Employee & Internal Branding for Organizational Excellence

3rd August 2008, Pune

Reema Sarin

AVP - Marketing and Corporate Communications

AppLabs

Organizational Excellence

The journey towards organizational excellence is critical for any organization to tremendously to improve its competitiveness in an ever changing marketplace.

Organizational Excellence

Employees are any organization’s MOST VALUABLE ASSETS

If External Communication is important to get new customers, then Internal Communication is critical to communicate effectively to service those customers

What is it?

The capability of an organization to drive business results is based on:» Leadership» Strategic Planning» Process Management» Knowledge Management» Working Collaboratively » Benchmarking for Excellence» Enhancing Brand Visibility

Leadership

Qualities needed:

» Vision» Discipline » Commitment» Systematic Approach

Strategic Planning

Align the organization's hierarchy design, culture and people to its business strategy, objectives and corporate values.

Process Management

Operate, Control, Evaluate and Improve the teamwork and interconnected tasks with the goal of maximizing organizational effectiveness and efficiency

Knowledge Management

Share, maintain and institutionalize the intellectual wealth and capabilities of the employee base

Benchmark for Excellence

Measure, analyze and assess the performance of your employees against the agreed objectives every Quarter.

Work Collaboratively

» Cooperate, collocate and synchronize work tasks with the employee base globally, clearly articulating all facts and the end objectives of all programs.

» All internal communication should focus on effective ‘brand positioning’ amongst employees and should clearly communicate the organization’s Corporate Values and USPs.

Employees globally and equally should identify them selves with the organization’s Brand Values.

Enhance Brand Visibility

Employee Branding

Organize formal and informal / fun employee programs and create internal branding around it:

» Interaction with senior management - for e.g. ‘Coffee with the CEO’ in batches where employees get an opportunity to interact with the CEO informally over a cup of coffee every month

» Employee Wellness Programs

» Collaborated with media and radio channels for on-ground promotions and quizzes

» Group fitness, Aerobic classes for fitness freaks

»

Employee Branding

Organize employee family events every quarter”

Corporate Social Responsibility

Engaging employees in CSR programs is a very effective way to make them identify with the corporate values the organization stands for. Ensure that you take on CSR projects involving group volunteer work, for e.g.» ‘Traffic Awareness programs; Blood Donation Camps; teaching at

Government schools, ‘Walk for a Cause’, amongst others.

CSR

Public Relations

Encourage and train employees at all levels to become media spokespersons for your company

Internal Communication

Disseminate an internal monthly Newsletter to share organizational and employee news and achievements

Internal Blogging

An ‘Employee Blog’ is a powerful way to hear and talk internally

Employee Branding

Company Online Store of branded goods of high visibility is a MUST!

» Mugs» T-Shirts / Shirts» Caps» Backpack Bags

Employee Survey

Conduct annual Employee Survey to obtain feedback on what is working and what is not in terms of employee engagement programs, CSR activities, their brand perception, as well as to solicit new ideas and suggestions.

MAKE YOUR ASSETS WORK FOR YOU

LET YOUR EMPLOYEES DO THE THINKING!

Key Take-aways

MAKE YOUR ASSETS LIVE AND BREATHE THE BRAND FOR ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELENCE

•Develop employees as ‘brand ambassadors’ of the organization•Creating a sense of belonging within the employee community•To help drive ownership and shared engagement•Encourage knowledge sharing

Create AWARDS

Recognition is everything!

Create quarterly / annual Employee awards for programs they participate in.

Raise their Profile in the organization and you WILL RETAIN them.

Re-Branding!

Vision

The Vision of the company was to be the undisputed global leader in independent software testing by 2010

Old Brand Image New Brand Image

The Company Re-Brands!

A new dawn in the software testing industry

The Company’s new dawn!

Thank You

Any Questions?

Successful Re-branding –

A Case Study

» Earlier known as AppLabs Technologies – one of the independent testing companies in India, providing a range of testing services across different verticals.

» Brand Associations:

» Bold, strong colours (purple & orange)» A young company

» High volume testing

» Brand Imagery:» Youthful energy as opposed to ‘Mature and as a Thought Leader’

The Old Branding

The company wanted a logo to represent Confidence and Reassurance

Hence in May 2007 it launched its new ‘Brand identity’ or ‘Logo’, based around the theme of a ‘Sunrise’

Why Sunrise?

The ‘Sun’ is synonymous with ‘life, growth and optimism – And we can all be sure that the sun will rise every morning!

What Re-Brand?

» Logo color – ‘blue' symbolizes ‘trust and honesty’and favoured by those whose advice is sought and highly valued

» Typeface (font)– Serif indicates ‘gravitas and substance’

» Strap-line ‘no doubt about it’ signifies ‘consistency, reliability and confidence’, which summates the ultimate

promise of the company – a confident statement that communicates the business benefit of the level of service and quality that the company aims to provides to its customers and partners

The New Branding

The new AppLabs

Thank you