transforming brand advocates - pw...according to a 2015 survey from gallup, only 32% of employees...
TRANSCRIPT
For every brand or business, the priority is their consumer. Yet what they often fail to recognise is that if you look after employees, they will look after the customers.
Employee engagement is an issue for every leader in a business, and not just for HR. According to a 2015 survey from Gallup, only 32% of employees are engaged at work. If they aren’t engaged, they are obviously more likely to leave. Replacing a mid-range employee costs employers 20% of that employee’s salary.
The following pages show how, through innovative internal communication strategies and employee engagement, businesses can transform employees into brand advocates, increase productivity and retain the best talent. This starts right from initial recruitment and the onboarding process - but the work of engagement continues long after. Businesses face continuous challenges from new campaigns, initiatives and the perpetual need to keep the workforce inspired. The vital role that internal communication and employee engagement plays will never cease.
TRANSFORMING EMPLOYEES INTO BRAND ADVOCATES
Brands are recognisingthat they need to look past graduate fairs and recruitment websites.New platforms are needed for engaging with the best of Generation D talent.
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UBER
With a captive audience during rides, Uber is trying to pick out the coders with an app feature called “Code on the Road.” It pops up in the main app and offers “hacker challenges” with 60-second timed coding and debugging tests. If you take the tests and show coding aptitude, you’ll be offered an email address to apply for an engineering position.
360i
The digital marketing agency created an interactive recruitment website designed to appeal to members of Generation D. Visitors navigate 14 departments of a 3D office environment and observe digital avatars inspired by 360i staff members as they work and play. The company aims to encourage potential candidates to actively engage with its recruitment process rather than passively scroll through its job listings.
“Opportunities to showcase skills in a unique way”
DYSON
“Rethinkers” is a series of brainteaser puzzles and tests aimed at university students and recent graduates. Dyson has created this gamified recruitment process to challenge users not to just talk in a smart way, but to think in a smart way. The successful candidates will be invited to a job interview with Dyson’s CEO.
83% of workers are not formally introduced to their company culture and 41% feel they have little or absolutely no impact on their company’s broader mission. The process of onboarding new hires is often overlooked as essential to employee engagement.
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PRET A MANGER
Onboarding new hires is a process that should involve active participation from the whole team, not just a manager. Potential hires at Pret A Manger have a six hour trial shift and the team votes to decide whether the individual should be taken on. They also reward employees, and the entire team, when one person gets promoted or passes through training milestones. Employees receive a bonus that Pret A Manger refers to as a “shooting star” and they share the money with team members who have helped them along the way.
J. WALTER THOMPSON
“OnBoard Express” is an app which allows employees to find out more about the advertising agency’s history, mission,values, internal resources and its executives. It helps to initiate new hires across the network, with an interactive to-do list, including necessary tasks that new hires should expect to complete as part of the orientation process and is also a resource for current employees to refer back to.
“Emphasise that employees are the company’s central asset”
Employee handbooks are supposed to be helpful, but are rarely actually read. The challenge is to create an engaging handbook that communicates company culture, with real stories of how the staff live and apply the company’s values.
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IDEO
The global design company creatively display their values through “The Little Book of IDEO”, which is given to every new hire. The CEO shied away from capturing the organisation’s values for many years, but then decided to create a beautiful book, with illustrations and contributions from different voices of IDEO. It proves that handbooks don’t have to be boring by engaging employees with the culture straight away and encouraging them to hold on to it as a keepsake.
VALVE
This gaming company let their staff create its “Handbook for new employees” rather than the HR department. This democratic approach opens a dialogue and helps employees to feel empowered. It contains illustrations, jokes and stories, and is written in a quirky tone of voice, avoiding any typical company jargon or conventional formula.
“Employees want to hold on to it as a keepsake”
THE MOTLEY FOOL
The financial services company has an alternative handbook - a dedicated website with interactive experiences. “The Fool Rules” encourages “foolishness” and a holiday policy that advises you to “take what you need”. Even if your company’s culture isn’t as unique as The Motley Fool’s, any business can still gain valuable insight from the online format and tone of voice. Existing online allows information to easily be updated and adds additional engagement through videos, illustrations, comic strips and clickable content. Allowing the handbook to be visible to the public also makes it act as its own recruiting tool.
To encourage employees to take on active roles, businesses must give them more responsibility. Provide employees with their own tools and opportunities to act upon their knowledge and make a difference.
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JOHN LEWIS
The John Lewis Partnership is the largest employee-owned company in the UK. The founder signed away his personal ownership rights to allow employees to ‘experiment in industrial democracy’. The employees are all referred to as ‘Partners’ and this title is more than just a word; it builds an emotional connection with the brand and their employer. Whilst Partners have a shared responsibility and involvement in the business, they also share in the benefits and profits.
AIRBNB
Each new employee is expected to implement a new feature on their very first day at Airbnb. This unorthodox policy has yielded some impressive results. When a new designer changed the icon used when users ‘favourite’ a listing from a star to a heart, user engagement increased by 30%.
“Experiment in industrial democracy”
WHOLE FOODS MARKET
In-store staff are used to create a testing group to ensure consistency across the Whole Foods private label products. The group ensures products’ taste, quality and value suit expectations of the consumers. By leveraging employeesas resources for information, they are encouraged to feel empowered, and management also acquire a more in-depth knowledge of aspects of their business that they might otherwise be unaware of.
Promote self-discovery to empower employees and encourage personal growth. This is proven to stimulate new, unexpected ideas as well as increasing job satisfaction and performance.
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ADOBE
Adobe‘s internal innovation programme aims to get employees thinking about new ideas. Kickbox provides various tools that employees can use to complete creative projects. It features a $1,000 prepaid credit card along with essential supplies to start their journey, and instructions to help guide them. Participants also get the chance to present their concept to Adobe executives and customers, so they can receive helpful feedback and validation to see whether their idea has potential. Once they completeall six steps, they earn funding to pursue their idea even further, and a new box. This has been used to develop a range of projects that might not have otherwise been produced.
“Empower employees to be more creative”
Google has formalised an initiative to ensure that 20% of work time is spent doing something outside an employee’s normal work function, empowering them to be more creative and innovative. Results have included the development of Google News, Gmail and AdSense.However, there is debate over whether or not the 20% time actually exists anymore. For initiatives like this to succeed, they need continuous formal management oversight.
Immersive experiences are key to delivering successful change that will remain at the front of employee’s minds. However, the work of engagement continues long after an event. People do forget, and new people join, so constant reminders are needed.
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NOMINET
The domain name registry company created a campaign to help launch the .uk domain name. To raise awareness amongst staff, an internal buzz was created around a launch to integrate the internal campaign with the external launch. The event educated staff on the features of the new .uk domain and raised awareness amongst staff of the benefits that it will bring the business. The concept involved internal and external graphics upon arrivaL at work and a ‘passport control’ at the entrance. Here, employees were issued with their ‘passport’ and boarding pass, plus various travel documents carrying information about the day etc.
“A theatrical, multi-sensory experience”
AUDI
Audi’s trade marketing employees were invited to a product presentation inspired by James Bond movies. By creating an imaginary world of Audi secret labs for advanced automotive development, employees were immersed in a theatrical, multi-sensory brand experience. Through architecture, graphic design, multimedia and acting professionals, an entire holistic event was conceived, with a unique approach to engaging employees with the brand and its products.
REINVIGORATING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
The majority of businesses haven’t changed their approach to internal communications beyond bland newsletters and email marketing for years. Yet businesses are facing an increasing amount of challenges, from finding ways to inspire employees, change attitudes and increase engagement across multiple countries and languages. All while our attention span is the shortest it has ever been - at just eight seconds.
Design-driven thinking can solve business problems and find compelling solutions to these challenges. Through engaging and empowering employees, the culture ultimately filters down to the consumer experience.
Pope + Wainwright have deep expertise in designing and delivering unique strategies for internal communications and employee engagement. We have developed an internal communications programme across the globe for The De Beers Group of Companies, including an internal microsite that demonstrates the company’s values, vision and purpose. It encourages employees to engage with the brand, sharing their own experiences and journey at every stage of the diamond value chain. Pope + Wainwright have also been working closely with Sainsbury’s to help redefine their working environments and inspire colleagues by communicating the lengths that the business goes to, serving its customers since 1869.
Our next project involves breaking down silos in the workplace and engaging employees through internal communication for PepsiCo.Keep an eye on our website for details.
