Guest Post: An Insider Look at Employee Branding Through FISH

When we set out to focus on our employee brand about a year ago, we had no idea just how integral it would be to who we are. On a recent call with Leslie Vickrey, the CEO and Founder of ClearEdge Marketing, we caught up about employee engagement, our Consultis FISH program (which ClearEdge helped us design and implement) and how it’s affected life and success here at Consultis.

A closer look at FISH and employee engagement As we continued to discuss, Leslie asked if I’d be willing to share some insights about the Consultis FISH program and how it might help other organizations struggling with employee engagement and retention concerns. I was more than happy to oblige.

Before I dig into the details of Consultis FISH and how it’s impacted our team here at Consultis, here’s some background:

We wanted to improve our retention rates and stand out as a top employer for staffing and recruiting talent across the US. Research shows that employers with strong employee brands average 50% more quality applicants, 28% less turnover rate, show a decrease in time to hire and typically spend 50% less per hire than companies without one.

Our team is spread throughout the US, so we were looking for ways to build relationships and a stronger team environment.

Our 30+ year reputation for crafting customized IT workforce solutions was something that we wanted to continue to build up.

Creating a stronger employee brand We knew Consultis is a great place to work, with built-in support and opportunities for our team, but we also wanted it to be a fun environment that our employees would enjoy. We knew that building a stronger team environment that fostered solidarity throughout our offices across the country would come with challenges, but we had leadership buy in and excitement bubbling to the surface. Together, with the ClearEdge team, we saw the opportunity to create an employee brand, and therefore, the Consultis FISH concept was born.

Fun, Innovative, Savvy and Hardworking employees – the FISH acronym clearly embodies the spirit of our company and employees, while providing a great theme to implement our employee brand initiative. With the concept in hand, ClearEdge was able to quickly build out the program with core giveaways, employee recognition and on-boarding processes that we quickly introduced throughout all of our office locations.

Looking closely at FISH and what it meant to Consultis as a team and company, we identified some core values:

Provide amazing service that makes customers want to come back again and again Build a culture where employees love to give their best every day Build effective leaders who inspire through their example Improve teamwork and build trust

FISH fit these core values, reinforced our primary (and favorite) performance incentive – Consultis Beach Club – and offered many fun ways to support our team while promoting a stronger team spirit. We integrated FISH into all aspects of our business, including:

Talent acquisition - We want to make sure potential employees fit the FISH culture. Even down to our job descriptions, we are adamant that the FISH message is incorporated. By doing this, we not only share our own company values, but we make sure we’re attracting the right talent to our organization.

Employee recognition - Using it to boost and increase recognition company-wide. When a member of our leadership team hears a great call, that manager will bestow an inflatable fish upon that employee with a vocal “Great call!” It’s a fun (and immediate) way to recognize great efforts and make our team feel valued.

Communications - Internal employee communications use fun FISH themed-messaging to transform typical emails into more engaging communications.

Camaraderie - Using our internal employee portal, team members spread throughout the US can see who won awards like the “Big Kahuna” of the week, keep up on birthdays and anniversaries, and feel closer to their teammates. Competitions for who can make the best “fish face” are also quite popular!

Onboarding - New members of our team are introduced to FISH immediately, providing greater buy-in, productivity and enthusiasm among our latest employees.

We support the FISH theme as much as possible throughout all our offices. As a visual reminder in the literal sense, we have a live Beta fish living in each office at reception. Our “FISH of the Month” board also provides a visual way of sharing successes and awards. Fish tank screen savers boost the theme throughout the office, and the inflatable fish balloon I mentioned above is also a staple among our team.

We’ve learned that living your brand is the most critical piece to a successful employee branding project. From sponsoring team events, recognizing achievements and regular employee communication centered around the theme to spontaneous awards and recognition throughout the year (and much, much more). Ultimately through employee

branding, we have built a stronger, closer team that continues to surpass the expectations of our clients – which has been our ultimate goal throughout.

It’s important for each organization to recognize who they are as a company and determine a theme that fits well. It can be fun or serious – but it needs to be authentic, integrated and consistent. Building an employee brand is not without its challenges, but having a trusted partner like ClearEdge, who understands that an employee brand is a key to success, is essential. Don’t feel like you have to go it alone, give ClearEdge a call and get started building your brand today.