Adding Pride to the Workplace

Smart business owners and CEOs know, their company will not reach its potential if their employees at all levels do not feel engaged. Happy employees translate to motivated employees, which in turn makes for loyalty, longevity, and productivity.

But to help employees feel sufficiently engaged, it’s not enough to hold a weekly meeting or give your frontline employees a branded cup. You need to put environmental branding in practice to achieve a motivated and fully productive workforce.

How environmental branding affects your employees:

Indeed, the primary goal of branding involves the bottom line or sales revenue. You want to generate sales at a premium price. But without satisfied employees, the dollars spent on marketing and advertising may go to waste.

Successful businesses realize all their employees, including their frontline workforce, possess many options when it comes to paying the bills. The employment rate measures relatively low, creating more industry competition. But, additionally, many other options exist to make ends meet, such as freelancing, driving for Lyft or Uber, and selling products on eBay. These days, the upper hand belongs to the employee. Every employee who leaves in search of more fulfillment costs the company in hiring and training costs.

Employees exposed to positive environmental branding reap benefits which in turn promote growth for the business in the following ways:

• Employees who feel a sense of pride and inclusivity become more motivated, which improves productivity. When it comes to the important elements of what constitutes job satisfaction, money or salary doesn’t even make the top five. The top reasons for employees staying in their jobs include:
  • Appreciation for the work itself and what it contributes to society or the client represents the number one element in job satisfaction.
  • The relationships employees build with colleagues, and positive employee interaction makes for a productive climate enforced by environmental branding.
  • A company that realizes the importance of work-life balance presents itself as more viable when implementing environmental branding.

• Daily exposure to the brand and working in pleasant surroundings boosts morale. The boiler room atmosphere of gray cement walls and cheap uncomfortable chairs just doesn’t cut it anymore. Many phone rooms today boast bold colored walls, motivational posters, and accessories such as cups and mousepads donned with the company logo.

Personal branding also continues to gain in popularity. Employees need to express their personality in their workspace with pictures, plants, and other items that add to their comfort.

In today’s world, many employees work from home at least part of the time. Whereas, you can’t expect them to paint their home office area in company colors, supplying them with coffee cups and mousepads that display the company’s logo makes a difference. If they use a business computer, showing a brand-based screensaver also helps. And, while connecting visually into a meeting, if uniforms represent part of your brand, asking that they dress appropriately while on-screen will help maintain a brand presence and aid the employee in feeling connected.

• Happy employees attract promising future talent to the workforce. When people feel motivated by their work and like the people they work with, they communicate that to their friends and peers who may want to change employment. Employee referral programs represent a win-win situation for both the employer and the employee.

1. New hires brought in by employees retain at a rate of 13% higher than those employed by other sources.
2. Employee referrals spend less time in training. Perhaps, the fact that their colleagues want them to succeed both because of their friendship and a referral bonus.
3. Referral bonuses work. Employees realize they need to bring in qualified candidates to receive the funds.

Whether providing a service or product, if you present it positively and consistently through environmental branding, you will witness better employee retention and improved revenue flow. For more information on making environmental branding motivate your workforce, contact us here.