Incentive - July 2008 - (Page 11)

IN THE NEWS A Brand Your Workers Trust The Human Capital Institute examines internal talent branding BY ALEX PALMER The Incentive Editorial Advisory Board • Ira Almeas, President, Impact Incentives and Meetings • Bill Boyd, President and CEO, Sunbelt Motivation and Travel • Adrienne Forrest, Assistant Vice President, Special Markets, Bulova Corp. • Karen Eglitis, Unit Business Manager, Premium & Incentive, Bose Corp. • Terry Markwart, Director & Assistant General Mgr. of U.S. Sales, Canon USA • Steve Lowe, Director of Sales, Harrah’s & Harveys Lake Tahoe • Rodger Stotz, Vice President, Managing Consultant, Maritz Incentives • Jon Von Rentzell, Vice President, Recognition and Rewards, Carlson Marketing • Joe Zanone, Senior Vice President, Movado Group Inc. • Gail Fitzgerald, Vice President Hotel Sales & Marketing, CityCenter Las Vegas • Chris Flatt, Executive Vice President Hotel Sales & Marketing, Wynn Las Vegas • Cindy Mielke, Manager, National Accounts, Marketing Innovators • Anne Platt, Director, Gift Card Services, Best Buy • Dick Gaeta, President, Premier Incentives • Art Masarky, Senior Director, Human Resources, Heineken, USA • Dennis O. Borst, President and COO, Patriot Marketing Group • Patrick Sullivan, President, PRA Destination Management New York • Michael Arkes, President and CEO, Hinda Incentives A company’s brand matters to more than its customers, according to the Washington D.C.–based Human Capital Institute (HCI). As important as marketing efforts to consumers may be, HCI’s “The Branding Imperitive in Talent Management” says that the kind of brand impressions companies are making on their employees—or “internal customers”— can be. The report, which was presented at the New York Incentive, Rewards and Recognition Show in May and published at the end of June, found that about one-third of the about 500 respondents hold a positive view of their company brand, while 24 percent hold a negative view (42 percent had mixed feelings). This internal brand is defined in the report as the “combination of culture, reputation, products and services, as well as the way the organization deals with and values its workers.” The survey found three factors common to those companies that workers reported wanting to join and remain in: they onboard workers for fast socialization, support workers during transitions, and engage them in ways that turn them into recruiters themselves. “A lot of it is word of mouth, I’d say most of it. The employees themselves generate the buzz,” says Allan Schweyer, SVP and executive director of HCI. “ An area given particular attention in the study is the way workers were treated during times of personal and professional transition. How a company’s leadership responds to a major event in an employee’s life, like family illness, maternity responsibility or a move, was rated as of moderate to large importance by almost 85 percent of respondents. “They should take the opportunity to show support during personal transitions. Those kinds of stories become part of the culture and part of the legend of the company,” says Schweyer. He says the idea of internal branding has been around for awhile, but has gained more attention in the last several years, as companies have seen the advantages of improving the view of employer value on retention and loyalty, what Schweyer calls the “Google effect”. The complete survey is available at www.silkroad.com. Where Are We? Do you recognize this destination? E-mail jennifer.juergens@nielsen.com with your answer, and be entered into a drawing for a $100 Marriott® TravelCard®. Visit www.incentivemag.com/wherearewe for the full-size photo. Last month’s picture featured Pfalz Castle on the Rhine River in Kaub, Germany. Congratulations to winner Julie Shrewsbury of JCA Incentives! incentivemag.com | July 2008 | Incentive | 11 http://www.incentivemag.com/wherearewe http://www.silkroad.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - July 2008

Incentive - July 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: Accentuate the Positive In The News Cover Story: Three Profiles in Good Corporate Citizenship Case Study Incentive Interview Senior Secrets To Thine Own Self be True Incentive Primer Motivation@Work Travel News: Where To Go and What To Do Take the Spa Home Not the Only Game in Town Here and Now Writing and Desktop Gifts Watches and Clocks Gift Cards: Health and Wellness Incentives Good Health Is Not Its Own Incentive Advertiser Index Last Word

Incentive - July 2008

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