Establish a Company Identity

By Tom Welle

Keeping employees engaged in their day-to-day duties is difficult. Keeping employees engaged in the brand, betterment and big-picture goals of a company is an even larger challenge.

A company’s brand extends far beyond a logo and a color scheme; a company’s brand is how it’s perceived. A brand is a promise of an experience. It must be consistent, intentional, differentiated and valued. Branding is different for every company, but having a strong, unified brand is important to job satisfaction for employees and the overall success of a company.

The first step in enhancing a brand is identifying who the company is. This isn’t an exercise to determine goals or outline the best marketing tactic; it’s a time to reflect and get input from staff at all levels across the company. To receive the most accurate depiction of a company, a large number of responses from employees is essential. When Apex Engineering asked for feedback from all of its staff, it was generally positive, but showed areas in need of improvement. The survey results delivered a sturdy basis to begin an internal branding campaign.

Apex worked with an outside consultant to compile employee feedback from the survey and simplify the company’s values and beliefs. An internal brand book was created to promote who we are, and who we want to continue to be for our greatest advocates — our employees. We strive to empower our team members on a daily basis to be champions of our brand. In our interactions, ranging from an external vendor’s sales call to a high-profile meeting with our biggest client, who we are as a company must always shine through.

Like many businesses in the region, Apex has seen significant growth in the past five years. While growth is good, it does come with challenges, such as keeping corporate values and beliefs top of mind for both existing and new employees. To help with this task, Apex created a brand ambassador role. One individual from each of the four offices was chosen to spearhead branding activities, keeping all offices unified across multiple locations. These individuals meet biweekly to discuss office morale, plan ways to improve or enhance everyday work experience, coordinate team-building activities, and assist with onboarding new employees. Strong relationships lead to better efficiencies in daily work and higher job satisfaction among team members.

Even though establishing a strong internal brand is not a marketing campaign, having employees actively displaying the company’s values and beliefs creates a positive external image — a core goal of every business. While Apex has always recognized that employees are its greatest resource and attribute, it has found that working to foster internal relationships is as important as external relationships. We strive to empower all of our employees to use our guiding principles in their daily interactions both internally and externally. PB

Tom Welle PRESIDENT APEX ENGINEERING GROUP FARGO 701.373.7980 TOM.WELLE@APEXENGGROUP.COM