🔒Nurture and define your employee brand

What descriptors do employees use when family, friends and business colleagues ask what it's like to work for your company? Many business leaders focus on building their brand with customers, but often overlook their employee brand. But the only sustainable advantage you really have is your people — you need to attract, engage, delight and retain quality people for long-term success.

Today more than ever, someone thinking of working for you wants to know why they should and how you fulfill employee needs such as:

• Feeling appreciated for contributions

• Having input in developing company plans

• Receiving opportunities to grow.

Achieving a positive employee brand is easier when times are good. Business leaders can offer more career advancement opportunities and have money for training. But how the company treats people when things don't go well, or when an employee leaves the company, has a much greater impact on the employee brand.

When you let someone go

Whether it's firing an employee or a change in the business strategy that necessitates eliminating a position, business leaders should provide specific rationale to an employee who is let go. Handle the situation with grace.

The employee should not be surprised, and the termination should be something you worked up to and discussed together. This includes conducting regular reviews and discussing unmet goals. Allow the employee to comment on what's going well, what is not, and what to do to improve. Conversations such as this should occur at least twice before the termination.

In many cases, it's the company's fault for either hiring a person into the wrong job or not clearly defining the job goals. But it could just as well be the business and the employee don't match. When it comes to the day of the termination, don't say, “You are not right for the job,” but rather, “This is just not the right job for you.” This avoids making the person feel like they don't measure up or that they aren't trying hard enough when it is just not a good fit.

When someone chooses to leave

Many leaders feel stunned when someone chooses to leave, especially longtime employees. Often the leader is actually upset with themselves for not having had an adequate plan for succession.

But when anyone chooses to leave, celebrate their contributions, even if they were there for just a short time. This shows all employees that you value everyone's contribution. Also, if someone simply outgrew their position, celebrating their advancement in their career is appropriate and could someday pay off through referrals.

Managing your employee brand

The ultimate in achieving a superior employee brand is to hear an employee say, “I'm proud to work for the company” or even, “I love my work and it's a big part of who I am.” Here are a few tips that can steer you onto the right path:

• Revisit your company values to further define your desired employee brand.

• Find ways to incorporate fun and personal connections into the workplace.

• Be brutally honest when hiring — don't downplay a demanding work environment.

• Survey employees anonymously to see if you meet their needs, and involve them in improving changes identified by the survey.

• Educate employees on how their role impacts company results.

Companies with a solid employee brand help people grow as individuals. A happier employee is generally a more productive and loyal employee, thus strengthening your employee brand.

Doug Packard, CEO and owner of Renaissance Executive Forums and Doug Packard Consulting in Portland, can be reached at DPackard@DougPackardConsulting.com