) opens our minds to the concept. If brand is everything, it's nurtured and experienced outside AND inside an organization.
A brand is shaped by the experiences of everyone who comes in contact with it. Every interaction reflects your brand. So, it’s essential to prioritize building, protecting, and representing your internal brand as well as your external one. If not, you end up with a group of individuals who don’t understand your mission and don’t care about your company’s future.
This blog examines how a powerful brand can lead to a more motivated and unified workforce. In addition, we’ll uncover strategies for aligning your brand identity with your company's internal values. The rewards extend far beyond mere profit.
“Brand is much more than a name or a logo. Brand is everything, and everything is brand.” - Dan Pallotta, Harvard Business Review
Brand impact on employees
Research shows a solid, positive brand boosts employee morale and company culture. Employees sharing a brand's values and mission creates a strong synergy. It increases motivation, satisfaction, and productivity. Here's a summary of key findings and insights from various research studies.
Employee recruiting
Today’s employees search for employers with a brand they believe in and are proud to represent. Here’s the research from Glassdoor that tells us how important a brand can be to recruiting.
- 86% of job seekers research company reviews and ratings to decide where to apply.
- 75% of job seekers are likely to apply for a job if the employer actively manages its employer brand.
- 86% of women and 67% of men in the United States wouldn't join a company with a bad reputation.
- 68% of Millennials, 54% of Gen-Xers, and 48% of Boomers indicated they visit an employer's social media before applying for a job to evaluate the employer's brand.
In addition, according to LinkedIn, a solid brand can reduce the cost of hiring new employees by 50% and draw 50% more qualified applicants to a company.
Employee satisfaction
The alignment between personal values and organizational values profoundly impacts employee satisfaction. The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 60% of workers choose their workplaces based on company values. Employees who are well-informed about a brand and its values are more likely to feel connected and motivated.
According to Glassdoor, 92% of people would consider changing jobs if offered a job with a company with an excellent reputation. About 30% of employees have left a job within the first 90 days of starting because of a misalignment with their employer’s values or mission.
Employee engagement and productivity
Gallup identifies engagement as the performance aspect of workplace culture. Engagement matches employees' goals and values with their work. It ensures they are invested in their tasks and committed to the organization's goals. Employees who believe in their company's brand are more engaged. Gallup found that engaged employees are also more productive. They provide better customer service and have higher retention rates. Engaged employees are also 23 times more likely than disengaged ones to recommend their organization as a great place to work.
Cohesive culture
The general definition of company culture is “the shared values, attributes, and characteristics of an organization.” According to Gallup, the simpler definition is "how we do things around here."
Researchers know that a positive workplace culture affects a company's performance. Staff members who strongly agree with the statement "I feel connected to my organization's culture" are 3.7 times as likely to be engaged at work. When a company's brand and culture are united, they mutually reinforce each other's strengths, creating a continuous cycle of success.
For instance, a company with a brand that commits to exceptional customer service is likely to cultivate a culture that values and rewards employees who fulfill that commitment. This synergy ensures that the company keeps its promises. It boosts employee satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Enhance your brand through organizational purpose
Organizational purpose can either strengthen or weaken a brand. There's a strategic opportunity to enhance your brand through thoughtful internal cultural alignment.
When a company's brand and culture are misaligned, it often causes a cycle of failure. For example, a company that promotes itself as delivering high-quality products but has a culture of cost-cutting may produce subpar products. This can undermine the brand's credibility both internally and externally, leading to decreased employee morale and customer dissatisfaction.
Research shows that a compelling brand attracts top talent. Employees seek out companies with solid reputations and clear values. Employees who share a brand's values are more connected and motivated, leading to higher satisfaction, better performance, and lower turnover. A strong brand, acting on its values, drives success.
To make the most of this connection, actively involve employees in branding strategies. Involving your team in building and refining your brand will strengthen their bond to the mission. You'll harness their insights and enthusiasm, enhancing your brand's authenticity and impact.
A seat at the table: Including employees in the branding process
Diverse employee views are vital to inform any branding initiative. This inclusivity fosters a sense of ownership and impact on something significant.
Involve the whole team
To build a brand that truly resonates, include a broad range of employees in your branding initiatives. Whether it's a long-time employee with a deep company history or a brand-new team member with fresh ideas, each person will bring a unique perspective. A brand will benefit from reflecting their lived experiences.
Understand employee sentiments
Start with workshops or meetings to explain the brand's vision, mission, and values. Ensure employees understand how their roles reflect your brand. Ask for their insights into your brand and how their friends, families, and neighbors feel about it. Explore how employees want to feel about working at your company and how the brand can support these sentiments.
Align with growth goals
Ensure that your brand strategy supports the company's growth objectives. Involve employees in discussions about how the brand can contribute to achieving these goals and seek their input on matching brand initiatives with business strategies. This alignment reinforces your brand's relevance and helps foster support.
Secure broad buy-in
For any brand to be effective, it must have buy-in from more than just your C-suite. Engaging employees at all levels in the branding process enhances their commitment and enthusiasm. Communicate brand initiatives clearly and consistently. Employees must understand how their roles contribute to the mission.
Keep everyone informed
Maintain regular communication about brand initiatives and updates. Use newsletters, intranet updates, or team briefings to keep everyone informed and engaged with the evolving brand strategy. This ongoing dialogue helps employees feel connected to the brand’s progress and reinforces their role in its success.
Incorporate employee feedback
Actively seeking and integrating employee feedback ensures your brand evolves in response to real-life needs and perspectives. With good input, you can continuously refine your brand message. You can also close gaps which will better meet your internal audience's expectations. This process makes your brand more relevant and authentic.
To gather feedback, conduct surveys or focus groups to collect employees' perspectives on the brand and its values. You can also create digital channels where employees can submit ideas or feedback about your brand.
Engaging a broad range of employees, understanding their sentiments, aligning with growth goals, and securing widespread buy-in ensures that brand strategies reflect a shared vision. With a solid foundation established, it's crucial to "launch" new brand strategies internally. This phase is vital for ensuring that every employee is aware of and genuinely aligned with a new brand. Let's explore how to successfully roll out an internal brand launch and make it a meaningful and impactful experience for your team.
Internal brand launch
A brand launch can be nerve-wracking for employees but turning it into an exciting event can energize the team and build enthusiasm.
Transform the brand experience
Introducing a new brand is an opportunity to celebrate and create a buzz around new strategies, content, or messaging. By framing the launch as an exciting milestone, you help shift any apprehension into positive anticipation.
Foster an inclusive culture
Every employee should feel a sense of ownership and commitment to your brand. Encourage employees to actively engage with the new brand and view it as a reflection of their own contributions and values.
Maintain open communication
Maintain open lines of dialogue where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns about your brand. Regular updates, feedback channels, and interactive sessions can address issues. Open communication aligns everyone with brand goals and messaging.
Recognize key contributors
Spotlight employees who contributed ideas, feedback, or participation in workshops and meetings to develop the brand. Consider featuring their contributions in company newsletters. Or acknowledge them at the launch event. This can boost morale and inspire others to engage in branding initiatives.
Create opportunities for continued involvement
Encourage ongoing involvement by providing opportunities for employees to contribute to future brand initiatives. This could include forming brand ambassador teams. You could invite them to strategic planning sessions. Engaging employees helps maintain enthusiasm and fosters a long-term commitment to your brand.
By embracing these strategies, you can make the internal brand launch a meaningful and engaging experience. Every employee must feel connected to the brand and motivated to contribute. This will secure your new brand's place in your internal culture. It’ll also set the stage for a successful external rollout.
A case study, Hazel Technologies
Hazel Technologies' mission is to reduce food waste by developing products that significantly reduce spoilage across the supply chain. Recently, Junotype partnered with Hazel to revitalize their brand and communication tools. The goal was to emphasize Hazel's unique vision and research-backed solutions. Employees and internal stakeholders were a huge part of this brand refresh.
The project began by gathering insights from the broader team with a digital survey. The focus of the survey was to learn how employees felt about the current brand, how it stacked up compared to competitors, and where they hoped the brand would go in the future. Their insights helped shape our strategic approach and were influential in the brand development process.
Throughout the project, Junotype collaborated with Hazel to ensure the team’s voices were heard and they felt aligned with the new updates. As brand development neared completion, we crafted an internal launch strategy that maximized employee engagement.
We first rolled out a campaign teaser to set the tone. The teaser included a company-wide email that set expectations and delivered key information like the official launch date. We also developed a short video that hinted at the new visual identity and built excitement for what was to come.
Leading up to the full launch, Hazel hosted a full week of team-building activities. On Friday, there was an official brand reveal and celebration. Each employee received a gift box of high-quality swag, including socks, sweatshirts, tote bags, and stickers. They also received a brand reveal video and an email that provided useful tools and resources (brand guidelines, link to centralized asset library, and content templates) to make their work easier and more effective.
Lastly, Hazel held a town hall to discuss the new brand, ask for feedback, and answer questions about next steps and new procedures.
This very intentional internal brand launch kept Hazel’s employees engaged and aligned with the new brand. It ensured they had the tools to both communicate and act on Hazel’s mission every day, using the brand as their guide.
Check out the full Hazel case study.
Conclusion
As we've explored, a positive brand impacts recruiting, satisfaction, and performance by aligning with employees' values and contributing to their sense of purpose. When your brand's values and mission resonate with employees, they become more than workers. They become passionate advocates of your company's vision.
This synergy supports employee motivation and productivity and matches your internal culture with your external promises. Why is this important? Because a strong internal brand results in improved and sustained company performance.
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If you’re considering a brand refresh or need to build a new brand that enhances both internal and external engagement, we can help. We are a strategy-driven creative collective on a mission to foster deeper connections through branding. Contact us today to get started.
