Community Impact Day: Transforming Employees into Brand Ambassadors
July 11, 2016 |
Written by: Shannon Singler, Marketing Manager
Every well-managed company strives to have a strong brand in the marketplace. The best leaders also realize that, despite conventional wisdom, strong brands aren’t built by the marketing department alone; every employee in every department has to play a role!
While many companies focus all their branding efforts on marketing activities such as advertising campaigns and special promotions, one of the most powerful brand assets our company has are the people that work here. All employees need to feel connected to our corporate brand and understand their role in turning brand aspirations into reality.
At Environmental Design Group, we hosted an internal “Community Impact Day” workshop to reiterate EDG’s, “Community Impact People” position to all associates. This exercise was meant to encourage staff to participate and collaborate in living the brand. With a segmented plan over the next twelve to twenty-four months, EDG will embark on a strategy that will focus efforts around how our firm makes a positive impact in the communities we serve.
During the “Community Impact Day,” we used one-hour break-out sessions with each department to discuss what our position statement meant to them, and how it can be weaved into their everyday interactions with the public personally and professionally.
There’s no mistake our employees clearly believe in the position, and they feel it fits the organization well. Most employees are already living the brand in many ways, and they expressed a desire to continue to do so in a more impactful way.
You see, engagement is critical, and it comes with so many benefits. By showing the intrinsic factors of working for a common purpose, and being part of a larger process, we have provided a new avenue for promoting self-discovery based on the positive impacts they are making in their day-to-day lives.
EDG’s position is meant to encourage additional opportunities for associates to make a positive community impact, be it through volunteering, joining boards of directors, or conducting pro bono work. This notion not only furthers our position in the marketplace, but it reinforces that we’re all stewards of our communities working to make them better places to live, work, and play.
By helping employees understand the vision behind EDG’s new position, and how it can be weaved personally and professionally, we can all apply our unique skills and expertise to activate the corporate goals of being the, “Community impact people.”
During our breakout sessions, the group came away with some very universal messages across the organization:
– We want to continue to energize associates to think about how their work is making a positive community impact, and continue to find ways to share those stories with everyone we meet on a personal and professional level.
– We want to continue to volunteer and make positive community impacts where we live and work.
– As an organization, we’ll continue to educate and energize the community about how EDG is making a positive community impact by enhancing their understanding of the value our firm brings to the community.
As a whole, I think our team holds the dedication, passion, and drive to continue to make positive community impacts that will make a lasting impression around the region. After all, we are the “Community impact people.”
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