BRANDEblog

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Forget Engagement and Strive for FUNCTIONALL

The last Employee Engagement conference I attended had speakers from both Human Resources and Communications at Fortune 500 companies presenting case studies of their latest Internal Branding efforts. Based on their similarities, I deduced that the trend in Employee Communications is "I Am [insert company name]"

They must have all read the same 3-step engagement doctrine which lists the path to engagement as movement from UNDERSTANDING ("I understand how to impact the brand and the company") to DELIVERY ("I am the brand") and thought that it was as simple as fill-in-the-blank.

But, since it is the last day of February and trendwatching.com's February Brief was about FUNCTIONALL, let's brainstorm together on how we can implement cheap and/or simple ideas that keep employees committed to their employer and enhance the culture and brand.

1. Move From Message Controller to Brand Curator.

The first step is to realize that whoever you are in the organization, your role must shift from message controller to message curator. You will now facilitate the conversations, not invent them.

If you're scared already, then either you know that the talk won't be pretty or you don't know what their saying, in which case, back up a step.

-1. Conduct Focus Groups.

Even if times are bad and layoffs were deep and employees are scared, mad or sad, talk to them. They are still on your payroll and expected to contribute to the success of the organization. Ask them how they are doing that, and how derive satisfaction from doing that? Then help them tell the stories.

2. Give them some toys.

For less than $300 each, you can buy digital camcorders that tap into everyone's creativity and responsibility into bringing the brand to life. Help them through editing and enhancing but keep it real. That's what NY Utility Con Edison did - and the results are authentic movies that appear on the CE Eye channel- a popular internal video news channel. Check out this one called "Finding the Ring."

3. Tune into WII FM (What's In It For Me.)

Ok- this is only for the brave. Help your employees build and promote their personal brand. Give them professional assistance in updating their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and articulating the value that they bring to their current role. This is a radical way to become part of the dialogue thats happening without you. I contend that this will come back to you both in brand equity and the ability to utilize and deploy the right talent at the right time for every new challenge that arises.

At BRANDEMiX, we believe that companies are made up of moving parts called employees, and the easier it is for all of us to function as one, the more successful we all we be.

Let me know how it goes with your efforts in FUNCTIONALL. I want to hear your stories.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding, engagement

Written at 6:11 AM by JODY.

0 comments

Saturday, August 25, 2007

5 WAYS TO KEEP THE TALENT IN TALENT MANAGEMENT

Friend, business partner and thought leader Marc Effron, Vice President of Talent Management at Avon (pictured left) along with the talented (and beautiful) Miriam Ort, Senior Manager of Talent Management at Avon, have shared some strategic advice on how to dramatically increase the impact and influence of Talent Management.

Calling it "An opportunity of a lifetime", they offer the following solutions as imperatives if practitioners hope to succeed.

Define the Field
Elevate Practitioner Quality
Know The Business/Love The Business
Take A Production Mindset to Building Leaders
Radically Simplify and Add Value to Every Process

Sharing their one- page management approach and citing recent successes, including their Engagement Survey that BRANDEMiX was proud to play a significant role in, they provide the strategic framework for anyone who wishes to add value to their organizations and profession at large.

Talent_Management.pdf
Pool or Puddle-- You Decide!

Labels: BRANDEMiX, engagement, TALENT MANAGEMENT

Written at 8:33 AM by JODY.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

OH Beautiful -- Engaging US Citizens with An American Icon

So, by now everyone knows I've been out on vacation for 2 weeks but did you know I was out of the country? And did you know that 4 days before I was leaving, I discovered that my passport had expired earlier this year?

Getting the passport in a matter of 3 days is another story-- this is the story of my brand new passport. I mention it here because it is a shining example of using every touchpoint in the communications process as a chance to inspire--- multi-purpose at its best.

28-page version of the passport comes with 13 inspirational quotes, including six from United States presidents and one from a Mohawk Thanksgiving speech. The pages, done in a pink-grey-blue palate, are rife with portraits of Americana ranging from a clipper ship to Mount Rushmore to a long-horn cattle drive.

“We thought it really, truly reflects the breadth of America as well as the history,” said Ann Barrett, deputy assistant secretary of state for passport services. “We tried to be inclusive of all Americans.”

This is the first redesign since 1993 and the layout has been in the works for the past 6 years! I wonder what my clients would say if I worked on their projects for 6 years.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, engagement

Written at 3:16 PM by JODY.

0 comments

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