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The internal brand – the answer to greater efficiency?

When it comes to tackling productivity and efficiency within an organisation, attention often turns to system and process-driven overhauls to instigate positive change. However, when a global manufacturing brand sought to bring about performance improvements, they acknowledged the need to create an innovative new internal brand.
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When it comes to tackling productivity and efficiency within an organisation, attention often turns to system and process-driven overhauls to instigate positive change. Contributor Lesley Gulliver, brand consultant – The Engine Room.

However, when a global manufacturing brand sought to bring about performance improvements, they acknowledged the need to create an innovative new internal brand. Far from being a marketing-only initiative, HR went on to have a huge stakeholding in the communications project. Otherwise, how would it reflect and engage with the voice of the 1000-strong workforce?

Even market leaders encounter performance challenges. The business environment rarely stands still after all. This was certainly the case for a precision engineering client of The Engine Room. As part of a multi-billion-dollar global power systems company, the organisation has become renowned for producing cutting-edge turbos used in some of the world’s most sophisticated machinery. And, with a focus on improving efficiencies and reducing emissions, by design, the team consistently breaks new technological boundaries which continue to stimulate international demand.

But still the marketplace is tough. Global competition – even from within the corporation itself – naturally creates a price-conscious customer base. The need to drive new operational efficiencies that achieve cost savings – without compromising on quality – is therefore relentless.

A deep knowledge base
There can be no disputing the level of knowledge within the decades-old brand – in fact many employees have long-standing careers working for this one company. Some may wonder if this has led to a degree of institutionalisation, but colleagues’ innovatory mindsets could never come into question. The England HQ – and its 1000-strong workforce – has logged a number of technical ‘firsts’ over the years.

Yet long-established skill-sets are not enough to counterbalance the economic pressures imparted by a volatile manufacturing climate. The leadership team therefore laid out a new journey to excellence, which will see the organisation work towards achieving the Shingo Award in 2020. Regarded in industry as ‘the Nobel Prize for manufacturing’, the international honour reflects an unrivalled commitment to continuous ‘Kaizen-like’ operational improvement.

The path to accomplishing this feat had been clearly mapped out – it would support the transformation to an efficient business that could better compete on a global scale. It would incorporate a factory, resource restructure and a refocus of management mindsets. But to truly be effective it would need to embody – and be perceived as – a vision for all. Led by the organisation’s head of improvements, this project therefore involved senior representatives from the organisation’s HR, marketing and plant management departments, as well as brand specialist The Engine Room as the external expert aide.

The remit was to raise awareness of the journey to excellence and the company’s six key values – integrity, innovation, global involvement, corporate responsibility, the delivery of superior results and diversity.

The resulting communication had to reach the entire workforce, but that was not all. It also had to engage them. Everyone had to understand its purpose, and want to achieve it.

It also needed to be clear that this was not a marketing gimmick. It was a strategic move to combat the migration of production to lower cost overseas facilities. The goal was to make the English site the preferred plant for new business. To inspire faith in this vision and help reshape a long-established set of norms and beliefs, a manifestation of a new internal brand identity was required.

A behavioural document highlighted the part that every member of the vast workforce would play in achieving the 2020 vision. But still the six values had to be turned into language that could be universally understood. Workshops therefore unfolded to contextualise them, through the eyes of colleagues with different job roles, so that they would not simply be perceived as buzzwords.

It became clear what integrity meant to different people, for example – the need for colleagues to ‘walk the talk’, value others’ views, communicate fairly and honestly, be accountable and demonstrate respect. Armed with this insight, the campaign strategy came to life. Then it was a case of getting the message out.

It became clear that the communication needed to be simple, impact-led and delivered in a traditional manner, given 400 colleagues on the ‘shop floor’ were without access to emails or monitors/screens. It would be word-based rather than just graphical, but it would need to have longevity to last the course of the multi-year vision.

‘One team. Our journey to excellence.’ became the core message underpinning everything. In the canteen – a heavily-populated social space – giant artwork was installed which incorporated the face of every team member. This inclusive piece with the additional text ‘One team. Hundreds of Ideas. Infinite Opportunities.’ reinforced a sense of pride and emphasised that everyone is ‘in it together’.

Wider language was chosen to express the wider values, and film quotes were even carefully selected to help convey the journey’s overall narrative. Yoda’s ‘You must unlearn what you have learned.’ perfectly explained the need for continuous improvement, for example. In essence – by choosing well-known phrases that ordinary people could relate to – they acted as a far less clichéd version of the inspirational excerpts that have become so overused in modern communications.

The poster campaign soon took shape, with other traditional media such as hanging banners, stickers, coasters, mugs and T-shirts also identified as valuable touchpoints to showcase the message. Only three months into a three-year journey it is difficult to measure the degree of progress to date. But change cannot be rushed. This launch phase was crucial to introducing an evidenced roadmap of activity, to the people who are key to making the progress. And, as colleagues delve further, the ‘timeline’ will help the process feel far more achievable than if the vision alone had been unveiled without detail.

The project also helped to initiate the required cultural transformation. In some respects, the approach mirrored that of Lewin’s change theory, with the unfreezing phase complete and the change itself still underway. However, with this journey, the priority is not to refreeze or solidify the new norm, but to encourage the workforce to remain agile and adaptable to the evolving global climate.

Unfortunately, moving away from this project, not every organisation acknowledges the need to treat such periods of change as brand projects. But a company’s brand is their people, not a logo. The stark fact is that the behaviour of colleagues internally, has a direct and unparalleled impact on the perceptions and performance of the organisation to the outside world. These assignments therefore must be treated with utmost respect for internal communication, given the significant impact that they have on the future competitiveness of the business. Otherwise the brand is not authentic – it is little more than a façade which increasingly discerning customers will soon see through.

Another challenge also exists surrounding project ‘ownership’. Naturally, a lead role needs to be adopted by someone and, under the communications umbrella, it is fine for that person to be in marketing. But a HRD must have a seat at the table as these strategic discussions unfold. After all, the brand could affect crucial HR-driven measurables such as employee productivity, retention and recruitment, as well as morale, positivity and a willingness to go the extra mile.

Furthermore, if the project solely incorporates the perceptions of the management team or the customer base, and not the voice of the workforce, who is to say the vision will be embraced by them? The brand cannot be dictatorial, otherwise it will soon fall flat. Ideally the opinion of everyone should be sought during the conceptualisation stage. If this is not practical, HR can help gather the insight required.

Disappointingly, elsewhere, senior management teams have been slow to acknowledge the value of HR in the boardroom. It is perhaps therefore unsurprising that when it comes to this crucial communications exercise, not all businesses are as forward thinking in terms of who to involve. Thankfully, this somewhat antiquated mindset is changing, albeit gradually it seems. We’re even seeing organisations moving away from the term ‘internal comms’ – which sounds so process-driven – towards ‘internal brand’. The latter better reflects the identity that employees needs to live, breathe and believe, just like customers ‘buy in’ to an organisation’s external brand. The two should not be mutually exclusive.

Yes, a cultural overhaul may be required to achieve this ambitious outcome. And cultural overhauls could never be described as easy. However, by using communication as a key mechanism to instigate change, it is possible to bring about productivity, performance and morale improvements – if HR has a key stakeholding in the project.

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