Guest blog by Pete Jenkins of e-Advantage Solutions Ltd
A recent study shows that 69% of European workers are ‘not
engaged’ or are ‘actively disengaged’ by their work (Blessing White, 2013, p6). In the field of human resource management employee engagement is considered
an extremely important force in managing and eliciting positive staff responses
and driving their motivation. Employee engagement relies heavily on
organisational citizenship, personal commitment and job
satisfaction.
The build-up of a brand by a company through its media
presence and marketing/advertising affects the relationship between the employee and the
company as well as the relationship with consumers. One can see an increase in
the importance employees attribute to the brand. This has a positive influence
on their awareness about competence, autonomy and commitment that gives them
confidence to don the role of brand representatives for the company.
Any organisation today relies on PR and consumer advertising (including other methods than paid-for) as an effective marketing tool to reach as many stakeholders as possible.
Though the marketing department’s main focus may be directed at the consumer,
you may be surprised to learn about its cascading effects on the company
employees as well. In other words, consumer marketing/advertisements and publishing have
a major influence on employee performance and their sense of organisational
identification (OI).
So far, little research has gone into this area of the
effect of an organisation’s PR and marketing/consumer advertising on its staff and
employees. However, some recent studies are now revealing that there is
positive employee reaction to these media efforts of the organisation and that
this can have a telling effect on organisational identity of the employee.
Studies conducted on groups of employees and their reaction to campaigns created by the company have provided heartening results on the employees’
personal bonding with the marketing and advertising and thus the company. This shows a
positive side of consumer marketing on the employees.
All PR is good PR… or is it?
It would be a mistake to believe that all news, marketing and advertisements
about your company can elicit the same positive reaction from the company’s
employees. Their perception of the effectiveness of the campaign will be
key in establishing their pride in and identification with the
organisation.
To summarise, PR, marketing and advertising are useful tools in
aligning your employees with the company brand and play an important role in
getting them on board. You can even get these benefits early by involving
employees in campaign design and discussions at an early stage in the
process and it sets the ball rolling for particularly fruitful employee
participation and favourable reactions. Organisations would do well to evaluate
employee reactions to press releases and adverts through an internal campaign
first.
Getting news and information about a company into the local,
national and online media is a sure-fire way to get their employees on board
and earn their sense of loyalty, personal participation and commitment in
advancing the interests of your organisation.
About Pete:
Pete
is founder and managing director of gamification consultancy e-Advantage
Solutions Ltd. Pete is Entrepreneur in Residence at Brighton Business School,
University of Brighton and is Chair of GamFed (International Gamification
Confederation) and a Researcher on Gamification in Human Resources at CROME
(Centre for Research on Management and Employment).
His
practical background at e-Advantage Solutions is in implementing CRM systems,
and motivating staff to use them. For the last 2 years e-Advantage has been the
UK Partner for Zurmo CRM, a gamified CRM, as well as consulting on gamification
strategies for organisations in the financial services and infrastructure
industries, along with a few smaller but interesting companies and charities.
At
the University of Brighton and CROME he lectures on Gamification and
Entrepreneurship, and is running the first Undergraduate and Post-Graduate
courses on Gamification for Business available in the UK.
As Chair of GamFed he is aiming to spread the word about
gamification and to foster best practice within the gamification industry.
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