– by Dennis Passovoy –
What I’m about to describe admittedly is not absolute, but at the very least it is common.
All companies have a marketing department (or at least the function exists) that has the task of creating a common message, language, and vision that all of it’s customers and prospects can understand.
But what about for our internal audience – our employees – how do we create that same level of consistent understanding? Most companies don’t have a department or function dedicated to crafting and institutionalizing what our employees know about our company. This commonly leads to as many different ways of explaining what the company does as there are employees. Not good!
Sure, we have an HR department that theoretically is supposed to work on all things employee, but that often translates into a tactical set of functions – answering employees questions, making sure the benefits program is functioning properly, hiring and terminating employees, and making sure their employer is fully compliant with state and federal regulations.
Now, if you ask an HR specialist if they would like to work on strategic projects as well, including internal marketing, most will tell you “YES!”, with a note of frustration in their voice. In fact, that’s what most went into the HR field to do; but reality is a cruel master.
So, why don’t we spend as much time and effort marketing (e.g., communicating, branding, visioning, educating, etc.) to our own employees? I think the answer lies in our priorities.
I have long maintained that happy employees make for happy and loyal customers (who, by the way, spend more money on our products and services), which in turn, makes for happy shareholders – all in that order.
But instead, we tend to get our priorities “bass-ackwards” and we put shareholders first. We put profit ahead of everything else we do. This in turn, leads often to under-provided-for employees, who then make for unhappy customers.
I suggest we rethink this issue and take a lesson from more considerate companies like Starbuck’s or SAS, just to name a few.
What kind of company do you work for - one that puts employees first or one that puts shareholders first?
Dennis Passovoy is the president of RFG, Inc., an Employee Engagement Advisory firm in Austin, TX that believes in inspiring and harnessing the limitless power of individuals to create unstoppable organizations. He can be reached at dpassovoy@rfg.com.
