Improved employee engagement
If everyone in your organisation understands the goals they are working towards, the values of the company and the behaviours expected of them, they are more likely to engage with their work and personify the culture.
This often gives staff a sense of purpose and the feeling that their work contributes towards something meaningful.
Increase employee retention
Aligning your culture with your brand will likely attract people who resonate with your values, beliefs and visions. If this is the case, they are likely to feel a sense of belonging and loyalty. When combined with being engaged and feeling a sense of achievement, these staff members are more likely to stay for the long term.
Stronger brand reputation & market differentiation
Of course, if your branding demonstrates your ethics, values and visions, you can use this to create a strong brand reputation.
This is because the external image is backed by genuine internal beliefs and practices, offering authenticity to the image shown to prospective customers.
Additionally, it creates a consistent message as your staff don’t have to think about the marketing message because they live and breathe it in the work they do. This builds a recognisable image for your company that can be trusted and well-known so customers become loyal.
Lead by example
Like many things in a business, this starts at the top.
Your managers and senior employees need to lead company culture. This means embodying the values and goals of the company and making sure everyone else knows what these are and how they can demonstrate them.
Communicating internally
Your staff can’t live by the values and work towards the vision if they don’t know what they are.
Make sure you communicate with everyone efficiently and effectively so they know the expectations.
On top of this, make sure everyone has copies of any brand guidelines and behavioural expectations around the brand.
Communication is crucial for alignment because it means everyone is reading from the same book.
Embed brand values into HR processes
New staff must know and see the values from the moment they walk through the door.
It is easier to learn a job that includes them than to have to relearn habits to include them.
Hire people who seem to resonate with the values and culture you have set up. Then, when they start, include a culture and values document in the onboarding process. Also, make sure they get eyes on any branding guidelines so that in their mind, they can blend the two together.
When training them, state how the actions meet the culture and brand so they can take that forward.
Get employee feedback on branding
This might only be relevant if you are going through a rebranding or brand refresh, but it is worth getting the thoughts of your employees on your branding.
These are the people who are advocating it, working with your services and products day in and day out and getting to know your customers. They are likely to have a handle on what customers are looking for and how your company culture meets that, making their feedback incredibly valuable when it comes to aligning values with brand image.
