Corporate Success - Contributions of Internal Branding Practices in MAFOI

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    CONTRIBUTIONS OF INTERNAL BRANDING PRACTICES TO

    CORPORATE BRAND SUCCESS

    IN

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    DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

    I hereby declare that the work, which is being presented in this project, entitled

    Contributions of Internal Branding Practices to the corporate success in Mafoi

    Randstad is an authentic record of my own work carried out by me under the

    supervision and guidance of

    This project was undertaken as a part of the Research Project as per the curriculum of

    I have not submitted the matter embodied here in this project for the award of any other

    degree/diploma.

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    ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

    I am thankful to my respected of my institute, for his continued guidance and

    invaluable support.

    The successful progression of this project also gives me the opportunity to acknowledge

    and appreciate my friends and library staff who provided me much needed stimulating

    suggestions and encouragement in order to steer this project towards completion.

    Last but not least I would like to acknowledge my respondents for the constant support

    and help in the successful completion of my project.

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    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Chapter No. Subject Page

    Declaration by the candidate (i)

    Certificate of Guidance (ii)

    Acknowledgement (iii)

    Executive Summary 1

    Objective of the Research Undertaken 3

    Literature review 4

    Chapter 1About the Research topic 9

    - Introduction to the Topic 10

    - Case study 37

    Chapter 2Report of Research 43

    - Objective of Research 43

    - Research Methodology 46

    Chapter 3Results and Analysis 48

    Chapter 4Conclusion and Suggestions 55

    Chapter 5Findings 57

    Chapter 6References 58

    Chapter 7 Annexure 59

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    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    Background

    Internal branding provides the foundation through which HR professionals and workforce

    can contribute to the organizations success. In a rapidly changing business environment,

    organizations are recognizing the value of a workforce that is not only highly skilled &

    technically adept, but more importantly a workforce that can learn quickly, adapt to

    change, communicate effectively, and foster interpersonal relationships.

    Internal Branding is the set of strategic processes that align and empower employees to

    deliver the appropriate customer experience in a consistent fashion.

    Objective

    The main objective of this study is to investigate how internal branding practices can

    contribute to successful corporate brand building.

    Summary of findings

    Internal branding is a multi-disciplinary practice requiring cross-functional teams for both

    programme design and institutionalisation. It is a key factor in business and brand

    success, being the bridge between business strategy and implementation. A substantial

    component of the bridge is the employee. It is necessary to understand what is important

    to employees i.e. the drivers of employees engagement - pride/confidence,

    reward/recognition, and consistency - as well as methodologies for developing and

    sustaining internal branding initiatives. The root from which all brand initiatives spring,

    is the set of values associated with the brand. Best practice companies devote a lot of

    energy developing and promulgating their brand values.Implementing and sustaining internal brand initiatives requires the application of a wide

    variety of techniques. A key to implementation is encouraging appropriate employee

    behaviours therefore Human Resources plays a strong role in ensuring effective

    implementation.

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    In the future, internal branding will become both increasingly important and more all

    encompassing.

    Implications

    The successful implementation of the Internal Branding Best Practices Study can build

    the bridge between strategy and execution. Significant improvements to customer

    experience and loyalty ratings can be achieved once this connection is made, assuming

    that an organizations brand promise is well researched and meets current customer

    needs.

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    OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

    Primary objective

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how internal branding practices can contribute

    to corporate success.

    Secondary objective

    To know whether the employees have imbibed the vision and core values of the

    organization.

    To drive the desired behaviour of the employees to deliver on brand promise.

    To know whether to involve HR functional in internal branding.

    To know whether the corporate culture contribute to corporate and internal brand

    building.

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    LITERATURE REVIEW

    A brand is not an icon, a slogan, or a mission statement. It is a promise a promise your

    company can keep. First you find out, using research, what promises your customers

    want companies like yours to make and keep, using the products, processes and people in

    your company. Then you look at your competition and decide which promise would give

    you the best competitive advantage. This is the promise you make and keep in every

    marketing activity, every action, every corporate decision, and every customer

    interaction. You promote it internally and externally. The promise drives budgets and

    stops arguments. If everyone in the company knows what the promise is, and knows that

    they will be rewarded or punished depending on the personal commitment to the promise,

    politics and personal turf issues start to disappear.

    CORPORATE BRANDING

    Core values

    The importance of focusing inwards when building corporate brands has been highlighted

    in recent work by Urde, which focuses on core values as the main building blocks of

    corporate branding (Urde, 2003). According to Urde (2003), successful corporate brands

    are built when there is a strong relationship between the organization, its members, and

    the brand. There are three different types of values which should be identified and

    developed and corporations should focus on internal value creating processes in brand

    building:

    Values that are related to the organization (what it is and stands for)

    Values that summarize the brand identity (core values)

    Values that are experienced by customers (added value)

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    Source: Urde,

    Urde (2003) claims that organizational values and core values do not have to be the same

    and that organizational values can be more internally focused. In the initial stages of the

    branding process, organizational values should be translated into core values which guide

    the organizations efforts. In a second step, core values should be translated into added

    value for customers. Importantly, Urde (2003) states that core values are central to

    internal brand building as the goal for the organization is to live these values. Therefore,

    it is important that employees understand the core values and are in agreement about

    them. If this is achieved, the common values converge to give the corporate culture its

    character (Urde, 2003).

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    Organizational identity-Organizational values

    Identity of consumer

    -Added values

    Brand identity

    -Core values

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    Vision-Culture-Image model

    Hatch and Schultz (2003; 2001) share Urdes (2003) belief that brands should be built

    from within the company as they declare that nothing is more powerful in forming brand

    images than external stakeholders direct and personal encounter with the organization.

    The strategic importance of corporate branding therefore lies not only in its positioning of

    the company, but in creating internal arrangements (e.g. organizational structure, physical

    design and culture) that support the meaning of the corporate brand (Hatch & Schultz,

    2003). Managers should analyze and build the corporate brand by using the concepts

    strategic vision, organizational culture and corporate image (Hatch & Schultz, 2003;

    Hatch & Schultz, 2001):

    IMAGE

    CULTURE

    VISION

    CORPORA

    TEBRANDIN

    G

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    Successful corporate brands build their vision from redefinitions and reinventions of core

    values rather than revolutionary shifts from one set of values to another. Such successful

    brands also assure that their internal culture supports the vision and that the vision and

    culture are aligned with stakeholders image of the corporation. In particular, the gaps

    between vision, culture and image should be evaluated to better align them (Hatch &

    Schultz, 2001):

    Vision - Culture gap: how are managers and employees aligned?

    Culture - Image gap: how are employee attitudes and behaviors aligned with outside

    perceptions?

    Vision - Image gap: is management taking the firm in a direction that stakeholders

    support?

    A vision-culture gap may build up if senior management moves the company in a

    strategic direction that employees do not understand and support. A vision-image gap

    may develop when there is a conflict between outsiders images and wants and senior

    managements strategic vision. And a culture-image gap may grow if external images of

    the company are not supported when stakeholders are directly in contact with the

    organization.

    Brand identityWhen conducting a study within the field of corporate branding, it is important to

    mention that certain authors argue that identity is the central concept in corporate brand

    building (see e.g. Balmer & Gray, 2003; Balmer, 2001; Harris & de Chernatony, 2001; de

    Chernatony, 1999; Ind, 1997). However, Balmer (2001) argues that there is a fog

    surrounding the concept of corporate identity as there is no consensus concerning which

    elements identity comprises of. For example, corporate identity is explained as how a

    company expresses and differentiates itself in relation to its internal and external

    stakeholders (Balmer, 2001; Hatch & Schultz, 2000) whereas organizational identity

    refers to how organizational members perceive and understand who they are and what

    they stand for as an organization (Hatch & Schultz, 2000). Due to this theoretical

    ambiguity, models which focus explicitly on identity have not been directly included

    when formulating the research questions. Balmer (2001) proposes that identity may be

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    divided into a mix comprising of: strategy, structure, communication and culture. The

    author has included all of these elements in the study by applying frameworks presented

    by Hatch and Schultz, 2003; 2001 (strategy and culture), Vallaster and de Chernatony,

    2006, Burmann and Zeplin, 2005 (structure, culture, communication) and Bergstrom et

    al, 2002 (culture and communication). Therefore, although not directly referring to

    identity, the author implicitly acknowledges this concept.

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    CHAPTER 1

    ABOUT THE RESEARCH TOPIC

    ABOUT THE RESEARCH TOPIC

    WHAT IS INTERNAL BRANDING? THE DEFINITION

    Internal branding is the set of strategic processes that align and empower employees to

    deliver the appropriate customer experience in a consistent fashion. These processes

    include, but are not limited to, internal communications, training support, leadership

    practices, reward & recognition programs, recruitment practices and sustainability

    factors.

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    While many companies do not use the words internal branding, they describe the

    activities that build the bridge between strategy and execution. They used expressions

    such as:

    Living the corporate values.

    Leveraging the corporate brand strategy to reinforce brand requirements internally

    and reach out to potential recruits externally.

    Activities, processes and communication involved in empowering associates.

    Create and demonstrate consistent brand experience at all touch points.

    According to Bergstrom et al (2002) the core elements of internal branding are effective

    brand communication to all employees, convincing employees of the brands value and

    relevance and linking every job in the organization to delivery of the brand essence.

    Bergstrom et al (2002) claim that these core elements should be implemented through an

    approach labelled the 5 Cs (below). Commitment, culture and communication are

    included in this study.

    Internal Branding: Delivering Solutions through Employees

    The aim of marketing has long been to carry the brand message to the public. This is not

    done for altruistic reasons but to simply entice them to buy the product or service that you

    sell. But did you know that your brand is carried by your people as much as by your

    marketing?

    A few years ago, the management mantra ""If you take care of your employees, they will

    take care of your customers" appeared out of the customer service function leading to

    new development in internal branding. Interestingly, the marketing function did not

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    follow-suit straight away and has only recently started to engineer internal marketing

    strategies to ensure that employees are well versed in the brand attributes and values.

    Internal Branding: What is it?

    Internal branding, internal marketing, internal communicationscall it what you

    will. In the end, it's all about making sure your employees are brand advocates. Brand

    advocacy goes beyond being courteous to the first customer in the morning. It's aboutbeing fanatic about the brand, otherwise, it's just a job. And that's where the problem lies,

    for many of your employees, it's just a job. One they could easily give-up for another

    offering them a 5% salary increase.

    Internal branding is not about building loyalty even though it's one of the side

    benefits. It's not about managing to retain your best employees, it's about developing a

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    marketing story so compelling that people want to work for you and those who do, carry

    themselves with pride and honor. Now, your marketing story can never be a lie. Building

    your business on a promise you can't deliver is the surest way to fail. It has to be real and

    believable by both your customers and employees. And the latter can be more difficult

    than the former.

    Most marketing stories are written for customers often making the company's

    employees smile and joke about the story.' Is yours written in a way that your employees

    believe? And would they tell you if they did not?

    So your brand is a story. A story you tell both your internal and external public.

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    BRAND-CENTERED

    HR ACTIVITIES

    BRANDCOMMUNICATION

    CULTURE FITEMPLOYEE

    KNOW- HOW

    BRAND

    LEADERSHIP

    BRANDCOMMIT

    MENT

    BRANDCITIZENSHIP

    BEHAVIOR

    BRAND

    STRENGT

    H

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    WHY IS INTERNAL BRANDING IMPORTANT?

    The more we have studied internal branding the more convinced we have become of the

    crucial role internal branding plays in the successful implementation of business strategy.

    A companys most powerful means of delivering a defined brand experience is through

    the intermediation of its employees and by effectively delivering on the brand promise.

    Only in this way can business strategy successfully be executed, enabling business plans

    to be achieved. Or put more succinctly - ignore internal branding and you are likely to

    imperil your business.

    Given that brand has moved towards being a customer experience concept, the ability of

    employees to deliver that experience has become increasingly salient. The importance of

    the role of employees in service and service-related industries is immutable.

    It is initially counter intuitive that, at a time when technology and virtual communicationwould appear to be creating greater impediments to direct human contact between

    business and customer, that when those contacts do occur, they are of increasing

    importance to both sides. This is a notable point in our findings. This is not restricted to

    the realm of business-to-customer; it is just as relevant in the realm of business-to-

    business. One of the primary reasons given by a steel company for its ability to continue

    to make money while the majority of its competitors went bankrupt is because its

    employees from the shop floor up to senior management clearly understood and were

    able to deliver on the brand promise.

    Furthermore, it is not just management that recognizes the importance of internal

    branding. In 2006s quantitative survey, over 70% of marketers not involved in internal

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    STRUCTURE FITDISPOSABLE

    RESOURCES

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    branding said Yes to the question Is internal branding important to you as an

    employee?, with a remaining 25% saying Sometimes.

    The successful implementation of internal branding can build a bridge between strategy

    and execution. The most important component of that bridge is employees; hence the

    importance of the human resources perspective.

    If employees are important to internal branding, what is important to employees in

    this context?

    From the discussion with human resource professionals it became apparent that three

    elements are fundamental to the success of an employee internal branding strategy and

    implementation. These are:

    (a)Pride/confidence - Engendering and sustaining pride/ confidence in the company.

    (b) Reward/recognition - Having appropriate employee reward and recognition systems

    connected to the brand promise.

    (c) Consistency - Consistency in practice of supporting human resources programs and

    processes over time.

    These three can be grouped together into the loosely defined concept of employee

    engagement (often measured by myriad attributes in employee satisfaction surveys). All

    the best practice companies in our research had a methodology for estimating employee

    engagement and considered it a critical component of continued successful business

    implementation.

    How are pride /confidence in the company engendered?

    The Importance of Values

    The centrepiece of brand from which everything else stems is the set of values with

    which it is associated. Without exception, all of the companies that participated in this

    research emphasized the paramount importance of the role that values played in their

    internal brand.

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    In order to illustrate the nature of these values, a list of values taken from half a dozen

    of respondents is provided below. (The number in parentheses represents the number of

    respondents who referred to that particular value.)

    Client passion

    Creativity

    Accountability (x 2)

    Enthusiasm (x 2)

    Excellence (x 2)

    Caring

    Team work (x 3)

    Service (x 3)

    Quality

    Innovation

    Integrity (x 5)

    Spirit

    Insight

    Respect (x 2)

    Commitment

    Responsibility

    Diversity

    It is immediately apparent that the subject of brand values is not as straightforward as

    might initially be thought. In particular some of these values can only be comfortably

    applied to internal branding; team work, or diversity while others have a greater

    application to the external brand promise, i.e., service or responsibility as examples.

    There was a mixed response to this dichotomy amongst the companies being interviewed.

    Some explicitly acknowledged it, and had two separate lists of values; one for application

    internally and one associated with the public corporate brand. Others deliberately chose

    values that had both internal and external application so that they could have just one list

    and yet others tended to fudge the issue by including both types in one list and relying

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    on appropriate interpretation. Most companies lists of values were short; almost all had

    fewer than six encapsulating words.

    It is clear that it is not just the words themselves that are important but also the meaning

    and nuances ascribed to them in the context of the company. For example responsible in

    one context means we obey the law and in another means we will ensure our customer

    uses our products in a careful manner. In a third it means we must make a sound profit

    for our stockholders. Furthermore, for the international companies in our research, there

    were translations that were adapted to fit the local environments.

    The manner in which the values are developed is important. Amongst the respondents

    there was a strong degree of agreement as to how values should be developed. All

    subscribed to the view that the process was extensive, expensive and time consuming.

    Overall, some four or five stages to the process can be identified and those involved in

    the core development team include not only the very senior management but also good

    cross-functional representation. Most of our respondents used the services of an outside

    consultant as either a facilitator or an expert in the process.

    How are the values developed?

    The first stage (the quest for meaning): Generally involves a large amount of analysis

    and research. Competitive analysis, external research or best practices, re-visiting internal

    research, mapping employees experiences, focus groups with employees and on

    occasion with clients, non-clients and suppliers too. In many cases local teams

    represented different geographic functions and specialties. The questions being asked in

    all these inquiries are deceptively simple:

    Who are we?

    What do we do?

    How do we operate?

    What do we want to be when we are successful?

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    How are we different from our competition?

    Clarity of response to these questions is crucial and difficult to achieve.

    The second stage (placement relative to the ideal): Involves the development of key

    drivers and metrics and the identification of gaps between best practices and internal

    practices. Often this stage is also interactive with different attributes and interpretations

    being taken back to constituent groups for applicability and accuracy testing.

    The third stage (relationship to the brand and corporation): Develops and aligns the

    values into themes, putting them through the corporate brand filter. The thorny question

    of should they be the same, the same but a little different, or different from the values

    associated with the corporate brand is tackled here.

    The fourth stage (prioritization & communication): The final polishing and the

    development of concrete behaviour to be associated with the values, the on-going

    communication messaging and channels, the implementation of measurement process,

    the rollout plan.

    The fifth stage (going forward): The development of maintenance programs and ways

    to keep the values fresh and relevant .

    Motivation in general

    Although the values alone do not make the internal brand, all aspects of employees

    engagement needs to be addressed, including work environment and climate; growth and

    learning; relationship to immediate supervisor; the senior leadership, recognition and

    compensation, etc. These are not addressed here being broader human resources topics,

    except to the extent that they directly influence internal branding.

    Senior leadership

    There was unanimity amongst all respondents that without the direct and intimate

    involvement of the President/CEO in the development of the internal brand the initiative

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    would be unlikely meet with much success. Simultaneously, the requirement for cross

    functional involvement needs to be recognized.

    Budget

    Most internal branding initiatives, both in terms of development or maintenance, came

    from some other budget; general human resources, marketing or public relations. Thus

    resources were often carved from other initiatives. All respondents said a nice to have

    would be a dedicated and secure internal branding budget.

    Advertising

    Some of the respondents use their own external advertising as a means for engendering

    pride and confidence in the company, i.e., external advertising is deliberately created to

    appeal to the work force within the company, so that the employee can identify with the

    values being espoused.

    How to sustain pride and confidence

    Even companies where internal branding has been a way of life for over thirty years still

    faced this challenge. From this most recent set of interviews it would appear that many of

    the initiatives put in place to maintain the vibrancy of the internal brand have been

    initiated from human resources.

    Employee intake

    Prior to the commencement of employment, some human resource departments have

    instigated an interview process whereby prospective employees are measured against

    their ability to align themselves with the brand values. Specific skills and attitudes are

    tested as part of the recruitment process in order to improve the chances that future

    employees will be able to deliver on the brand promise and client experience determined

    by the business strategy. One company goes as far as recruiting most employees as part

    time casual initially in order to enable human resources to evaluate their suitability for the

    corporate culture before they become full-time.

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    Orientation

    The prevalence of having new employees go through orientation programs is increasing

    and this is often due to a desire to introduce them directly to internal brand values and

    behavioural expectations.

    Furthermore, these orientation programs are becoming more formal and in-depth rather

    than the normal floating between departments. One of our respondents has a full two day

    off-site program for all employees included in their orientation program. Another has a

    full one-year orientation program for all employees from the shop floor up and yet

    another has a series of web-based training modules specifically on brand values that have

    to be completed by all new entrants.

    Training

    Apart from training programs specifically designed around imparting internal brand

    values and desired behaviours, the companies we interviewed included an element of

    brand application in all their training courses even if the course is meant as a pure product

    training course.

    Structural Alignment

    Several of our respondents re-distributed the allocation of resources within the company

    to make them more aligned to the declared brand values. For example, one respondent

    who had a strong customer service value cut a large number of head-office and

    administrative positions and reallocated them to the front line and store front positions.

    Another two companies re-structured their compensation and career path tracks to

    encourage promotions from the existing employee pool. The purpose of these shifts was

    to increase the sustainability of the internal brand values and behaviours and inculcate

    them more intensely into the corporate culture. Appreciation of the power and benefit of

    consistency over time is manifest to them.

    Implementation: requires identifying, recognizing and rewarding the

    desired brand behaviours

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    Behaviour identification

    All the respondents had some form of description of the desired behaviours necessary to

    deliver the brand that were in direct alignment with the brand values. However, these

    varied considerably in descriptive style, detail and length. For example one list included

    the following Hand raiser not finger pointer, Radiator not drain, We not me.

    Whereas others had the more formal Everyone must be considered an individual, We

    must constantly strive to reduce our costs and We act in an efficient and pragmatic

    way.

    All agreed that the behaviours had to be absolutely clear and preferably simple. One

    company that had a high immigrant intake in the workforce even used pictures by way of

    explanation.

    Some had their behaviours limited to customer treatment protocols designed to deliver a

    consistent quality customer experience, while others had more general descriptions of

    behaviours which could be applied to relationships both internally and externally.

    There was uniform agreement that one of the most effective ways of communicating the

    desired behaviours was through stories, whether they were case studies displayed in

    videos or print or communicating the circumstances around a particular award. Stories

    provided tangible evidence and context for behaviours that could be easily illustrated and

    remembered. Also mentioned was the need for a multitude of communication tactics in

    order to consider the internal constituents ages and ethnic backgrounds.

    Recognizing and celebrating the right behaviours

    Most of our respondents have a formal system of recognising behaviours that

    demonstrate the brand values. These take the form of an internal nomination process

    where usually the brand value being demonstrated has to be identified. This is often a

    tiered process whereby an initial small award is given and recognised in the local group

    of employees that is then entered into a quarterly bigger award, which in turn is eligible

    to be entered into the annual award. The top award, usually given a name like The

    Chairmans Club, is awarded to those employees who consistently or significantly

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    demonstrated behaviours aligned with the brand. Again, stories play a pivotal role here

    and the inspirational draw is a powerful motivator.

    Leading edge organizations are now not only focusing on the end results of the

    behaviour, i.e., the what, but also the how; is the thinking and process involved in

    achieving the result aligned with the values too? For example, good customer service at

    the expense of mistreating other employees is not acceptable.

    Rewarding the right behaviours

    Almost all of the respondents have the brand values and associated behaviours embedded

    in their employee performance evaluation systems. In the more sophisticated

    organizations this was in the form of part of a balanced score card approach.

    In one organisation all employees performance review criteria are linked to the

    achievement of the internal brand values and thus all their salaries and raises are tied to

    their commitment and recognition of the internal brand.

    Another organisation expressed a more cautious view that linking too much

    compensation to internal brand behaviours exposed employees to the possibility of being

    punished for non-compliance which might be counter-productive.

    Nothing works better than example

    Everyone agreed that it is vital for senior management to walk the talk and demonstrate

    the behaviours associated with the brand values. However, as our 2006 survey found,

    only 22% strongly agree with the statement management walks the talk with respect to

    brand values. There is room for improvement!

    MEASUREMENT

    Two aspects of measurement were considered: the resources devoted to internal branding

    and the return on those resources; and, the measures of how effective internal brand

    initiatives are in changing behaviour and the customer impact.

    Measuring the resources devoted to internal branding

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    Not one of the respondents directly measured the dollar value of resources devoted to

    internal branding. As noted earlier, most would prefer a dedicated budget rather than

    having to carve off slices of other budgets, as is the present practice.

    All agreed that the process of developing internal brand values is expensive and at the

    same time there is a strong gut-feeling that the payback in business terms is considerable.

    However, isolating the returns directly attributable to internal branding is considered by

    most organizations as a non-starter.

    Measurement of the effects of internal branding initiatives

    The whole question of the best method for evaluating employee engagement is a hot topic

    and too big a subject to be tackled here.

    All participants use some form of employee survey to measure the effects of their internal

    branding initiatives. Some ask very explicitly linked questions such as Are you aware of

    the values?, Did you understand the values?, Can you implement the values into your

    daily activity?, How? Some also use a survey to evaluate senior managements

    compliance: Do managers follow the corporate values? They take corrective actions for

    those who score poorly.

    Some companies have undertaken research to establish the qualities and values that exist

    in comparable high performing organisations and then track these in their own employee

    opinion survey.

    Most use some attribute of desirability as an employer either in external rankings of best

    employers, or in the form of monitoring their position in internal questionnaires as a key

    metric.

    One organization monitors how often their values are directly associated with their name

    in external media, i.e., every time the company name appears in the media, the

    surrounding text is searched to see if any of their brand values are also mentioned or

    linked.

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    Why does One Need to Focus on Internal Branding?

    Seen in this light, it's easy to understand why you should develop your internal branding

    strategy. The benefits are tremendous: better informed employees potentially becoming

    happier with their jobs, their lives, etc. resulting in happier customers coming back for

    more. As most companies are not built on altruistic grounds, no business is truly a

    democracy, the focus on your employees is a real business strategy aimed at increasing

    your revenue and controlling your costs in a non-manipulative manner. How's is that for

    benefits?

    It's often easier to identify the negative than the positive (ask any executive who has

    gone through a SWOT analysis.) And in the case of internal branding, the result of not

    doing is simple: Your company could fail. The problems you face today are often due to

    a lack of proper communication or understanding which can be addressed by explaining

    your values in details (an internal branding tactic) allowing your employees to make a

    daily decisions with customers based on a sound principles.

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    Formal vs. Informal Internal Branding

    Building your brand to ensure that your employees buy-in the storyis often moredifficult

    than to create one for consumers. Why is that? It seems that the internal knowledge

    employees have of the company prevents them from believing what is often referred to as

    the marketing message' (pronounce this with a derogatory tone.) A brand message that is

    at odd with the real culture top management stands for is a sure way to fail. So the

    marketing story' starts at the top. If your top management doesn't believe in it or even live

    it every single day, how can you expect your employees to do so?

    There are two ways to go about building your brand internally. The first one is to

    simply match what you say to what you do. It's a simple strategy but often difficult to

    implement as it requires a real connection between who you are as CEO, your actions and

    your brand. SMEs are at an advantage as the CEOs are closer to the operations and can

    therefore oversee the brand story and its implementation throughout the organization (and

    don't be fooled, branding is the CEO's problem, not the marketing department.) It's harder

    for bigger corporations and this case a formal approach might be the best approach.

    A Five Step Recipe:

    1. Define your brand/marketing story (and get your employees involved)

    2. Align your brand and your culture

    3. Understand the employee touch points where your brand is playing a part

    4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate and Communicate some more

    5. Your brand evolves, don't let it go stiff

    It's a simple enough process but matching your brand to your culture, and vice-versa is

    often easier said than done and you might be wise to ask for external help. Once done, it's

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    all about implementing it day-in, day-out without fail, discouragement or doubt.

    Remember, there is a direct link between what you do everyday and your brand.

    Point 5. is important. The traditional logic is that a brand, once defined, should remain

    unchanged until it's accepted by your target markets. This still stand true in many cases

    but you'll soon find out that peripherals attributes, such as products, will change

    overtime, sometimes even redefining your brand in the process.

    It's all in the Tactics

    The development of any strategy should always start with a deep definition of the target

    markets. In this case, the employees. Do you truly know them? What are theircharacteristics? Aspirations ? You need to define your internal market thoroughly just as

    would an external target market. Once done, you can properly identify your objective

    (including ROI), the most appropriate strategy, tactics, schedule and budget. The

    planning part is important but it's all in the tactics. In internal branding, what you do is

    more important that what you say. Here are a few examples of standard tactics that will

    help you develop your internal branding:

    Brand Benefit Communications

    Company Celebrations

    Internal Branding Campaigns

    Intranet Communications

    New Employee Orientations

    Newletters/E-Newsletters

    Organizational Development

    Rewards & Recognition Events

    Team Building

    Which one should you choose? It depends on three factors: time, labor and money. Your

    strategy and tactics will depend on which one you have most of (and who has time these

    days?)

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    Should HR be involved?

    Before proceeding further, the answer is yes.

    If you look at the list of tactics above you could quickly decide that this the responsibility

    of human resources, and many marketing manager would quickly agree. I disagree. As a

    marketer, if you are lucky to have a progressive HR Director, you will reap tremendous

    benefits by developing an internal branding strategy with him or her and work together in

    the implementation. Going further, internal branding is a company exercise and your

    employees should be involved. While the idea of creating an internal branding committee

    could quickly defeat the purpose, having people from different functions involved

    throughout the year is certainly a good idea.

    Can you Measure Internal Branding?

    Like all branding related activities, measuring it is as difficult as measuring advertisingeffectiveness. Short of putting your employees to a test, conducting regular checks on

    their brand awareness, support, etc. is useful. Doing an internal brand audit on a yearly

    basis could be considered as part of your internal branding strategy anyway.

    Conducted yearly, the Internal Brand audit can become your measuring yardstick.

    Covering the different angles your brand offer, it is a helpful tool and can be as simple as

    a survey or as complex as you want it to be. The simpler the better though as its aims is to

    both reinforce the value of the branding message and identify areas of improvement.

    Leadership

    Who is in charge of internal branding?

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    In the research, there was not one company that had expressly dedicated one individual's

    responsibilities to internal branding". More often than not, it was one of a laundry list of

    responsibilities in a marketing executive's mandate, parked alongside the responsibilities

    of advertising, branding, direct marketing, merchandising, etc. One of the reasons for this

    lack of clear responsibility is the cross functional nature of the task. This responsibility

    was usually delegated to the marketing department in general. The logic for it being part

    of the marketing department's role is that the marketing department is the most involved

    in the interaction between company and customers. Thus, following on from the

    definition, it is this functional unit that needs to join company brand with customer

    experience.

    The CMA Internal Branding Research Survey of 2005 confirms that the responsibility for

    internal branding resides within the purview of marketing:

    Development of internal branding strategies tends to be shared by the marketing group

    and executive team with more than one-quarter mentioning internal branding as a

    marketing responsibility and 72% stating that the executive team holds some

    responsibility. External agencies are utilized by one in five of the companies surveyed.

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    AREAS WITHIN ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING INTERNAL

    BRANDING STRATEGIES

    11

    21

    28

    41

    72

    77

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

    Other

    External agency

    Public relations

    Human Resources

    Executive team

    Marketing

    Percentage

    When asked if these were the same groups responsible for external branding strategies,

    almost six in ten companies (59%) suggested that the same groups build internal and

    external branding strategies.

    Even if internal branding is nominally anchored in the marketing function, it is clear that

    both human resources and the executive team need to be intimately involved with internal

    branding initiatives.

    Notwithstanding the fact that the leadership for internal branding might be anchored in

    one functional unit, it is vital to note the importance of the role of all management to

    "walk the talk" and the apparent lack of them actually doing so. Only 22% of respondents

    in the CMA survey strongly agree with the statement "management walks the talk with

    respect to brand values." Clearly there is a need for senior executives to demonstrate that

    it is they who are in charge, i.e. Leadership.

    The Implementation Table demonstrates that this critical component of senior

    management should be formalized and rewarded in best practice organizations.

    Overall, as a best practice, responsibility for strategic development and implementation

    for internal branding should be vested clearly with one senior level individual or group of

    individuals who have wide reach and access across functions. They also should be

    measured and rewarded for their success in this key area of brand management.

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    Key Challenges

    What are the challenges for internal branding?

    There was a consensus amongst several of the companies participating in the research

    that the overarching challenge for internal branding is how to translate the company's

    brand values into physical employee behaviours. In order to achieve this objective,

    companies employ a plethora of implementation techniques.

    The breakdown of the key challenges from the CMA survey is as follows:

    One of the major challenges inhibiting the success of this translation is that internal

    branding touches marketing, human resources, brand management, operations, front line

    management and strategy. Several of the best practice companies have come close to

    overcoming these functional silos in their internal branding efforts.

    Nevertheless, for most companies, the inability to cross the boundaries between divisions

    fluidly in internal branding efforts presents a major challenge.

    The lack of alignment between employees values and company values emerged as a

    challenge from the CMA survey: "The low proportion (7%) of respondents who think

    their brand values provide guidance as to how to treat other employees suggests that

    brand values do not address human interrelationships in a meaningful way."

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    KEY CHALLENGES OF INTERNAL BRANDING

    32

    3

    1

    1

    2

    3

    4

    4

    4

    5

    8

    9

    12

    15

    0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

    Did not answ er

    Other

    Defining Brand Values

    Measuring Effectiveness

    Budget

    Prioritizing Internal Branding

    Articulating Relevance of Internal Branding

    Organizational Structure

    Culture

    Time Availability

    Getting Executive Commitment

    Getting Buy-In

    Consistency

    Communication

    Interestingly, several companies that have found "keeping the momentum going" to be a

    real challenge were identified in the qualitative research. Since involving themselves in a

    variety of communication and employee involvement initiatives, their challenge is "what

    next?"

    Finally, and not surprisingly, measurement is a challenge.

    Implementation

    Internal Branding Techniques and Tools

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    There is a range of internal branding techniques and tools in alignment with the range of

    requirements of leading organizations. The newness of this field of brand management

    has engendered a wide variety of practices. The following presents an inventory of

    current practices, serving as a summary of implementation methods captured through the

    most recent CMA qualitative study of Internal Branding Practices.

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    Additional observations

    Several organizations did not identify specific internal branding practices as such, stating

    that it is part of human resources or that branding is part of everything they do. In

    particular, not-for-profits stated that the passion of their cause fuelled employee

    connection to organization and brand values. Internal branding appears to be subject to

    the requirement of continual evolution; the key challenge is keeping it fresh and relevant

    to both the employee and customer.

    Measurement

    What is measured?

    Measurement emerged as one of the challenges for internal branding efforts as is clearly

    demonstrated by the CMA survey: Only 28% of those involved in internal branding

    actually measure the effectiveness of their efforts. Without spending information and

    some sort of effectiveness measure, it is difficult to even approximate a ROI, something

    that is often needed to justify ongoing internal branding programs.

    DO YOU MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL BRANDING

    INITIATIVES

    13

    58

    28

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

    Not sure

    No

    Yes

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    Measurement of the effects of internal branding is still in its infancy. In the research,

    there was a consensus that an external measurement of a brands impact on consumers

    was the easiestmethod of having some form of measurement. This starts from the pure

    business metrics of retention, un-aided awareness and such, up to client satisfaction.

    Identified in CMA's 2004 study on brand measurement, the best practice method is to

    have comprehensive metrics around "customer experience." None of the research

    participants had reached this plateau with confidence.

    There was also consensus that appropriate internal measures were more difficultand at

    the same time more desirable than external measures. How do you measure the

    effectiveness of front line and internal staff living the brand? At present, employee

    surveys are the main tool used. A corollary question is how do you recognize and reward

    such behaviours?

    Again, surveys and 360 feedback programmes are the main tools used.

    None of the research participants were satisfied that they had the measurement of internal

    branding initiatives at a satisfactory level. Tools like balanced scorecard and peer

    ratings/reward programmes are steps in the right direction.

    Internal Branding Measurements

    From the findings, the following table summarises present practices in measuring the

    effectiveness of internal branding initiatives:

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    How brand promise is delivered - internal branding the reality

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    CASE STUDY

    CONTRIBUTIONS OF INTERNAL BRANDING PRACTICES TO

    CORPORATE SUCCESS IN MAFOI

    COMPANY OVERVIEW:

    Finding skilled resources and retaining them is a challenge that many companies face. Ma

    Foi Randstad has over two decades of experience in Human Resource Management and

    Consulting helps find the right candidates for different companies, partner with them in

    maximizing potential of their human capital and optimizing HR processes.

    Over the years, it has built up strong partnerships with companies in India and abroad;

    helped build successful companies by identifying the best candidates for them, many of

    whom have gone on to create their own success stories. With human capital being the

    most valuable asset for your company today, Ma Foi Randstad make sure that companies

    get the best in the business. Its wide suite of services lets companies leverage their human

    capital and optimize the performance of their employees.

    Its services have developed based on international best practices and learning from

    thousands of assignments executed by it over the years, and are adapted to suit its clients

    businesses. Be it the right talent for different organization, or a cost-effective consulting

    solution, or a training program, or solutions for enhancing HR processes, its services are

    customized.

    PRESENCE IN INDIA

    Ma Foi Randstad is a part of Randstad, the worlds second largest HR services company.

    Started in 1992, it has grown into a full spectrum HR services provider for clients

    worldwide. It has helped shape the careers of more than 2,80,000 individuals. It has

    provided a variety of HR services to thousands of organizations that include more than

    250 organizations in Fortune-500 list.

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    Ma Foi Randstad, offers one of the finest HR services portfolios ranging from Executive

    Search, Temporary Staffing, Recruitment, Specialists-on-Contract, Consulting,

    Outsourcing, Training and HR Automation. Its vast network of offices across the country

    helps it to serve its customers better.

    It continues to focus on developing customized and innovative HR services, leveraging

    on its unique strengths of geographical presence, providing the full spectrum of HR

    services and the experience of working with the largest number of customers, candidates

    and flexi-employees.

    PRESENCE ACROSS THE GLOBE

    Randstad was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands.

    Randstad Holding NV is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam, where options for

    stocks in Randstad are also traded.

    Randstad specializes in solutions in the field of flexible work and human resources

    services. Services offered include: regular temporary staffing and permanent placement

    to in-house, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions. The acquisition of

    Vedior, by the Randstad Group in 2008 has made us the second-largest HR services

    provider in the world. It is ranked among the top-three HR services providers in

    Argentina, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Cyprus,

    India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. It is

    also becoming a force to reckon within Australia and the United States of America. At

    the end of the year 2009, Randstad had approximately 25,500 employees working from

    over 4,100 branches and in-house locations in 44 countries across the world. Randstad

    generated revenue of 12.4 billion in 2009.

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    THE INDUSTRIES IT CATERS TO:

    Banking, Financial Services & Insurance

    Consumer, Retail & Services

    Energy & Infrastructure

    Information & Communication Technology

    IT Enabled Services

    Manufacturing

    Pharmaceutical, Healthcare & Life Sciences

    Media, Entertainment & Hospitality

    BELIEVES IN BEST HIRING

    As a company setting up a base in India, anyone would want only the best people

    working in the organization. Ma Foi Randstad looks at things in the same way and hence

    helps to confront challenges in understanding the availability of talent pool, attracting the

    right talent, understanding compensation levels and creating a platform for growth.

    It helps in:

    Identifying the talent pool where availability is high.

    Doing a feasibility check on the location for establishing an office.

    Compensation survey, recommending the right salary range.

    Framing a HR policy manual.

    Staffing the complete organization across levels and functions on a turnkey model.

    Every potential candidate undergoes an in-depth interview process in order to determine

    their personality, motivation and long term goals. Skills, experience and references are

    thoroughly checked. While looking for the ideal candidates it typically cast the net wide

    open by an advertisement to assist candidate search process and build your employer

    brand.

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    Secondly, it has designed an assessment centre comprising of various selection tools.

    This helps to zero down on the ideal candidate. For critical hires in such scenario, it

    tends to expand scope of the matching process it looks at matching amongst the

    potential boss, potential employee and overall culture of the organization. It is called Job

    Fit, Boss Fit and Company Fit. This helps in putting the best candidates forward and

    raises process efficiencies.

    INTERNAL BRANDING AT MAFOI

    Consistent Messaging.

    Measuring Stakeholder Connect

    Critical for Creating Sustainable Brand Experience.

    More Relevant in Turbulent Times

    Develop a deep emotional connect between the brand and the employees

    Business Philosophy, Value System & CRM Policy to contribute to it.

    Brand Personality & Values Aligned with Corporate Vision & Business

    Philosophy

    InculcateBRAND VALUESamongst allINTERNAL STAKE HOLDERS

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    Objectives & Reasons for conducting internal branding at MAFOI:

    Employees were unable to understand and identify the Corporate Vision, they were not

    satisfied with the companys remuneration. Communication channel was complex.

    This had a major impact on the productivity of the company, it was not growing at the

    pace it was supposed to be.

    Here are some of the problems that organization encountered when trying to implement

    new brand management programs:

    Senior management was not focused on the brand

    Senior management had a short attention span how do we garner their support and

    resources over time?

    Some senior leaders did not seem to be bought into the brand management concept at

    all

    The organization is highly fragmented and resistant to change

    The organization is internally focused

    How to shift people's focus from their functional "silos" to cross-functional ownership of

    the brand?

    The organization's culture did not reinforce the brand

    The organization's operations and systems did not support the brand

    The brand message was only one of many among all the corporate messages

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    How to get from brand promise to brand

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    REPORT OF THE RESEARCH

    OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

    Primary objective

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how internal branding practices can contribute

    to corporate success.

    Secondary objective

    To know whether the employees imbibed the vision and core values of the

    organization.

    To drive the desired behaviour of the employees to deliver on brand promise.

    To know whether to involve HR functional in internal branding.

    To know whether the corporate culture contribute to corporate and internal brand

    building.

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    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

    The purpose of the research survey is to know the strengths and the areas needing

    improvements (possible blind spots) at various executive levels.

    The study then goes on to evaluate and analyze the findings so as to present a clear

    picture of different factors of internal branding contributing to the productivity of the

    company.

    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

    Significance to the hr professionals/executives:

    This is a limited study which takes into consideration the responses of 20 people. This

    data can be explorated to take in the trends in different organization. The significance to

    the HR Professionals lies in studying these trends that emerge from the study.

    Significance for the researcher:

    To facilitate and provide all the useful information of the study and also provide an in-

    depth knowledge about the different factors contributing to the corporate and internal

    brand building.

    Implications for practitioners :

    As an interesting implication, Corporate Brand Managers may have to accept that the

    notion of one corporate culture may be difficult to achieve in large corporations or

    corporations with spread-out workforces. Instead, it is likely that recognizing various

    subcultures within the organization and utilizing their respective strengths in brand

    building (although within a main cultural framework) would increase the brands strength

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    internally, and thus also increase its external strength. Interestingly, the study seems to

    reflect that best-practice corporate brand building is carried out more and more on

    employees terms.Practitioners may therefore further strengthen their corporate brands if

    employees are viewed both as part of the corporate brandand as internal audiences which

    should be informed of the brands value and how this value can be affected.

    This may be specifically important in the development of internal communication

    methods as well as in the acknowledgment and involvement of employees in brand

    building. Corporate brand building should be carried out by appointing leaders

    throughout the company who deliver brand related messages directly to employees,

    acknowledge their contributions to the organization and brand and directly involve them

    in everyday brand building activities.

    Concerning the contributions of HR-practices to corporate branding, practitioners may

    benefit from involving the HR-function not only in more traditional areas such as

    recruitment and phasing in of new employees, but also in more explicit brand building

    activities such as internalization of core values among current employees and in internal

    brand auditing. In this way, internal branding practices are likely to be rendered more

    effective and the corporate brand strengthened.

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    RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

    Research methodology is considered as the nerve of the project. Without a proper well-

    organized research plan, it is impossible to complete the project and reach to any

    conclusion. The project was based on the survey plan. The main objective of survey was

    to collect appropriate data, which work as a base for drawing conclusion and getting

    result.

    Therefore, research methodology is the way to systematically solve the research problem.

    Research methodology not only talks of the methods but also logic behind the methods

    used in the context of a research study and it explains why a particular method has been

    used in the preference of the other methods.

    RESEARCH DESIGN

    Exploratory & descriptive experimental research

    The research is primarily both exploratory as well as descriptive in nature. The sources of

    information are both primary & secondary.

    A survey was carried out among different employees working at all the levels working in

    the organization in order to assess the importance of various factors contributing to the

    corporate and internal brand building.

    SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

    Sampling Technique:

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    Initially, a rough draft was prepared keeping in mind the objective of the research. A pilot

    study was done in order to know the accuracy of the Questionnaire. The final

    Questionnaire was arrived only after certain important changes were done. Thus the

    sampling came out to be judgmental and convenient.

    Sampling Unit:

    The respondents who were asked to fill out questionnaires are the sampling units. These

    comprise of employees working at different levels in the organization.

    Sample size:

    The sample size was restricted to 20.

    Sampling Area :

    The region of research is organization in New Delhi.

    LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH

    1. The research is confined to only Delhi and does not necessarily shows a pattern

    applicable to all of Country.

    2. Some respondents were reluctant to divulge personal information which can affect

    the validity of all responses.

    3. The sample size was restricted to 20 only. This was because of paucity of time.

    4. In a rapidly changing industry, analysis on one day or in one segment can change

    very quickly. The environmental changes are vital to be considered in order to

    assimilate the findings.

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    RESULTS AND ANALYSISRESEARCH QUESTIONS

    It is believed that a study of these concepts offer the greatest potential to develop current

    knowledge of the ways in which internal branding practices can contribute to corporate

    brand success.

    Core values as well as vision have been argued as building blocks which lay the

    foundation of corporate branding.

    Furthermore, corporate culture has been highlighted as an essential building

    block in corporate and internal branding which guides employee behaviour.

    Internal communication is also proposed as a vital element in internal branding,

    which influences brand commitment and strengthens the brand internally.

    HR involvement in brand building has been argued to influence brand

    commitment as well as increase the incorporation of the brand into work

    activities and increase employee brand attitude.

    In relation to these researchers works it is of value to identify how the four presented

    branding concepts as well as HR-practices, when implemented as internal branding

    practices, can contribute to corporate brand success:

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    The following five research questions have thus guided the study (RQ1-5):

    1. How can core values contribute to corporate and internal branding?

    2. How can vision contribute to corporate and internal branding?

    3. How can corporate culture contribute to corporate and internal branding?

    4. How can different internal communication methods contribute to corporate and

    internal branding?

    5. How canHR-practices contribute to corporate and internal branding?

    METHOD

    The study was initiated by reviewing current literature within corporate and internal

    branding in order to develop appropriate research questions. The research questions

    guided the selection of cases and directed the design of interview questions used in data

    collection consisting of interviews.

    They also influenced the collection of documents and web based information. Cases were

    studied individually in order to write individual case reports. This facilitated data analysis

    and assured greater validity and reliability. Importantly, data analysis was guided by the

    research questions.

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    DATA ANALYSIS

    1) Do core values contribute to the corporate and internal brand building?

    Yes No

    20% 80%

    ANALYSIS

    According to the above pie chart 80% out of the total interviewed people are of the belief

    that they have imbibed the core values of the organization and understand its significance

    in corporate and internal brand building.

    2) According to you what kind of function the internal brand building is?

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    Simple Little bit complex Complex

    5% 30% 65%

    ANALYSIS

    In the above pie chart only 5% out of the total interviewed people find that internal brand

    building is a simple process, the another 30% respondents find that it is a little bit

    complex process where as 65% of the respondents find to a great extent that internal

    brand building is a very complex procedure.

    3) Is it true to say that corporate culture contribute to internal brand building ?

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    5%

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    YES NO

    100% 0%

    ANALYSIS

    As the above pie chart shows that all the respondents are of the belief that corporate

    culture contributes to corporate and internal brand building. Corporate culture is seeded

    by the CEOs of the company.

    4) Does different internal communication methodscontribute to corporate and

    internal branding?

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    Yes No Some extent Large extent

    50% 0% 20% 30%

    ANALYSIS

    In the above pie chart, 50% out of total respondents are of the belief that different internal

    communication methods contribute to corporate and internal branding ,0% believe that it

    has no connection with corporate and internal branding, 20% of the respondents believe

    that to some extent different internal communication methods contribute to corporate and

    internal branding whereas 30% of the respondents believe that to large extent the

    different internal communication methods contribute to corporate and internal branding.

    5) Do the HR-practices contribute to the corporate and internal brand building?

    Yes No Some extent Large extent

    20% 20% 40% 20%

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    30%

    50%

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    ANALYSIS

    According to the above pie chart, 20% out of total respondents are of the belief that the

    HR-practices contribute to the corporate and internal brand building , 20% of the

    respondents believe that the HR-practices do not contribute to the corporate and internal

    brand building , 40% of the respondents believe that to some extent the HR-practices

    contribute to the corporate and internal brand building where as 20% of the respondents

    believe that to large extent the HR-practices contribute to the corporate and internal brand

    building.

    CONCLUSION

    Internal branding is truly a cross-functional practice. Having now spoken to Human

    Resource professionals we can confirm that internal branding is not just the purview of

    marketing departments. However, it is not unexpected that there is some specialisation.

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    40%

    20%20%

    20%

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    The marketing executives we spoke to tend to be more involved in the development of

    brand strategy particularly as it relates to the business. For example, they are more deeply

    immersed in questions relating to customer experience, corporate image, business

    development and design, and collateral materials that support brand values. Human

    Resource professionals tend to be more concerned with tactics and implementation. They

    are mostly immersed in matter of compensation, employee attributes and behaviours and

    recruitment.

    Success requires both!

    Core values can strengthen corporate brands if they are united with cultural

    values.

    Core values contribute to external corporate brand building by adding value tocustomers.

    Core values contribute to corporate and internal branding by acting as an

    organizational structure or cultural element which guides employee behaviour.

    Core values contribute to corporate and internal branding by internally indicating

    how the vision is to be achieved.

    An abstractly formulated vision contributes to corporate branding more as a

    management tool which sets the strategic direction for the company than an

    internal branding tool which can guide brand-related employee behaviour.

    Corporate culture contributes to corporate and internal branding by acting as a

    self-sustaining organizational structure which transmits brand-related values and

    behaviours to employees.

    Corporate culture can strengthen corporate brands if the main cultural framework

    allows cultural interpretations within subcultures.

    Corporate culture can strengthen corporate brands if subcultures co-exist in

    harmony.

    Central communication methods which apply a pull-principle contribute to

    corporate and internal branding by motivating employees to search for and apply

    brand related information in their work.

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    Forums for personal interaction contribute to corporate and internal branding by

    enabling employees to develop and deepen their brand understanding and

    commitment.

    Internal communication can greater contribute to corporate and internal branding

    if corporations evaluate how employees prefer to search for and process

    information and design communication channels accordingly.

    HR-practices can contribute to corporate and internal branding through:

    Brand-related recruitment

    Phasing in of new employees

    Brand training or brand internalization among current employees

    Internal brand auditing

    FINDINGS

    Three trends are becoming stronger in the immediate future

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    (i) More walk the talk

    As employees who have grown up with internal branding as a way of life and understand

    its power and importance enter senior management, so the large gap between senior

    managers actually walking the talk and not, will be closed.

    Also there is a proliferation in the number of stories surrounding senior management

    walking the talk, often as iconic figures, and successful companies. West Jet is a good

    Canadian example of this.

    (ii)Suffusion into all parts of the company

    As those involved in internal branding increasingly have success with front line

    employees and directly with customer experience, so they will begin to extend their

    expertise and methods back into the corporation and involve those employees who do not

    have direct customer experience but have influence nonetheless. The non-frontline

    employees will become touched by internal branding.

    (iii) Social Responsibility

    A Bank of Nova Scotia study discovered that 61% of Canadians would change their job if

    their employer demonstrated poor corporate social responsibility practices. This is an

    indicator of our third trend for the future; internal branding values are going to become

    increasingly influential. Furthermore, they will have to include a stronger sensitivity to

    environmental and social responsibility concerns as well as community involvement.

    REFERENCES

    The handbook of brand management-Arnold, D.

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    Building brand commitment: a behavioral approach to internal brand

    management- burmann, c. And zeplin, s. (2005

    Marketing management. 9th edition. New york: prentice hall- kotler, p. (1997).

    Vision, values, and courage: leadership for quality management- snyder, n. H.,

    dowd, j. B., jr., & houghton, d. M. (1994).

    http://www.instituteforbrandleadership.org/internalbranding.pdf.

    http://www.mafoirandstad.com

    http://www.google.com

    http://www.hrcite.com

    ANNEXURE( QUESTIONNAIRE)

    1) Do core values contribute to the corporate and internal brand building?

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    http://www.instituteforbrandleadership.org/InternalBranding.pdfhttp://www.google.com/http://www.hrcite.com/http://www.instituteforbrandleadership.org/InternalBranding.pdfhttp://www.google.com/http://www.hrcite.com/
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    2) According to you what kind of function the internal brand building is?

    3) Is it true to say that corporate culture contribute to internal brand building ?

    4) Does different internal communication methodscontribute to corporate and

    internal branding?

    5) Do the HR-practices contribute to the corporate and internal brand building?

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    QUESTIONNAIRE

    Name Designation.. Organization.

    Objective

    This is sent to you as a part of my MBA project I am undertaking on the topic

    contribution of internal brand practices to corporate success.

    From the organizational point of view this questionnaire is a part of development

    exercise to know the strength and the areas needing improvements (possible blind

    spots) in terms of different factors contributing to the internal brand building.

    Questionnaire to assess the importance of each factor of internal brand building

    contributing to the corporate success

    Please rate the importance of each competency using the 5-point rating scale

    Do core values contribute to the corporate and internal brand building? 5

    According to you what kind of function the internal brand building is? 4

    Is it true to say that corporate culture contribute to internal brand building ? 3Does different internal communication methods contribute to corporate and

    internal branding?

    2

    Do the HR-practices contribute to the corporate and internal brand building? 1

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    PROJECT SUMMARY

    1. Working Title :

    2. Purpose of Study :

    3. Objective of Study :

    4. Hypothesis for Study(if any) :

    5. Methodology

    Research Design :

    Data Collection Approach :

    Sampling Method :

    Measuremet Technique :

    6. Proposed Table of Contents of the

    Project Report :

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    EVALUATION SHEET FOR RESEARCH STUDY

    PROJECT

    Students Name : _____________________________________________

    Roll No. : _____________________________________________

    Evaluators Feedback : _____________________________________________

    _____________________________________________

    _____________________________________________

    Did the student contact you regularly for discussion? : YES/NO (please tick)

    Marks Awarded : ______________________________________________

    (Out of 40)

    Signature of Evaluator

    Name :

    Date :

    ATTENDENCE FOR FINAL PROJECT REPORT

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    Name of the Student :

    Course :

    Roll No. :

    Name of the Supervisor :

    S.No. Date Time Progress of Report (Remarks) Signature of Student Signature of Supervis