Cultivating Your Internal Brand: 7 Questions to Ask Your Employees

By Angelique Rewers, ABC, APR

Employees are often referred to as the company's brand ambassadors. But how do you know if your employees understand, embody and exhibit the "right" brand attributes?

Robin McCasland, chair of the IABC Research Foundation, recommends asking your employees these questions: *

• What are our values?

• How does our organization make a difference for our customers, shareholders, vendors and communities?

• What traditions should we uphold?

• What needs to change to meet our needs today and in the future?

• What happens if we don't change?

• Do we all truly understand our roles in helping our company succeed?

• What happens if our employer doesn't succeed?

Once you know more about your employees' brand awareness, you can both refine your branding efforts (employees may point out positive attributes you hadn't seen), as well as better focus internal communications to boost employee engagement.

*Source: McCasland, Robin. "Listen for the Answers." Communication World Magazine. September - October 2009.

Copyright © Bon Mot Communications LLC 2009

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