Living the brand

Via bisonblog I find an interesting article by Nicholas Ind about employee branding. The article is published on PR agency Springtime’s webpage and it touches upon a subject that is highly relevant in the professional services industry. It may be a cliché but nevertheless, our employees are our most important asset and probably the single most important vehicle for promoting our brand values.

I liked the simple example about how Nike used job applications to convey their brand values.

Nike responds to job applications with a thank you and this very brand driven message: ‘Use your imagination. If you are sure about what you want to do, you’re halfway there. There are no limits. Everyone at Nike has a dream.

Apparently most companies are either neglecting the issue or handling it poorly. Ind writes:

Research among Swedish companies by TEMO (2002) found that 31% of employees did not believe in their employers’ vision and values; a Gallup study of US workers (2003) found that 70% were either not engaged or were actively disengaged at work […]