Are your staff true brand ambassadors?

We’ve all experienced bad customer service, usually from an employee who doesn’t care about the company they work for or the message they should convey. A Gallup study found that when 3000 workers were asked whether they agree with the statement, “I know what my company stands for and what makes our brand different”, only 41% of employees strongly agreed and 24% disagreed. This indicates that too many companies are failing to illustrate to their employees why their brand is different and worth working for, directly impacting the way employees convey the brand to customers and clients, not to mention the desire new potential candidates have for working with you.

Inspiring talent to become true brand ambassadors is the solution to this as we learnt at our recent Round Table Dinner Debate with Matt Elliot, HR Director of Virgin Money. His experience in implementing brand value ‘EBO’, (Everybody is Better Off), when Virgin Money bought Northern Rock, helped transform the situation. By uniting staff with values outlining the core brand and what it gives back to the employee, Elliot was able to reignite brand loyalty from a seemingly irreparable situation.

We recommend you try these steps in your business to better the connection between your staff and your brand values:

1)      Consistency, not conformity