Most people would love to work for a Google, Virgin Media, a Sony, an Apple, a Tesla, whatever or whoever is considered the HOT brands in your industry. We see them as aspirational because they have created a brand that we like and associate with. Brand culture is made up of the inherent company DNA, its values, passion, purpose, the image & the story, but for me it is just as much about the people.
Creating a brand culture promotes customer loyalty but also employee, & stakeholder loyalty. Brand culture starts from the top, having a leader that inspires people, someone who establishes and creates the initial vision.
Its then the layers that are added and applied on top of this that helps create the ‘Brand Culture’, it can be for either a product or a service company, it is a visualization of what the company stands for and who they are.
But its not just the HOT brands, those that we know well, that we like and associate with, many companies have a fantastic ‘Brand Culture’. Some take it very seriously and it permeates deep into the company ethos and right across every department, it is a way of doing things as much as anything, a standard to uphold.
To give you an example, with Apple, it’s not just about the UX/UI of the iPhone or the way a Mac works, but it’s the extra chic of their packaging, as well as the attention to detail with the customer care team, the fact that they attract and hire the best AAA rated people.
Brand culture for me is not just about the service or the product but its about how people in the company behave, their attitude, the way that they do things and interact, the ‘going the extra mile’ it is this that sets them & the company apart.
It is the consistent standards that are applied throughout the company regardless of outlet, country, connection on the phone or even online. It is the high standards of attitude, how they interact with people both internally and externally – customers, employee, & stakeholder alike. It is about the processes that they have in place, it is the fact that they have thought about every eventuality, not just the basics.
Its about the rigor that they apply to everything and from my viewpoint as a recruiter, it is the talent acquisition and onboarding processes. Let’s face it, many companies may have a good brand, but the talent acquisition and onboarding processes are often a bit thin on the ground. For me this is a major measurement of ‘Brand Culture’ getting the consistency right, so that it follows all the way through the process should not be that hard, but many companies fail in this, but could easily fix it.
Its not just about the number of interviews you had to attend, or if you got a nice “thank you, but no thank you” letter (if you actually got one of those) it is beyond having a laptop on the day you start work or having your name on your office door. It is all of those softer things, getting ongoing communication prior to starting, meeting the team you will be working with, a structured appraisal scheme, that’s as much about picking up any issues you are having, it’s the rigor that is applied to the talent acquisition and onboarding processes.
We see lots of bad and mediocre talent acquisition processes, but not enough good or great. This is an area that most companies can change fast and believe me it will have a HUGE impact on ‘Brand Culture’ as well as other areas around the business but also to the outside world that is looking in.
The cliché, “Treat others how you want to be treated”. This saying goes far beyond simply being kind to people or going out of your way to be available or helpful to those in need, it is about getting the best ‘Brand Culture’, the best talent acquisition processes in place, starting the journey right, from the ‘get go’ the rest of the ‘brand culture will flow in smoothly if the talent acquisition and onboarding processes are right, make them ‘stellar processes’ and even those that are rejected, will leave with a positive feeling. Place candidates front and centre in the process – ‘People above everything’.
Virgin Media
A few years ago (2015) Virgin Media looked at assessing the impact of it’s bad talent acquisition and onboarding processes and found that it was costing them £4.4 million a year in lost revenue.
But they turned this around, and then turned it into £5.3 million worth of extra revenue.
Talent acquisition is not sexy to the CEO, the CFO or even the CMO but it should be ‘front and centre’ as its one simple thing that can have a HUGE impact, not just on the bottom line but on the Brand Culture of any organisation.
What is your NPS, do you know, you should?
(Net Promoter Score is a measure of how happy your customers are with your business)
It has a direct impact on your Brand Culture.
What is your EVP, do you know, you should?
(Employee Value Proposition is the salary, compensation and benefits that an employer pays to an employee in return for the skills, capabilities and experiences they bring to the organisation. Your EVP, in tandem with your Employer Brand, can be the determining factor in retaining or losing talent from your pool.)
It has a direct impact on your Brand Culture.
About the Author
Howard Longstaff has over 25 years of experience delivering people within the talent acquisition arena.
He has worked extensively across the UK, Europe, USA, Canada as well as in South America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Over the last 20 years he has specialised in two fundamental areas, although he often covers a wider remit due to his thirst and understanding of technology. The first area which he has a real passion for, building ‘Sales Teams’, pulling together the very best ‘A Players’ and creating something incredibly special for his clients.
To do that, he needs to have a clear understanding of what his client wants, so establishing clear communication with the client is paramount, understanding the nuances of what they are looking for and documenting this. Understanding the technology, the opportunity, and the growth potential all help to find the ‘right fit, first time’. He is one of the few head-hunters that is willing to guarantee his work, offering 12 months free replacement.
The second area he loves getting involved in, is the leadership team, the C-Suite, helping to get the balance right, cover the gaps in knowledge, skills and experience, working on the assumption that ‘No one is perfect but a team can be’?
Howard is someone who thinks outside the box, has an eye for detail, but is perceptive, looking beyond the surface of just skills and experience. He wants to know and understand the candidate behaviour as well as the emotional intelligence, the motives that drive the candidates he interviews. He is looking for the best fit for his client but also looking to ensure it is a fit for the candidate as well.
In the last 25 years he has also built his own companies and opened offices in New Zealand, Los Angeles, New York and most recently several companies in London. Specialising in technology companies, he has delivered permanent resources across practically every department. This has predominantly been for technology start-ups (Enterprise Software Co’s) but also for many leading management consulting and enterprise clients.
Howard is someone that uses technology to enhance the hiring process, to save time, money and effort and take the pain out of the process, but to find those ‘Exceptional People, who are so hard to find’. He operates a ‘Private Client Video Portal’ keeping everything together, the video, as well as psychrometric behavioural assessments on candidates and interviewing on an emotional intelligence level. He has repeatedly built teams across three continents, so has a good breadth of knowledge across the talent acquisition arena.