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Tag: Company Culture

The Engine of Productivity: Wellness in the Workplace

Posted on by Tracy Lloyd

How we define the workplace has changed radically over the last few years. Offices no longer represent the primary workplace, and remote and hybrid modes of working are becoming the norm rather than the exception. And this has greatly disrupted the way we work. The “office rhythm” is out the door when you’re zooming with people three time zones away one minute, taking a call from the car while you drive your kids to school the next, and collaborating with colleagues face-to-face once or twice a week. It’s hard to connect. Hard to disconnect. And it’s hard to orient yourself in a culture without the daily cues to keep you on track.

All of this leads to wellness issues. The stress of being connected all the time. Or the self-doubt that leads to quiet quitting behaviors. The physical toll of being rooted at your desk all day. The erosion of mentorship in the workplace, and the rise of coaching to fill the gap. HR professionals are on the front lines of a crisis, and they’re responding by paying more attention to wellness than ever before. Employee well-being has emerged as a major focus as organizations replace the free-lunch and foosball-driven ethos with programs aimed at helping people thrive personally so they can thrive professionally.

The data supports this trend: corporate wellness directly influences the emotional and physical health of employees and, by extension, the health of the entire organization. Companies that prioritize wellness not only see an uptick in morale but also in productivity and retention​​​. In fact, 83% of employees report that having a psychologically and emotionally healthy workplace correlates with a significant increase in productivity.​​

Crafting Cultures That Resonate with Employees’ Needs

Leaders in HR play a pivotal role in translating these programs into strategic elements of the company culture. The trend is clear: holistic wellness programs that address the full spectrum of well-being—mental, physical, emotional, and financial—help retain people and attract new talent. They make people more productive, as happier employees take fewer sick days, are more loyal, and bring a higher level of creativity and energy to their roles. And they add to your overall organizational resiliency, which is critical to navigating the ups and downs of today’s volatility.

How to make well-being a strategic element of your employer brand

1. Define a Wellness Philosophy: Have a candid conversation with leadership about why your organization values wellness, and how much you’re willing to invest in it. This is a crucial first step to getting your leadership team aligned on the value that wellness creates for the entire organization. You’ll need to address the holistic equation of well-being—physical, mental, emotional, and financial—and how each dimension drives employee performance and satisfaction.

2. Consistently communicate your POV on Wellness: Use every communication channel to consistently reinforce how wellness is woven into your corporate culture. Share stories that highlight the positive impacts of wellness initiatives on employees, strengthening the perception of your brand as caring and supportive.

3. Align Wellness with Strategic Goals: A key part of your wellness initiatives involves connecting the dots between employees’ well-being and the strategic objectives of the company. For example, link mental health programs like mindfulness sessions to innovation to demonstrate how they result in a more creative and productive workplace.

4. Showcase the Impact: Evidence that wellness works only deepens belief in it as a necessity. Share real-life examples of how wellness programs have improved workplace outcomes. Highlight case studies and testimonials from employees who have benefited from these programs. Create case studies that demonstrate improved productivity, reduced stress levels, and better teamwork.

5. Lead with Wellness: When leaders actively participate in and advocate for wellness programs, it sends a powerful message that no matter where you sit in an organization, you’re still a person with the same needs for support. The more leaders participate and evangelize your wellness programs, the more they become a core part of the company ethos.

6. Offer personalized Wellness Options: There is no one-size-fits all when it comes to well-being. By offering personalized wellness options that can be tailored to individual needs, you underscore your commitment to supporting each employee uniquely. This flexibility makes the programs more effective and highlights your company’s dedication to its workforce.

7. Measure Success and Adapt: As your employees engage with wellness programs, their needs will change. You need to continuously assess and adapt your wellness initiatives to keep the offerings relevant, the energy fresh, and the impact high. By actively managing the portfolio of wellness offerings, you show your workforce that rather than checking a box, the organization is committed to making wellness a foundational element of your employer brand.

Thinking Beyond Wellness Programs

Wellness programs alone can feel like Band-Aids if they’re not connected to the employer brand—the internal expression of your mission, purpose, and values—that drives your organization. As employee well-being emerges as a dynamic force that shapes every aspect of workplace engagement and productivity, employees need to feel that it is part of your organizational DNA.

At Emotive Brand, we specialize in connecting business strategy to culture strategy to develop employer brands that are not just smart—they resonate emotionally. Making sure that employees experience wellness programs as part of a larger narrative around how you value people is essential to delivering the experiences that contribute to an organization being a great place to work.

If you have thoughts about the role wellness programs play in culture strategy, please add to the conversation below. And if you’re thinking about ways to get your culture better aligned to your business strategy, we are always happy to help you think through how to approach the challenge.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and creative agency that unlocks the power of emotion to propel a brand, culture, or business forward. We are a remote-first agency with a footprint in the San Francisco Bay Area.

How Do You Orient Your Team When Everything Seems Uncertain?

Posted on by Jamey Aiken

The old axiom about uncertainty being the only certainty in business seems quaint given today’s headlines: Historically low unemployment. Hiring shortages one day and hiring freezes the next. Creeping inflation. Shaky markets. Unexpected layoffs. It’s whiplash inducing. And it’s the world we live in.

As the economy shifts and shudders, leaders are challenged to make strategic decisions with increasingly limited foresight. And employees? They’re left feeling disoriented, confused, and vulnerable. It’s a recipe for getting stuck. People become less willing to make mistakes, to stick their necks out for each other, or to take the smart risks necessary to adapt to the changing environment. In a time when flexibility and agility are critical qualities to business success, many organizations find themselves in a state of emotional contraction, unable to zag gracefully forward.

The problem is alignment. Conventional objective-setting tools simply fall short as a way to get everyone on the same page because they’re based on past assumptions rather than the competing signals of the future. Plus, they don’t give employees the right context for seeing themselves in that changing future—much less get them excited about it. For companies to navigate wave after wave of uncertainty, you need a more responsive approach:

Understand how your employees are feeling right now.
Are they cynical or optimistic? Are they barely hanging on or feeling enthused and inspired? Do they understand the vision for where the company is going? Or do they need more evidence and explanation? The more understood and recognized people feel in times of uncertainty, the more opportunities you have to deepen trust and allegiance. If you ask, people will let you know how aligned they are with a vision for the future and the strategy to get there. You can identify what dissonances need to be reconciled. Where the sources of doubt take hold. What fears need to be assuaged before they grow out of proportion. Powerful alignment—the kind required to change and adapt with the business environment—is only possible if you have clear insight into the emotional state of your organization at any given moment.

Address employees’ emotions with a clear story of how you plan to move forward.
While emotional understanding can improve conventional objective-setting by creating deeper connections with people, you still need to establish a clear point of view that will guide your organization toward its future. All businesses have multiple critical initiatives going on at any given moment: corporate strategy, product, go-to-market, brand, people & culture. If the narrative about how they connect is haphazard or unintentional—or confused by external market conditions—people will start quilting their own narratives. The result is multiple, often conflicting stories that lead to different end states. In other words, brand confusion. You must cut through the noise of function-specific goals, objectives, KPIs, and OKRs to make business and brand more emotionally relevant to the people in an organization.

Get employees focused on a future that they are empowered to create.
In times of flux, business leaders face pressure to leap into action—to batten down the hatches, set a course, and prepare teams to brace for the worst. But what employees most need today is leadership that inspires people with purpose and meaning amidst uncertainty. If your organization is feeling trapped by mounting performance pressure and shrinking time horizons, you must give every employee the ability to see, believe, and participate in creating a future that they know is not only possible but necessary. Emotion is the accelerant, the enabler, the multiplier, and the amplifier that connects powerful ideas more deeply and resonantly to the people who need them.

To move your business forward and ultimately grow in times of uncertainty, you need better ways to connect to what employees are feeling. And you need to equip them not with a best guess about the future, but rather with a clear picture of how they’ll create their future. When employees feel they have the agency and ability to control their destiny, they lean into the future with an entirely different spirit. This is how you translate all the ambition that underpins your brand into a coherent set of actions that keep an organization aligned, confident, and positive as it speeds into the uncertain future.

What is a Brand Promise and Why You Need One

Posted on by Emotive Brand

There’s a lot of talk about the concept of a brand promise. But, what is it? Why does my business need one? How would it make my business stronger? How does it relate to my brand strategy? Here we explore the answers to these pressing questions.  And perhaps more important, what kind of a brand promise does your business need in today’s world to have an impact?

A brand is a promise delivered.

A contemporary brand promise articulates an idea that goes beyond the rational benefits that worked in the past, and extols a higher-order emotional reward. A brand promise is not a slogan or advertising headline. It is not, by definition, a public statement (though it can be as long as your brand truly lives up to it). Finally, it is not a “unique selling proposition”. Indeed, its uniqueness and differentiating power comes not from what it says, but how it transforms the way your organization creates strong and meaningful connections with people.

Continue reading “What is a Brand Promise and Why You Need One”

Global Growth, Local Success: Your Employer Brand Can Do Both

Posted on by Saja Chodosh

Level Setting: Employer Branding Is a Must-Have

As a brand agency whose work revolves around transforming business by changing how people feel about brands, we’re naturally true believers in the impact of employer branding. We think of employer brand as the practice of ensuring a company’s external branding efforts are supported by a corresponding and complementary internal brand that speaks to current and prospective employees. When companies do succeed at successfully articulating an emotionally meaningful proposition of what it means to work for their company, recruitment, retention, and engagement aren’t the only metrics that soar.

Numerous studies show that employer branding has an impact way beyond a company’s ability to keep employees happy and attract talent. It has a significant and measurable impact on the bottom line. Here are just some facts:

  • Negative reputation costs companies at least 10% more per hire. (HBR)
  • 64% of consumers have stopped purchasing a brand after hearing news of that company’s poor employee treatment. (Career Arc)
  • Employer branding can increase stock prices by 36%. (Lippincott)
  • 96% of companies believe employer brand and reputation can positively or negatively impact revenue, yet less than half (44%) monitor that impact. (Career Arc)
  • A strong employer brand can lead to a 50% decrease in cost per hire and a 28% increase in retention. (LinkedIn)
  • Strong employer branding discourages early departures; new hires are 40% less likely to leave after the first 6 months. (LinkedIn)
  • Companies are overpaying on salaries by 10% if they don’t have a strong brand. (HBR)
  • Employee turnover can be reduced by 28% by investing in employer brand. (Office Vibe)

Global Growth? No Better Time for an Employer Branding Initiative

Many of our clients come to us in times of change or in search of growth. Whether it’s organic or M&A, they need an employer brand to drive global recruitment, retention, and engagement at a time when human capital is critical to keeping pace with growth demands.

With accelerated growth at the global level comes a challenge a bit more complicated than filling the funnel with talent or filling the office with snacks to fill the talent. With growth, comes change, and with change, comes uncertainty. It’s only human. Organic global growth means learning to navigate everything from regional work style differences and communication nuances to basic time zone management. While global expansion by way of M&A brings the additional challenge of merging established workplace cultures and power dynamics.

For executives, this means acknowledging that practices that have served the company in the past might not serve it into the future. For HR and recruitment leads at each location, it’s often fear that expansion at the global level might dilute attention on their own location’s unique assets or needs. With clients who’ve grown through M&A, each location may be in a different stage of maturity. And for employees themselves, growth brings a murkiness of its own: “What does adding a new office or a whole new staff mean to me, my role, and my work?”, or even “Do I still belong here?”

Finding Your Connective Tissue, Globally

The first step in creating a globally-resonant employer brand is identifying, or in many cases unearthing, a company’s connective tissue—the underlying truths at the heart what you do, how you do it, and why it matters.

Discovering these across global locations isn’t always obvious at first. Differing cultures, a diverse workforce, or a broad spectrum of capabilities often make it appear like difference outweighs similarity—especially to those on the inside.

This is where a strong outside perspective brings value—and can help a company identify its universal truths. As an agency partner, we begin by diving deep into all facets of your brand, business, and culture and have numerous conversations with employees and executives working in different roles across the world. It’s our job to look for patterns, discover shared beliefs and values, and uncover common ways of thinking, working, or perceiving.

Ultimately, the common truths we identify bubble up to your EVP, or your Employer Value Proposition, the most differentiated and relevant way to communicate your workplace’s value to candidates and employees, which we pressure test through the following filters:

  • Does it have the power to unite and rally your existing employee base?
  • Will it attract the people your business needs to thrive and invite them into the fold?
  • Can it expand with you as your business grows?
  • Can it flex to each unique location’s distinct needs or challenges?
  • Does it feel authentic, meaningful, true, and unique?
  • Is it differentiated from the competition?

Getting Local With It

At a global level, your EVP may drive brand touchpoints such as a global recruitment campaign, a new career website, or a global employee communications strategy. But what does it mean at a local level? What if one office needs help recruiting experienced talent in a remote city where brand awareness is low? And another office site requires a way to stand out in a location abundant with industry competition? This is where the exercise of localization becomes key.

In every global engagement, we work one-on-one with each location to closely understand their individual challenges, needs, and goals—and how the Employer Branding initiative can support them. We create a roadmap that targets key dates, identifies key stakeholders, and acts as a guide as we develop customized brand assets and strategies for ensuring success. Our work is about meeting each team where they are, flexing the EVP to work to what you have, what you need, and what you want, all while underlying the overall global message that sits above it all.

Global growth? Local success? Yes, we’re here to tell you both are possible. Get in touch to learn more about our future-proofing your Employer Brand for growth.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in Oakland, California.

Competing for Talent in a Hot Market

Posted on by Dominique Smith

When you’re a young company hoping to thrive and compete for talent in a hot market, like the tech industry, it can be tempting to succumb to the table stakes of the “free” work culture. Many of the most well-known tech giants of Silicon Valley offer free food, gym memberships, massages, dry cleaning, concierge services, work activities, the list goes on, all with the intention of attracting and retaining talent. But, are the free add-ons really working?

According to a 2018 LinkedIn report, the tech industry had the highest turnover rates at 13.2% with a median tenure ranging from 1-2 years. In other words, free employee perks might attract talent, but it definitely doesn’t keep them.

Organizations that effectively cater to their talent are those that prioritize strong leadership, effective communication, and dedication to its employees and their growth within the company. The lack of presence of these initiatives within some of the larger tech companies are exactly why employees end up leaving—just take a look at their company reviews on Glassdoor.

So, how can your company attract, retain, and engage talent? Here are three markers of a successful employer brand.

Growth and Recognition

Employees want to work at organizations that not only create opportunities for continuous learning but also for career growth within the company (i.e. promotions). There is an understanding that when you stop learning and advancing in your career, you run a high risk of falling behind and becoming less competitive, especially in today’s economy. New companies and trends are constantly emerging and the talent pool will only become more skilled.

Vision

Full transparency and communication between leadership and employees about the direction the organization is heading in and how it intends to get there highly factors into how aligned employees feel within a company. Employees want to have a clear picture of where they are investing their efforts and ensure that there is still a place for them in the organization. Implementing this heavily relies on effective communication from managers and executives.

Leadership

The togetherness of an organization must trickle down from the top. Employees want to trust their managers and believe that they are competent, communicative and experienced enough to not only lead and make well-informed decisions on behalf of the company but also provide mentorship and value to the company.

In today’s climate, working for an organization that has a strong, effective foundation and is willing to invest in its employees in a way that cultivates opportunity for growth and advancement are the organizations that will have the upper hand in attracting and retaining talent. The free add-ons are a plus, but employee satisfaction is really rooted in working somewhere that is dedicated and supportive to the growth of your career and goals.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in Oakland, California.

Brand, Purpose, Culture: The Triple Threat For Business Right Now

Posted on by Tracy Lloyd

In Tandem

We talk a lot about how businesses today need a strong brand, a clear purpose, and an inspired culture. Each of these brand components are playing a greater role in business success today. Sometimes it appears that if you just have one, you might be able to turn your business around. But this is no longer the case.

Without all three – brand, purpose, culture – working together and driving one another, rising to the top is not a possibility. Simply embracing purpose is no longer enough to stand out. Even the most talented people aren’t going to drive you into the future without a clear vision of what that future is. Likewise, a highly strategic and perfectly designed brand won’t succeed without purpose-led people who can bring it to life.

Purpose, Delivered

Purpose is only powerful when it is really brought to life – when it acts as the underlying driving force behind the business. And what brings a purpose to life? Your people. The culture you build. Your employees united around a strong, clear, aspirational future with a clear outline of how to get there.

A vague purpose is no purpose at all. Neither is a purpose that doesn’t dictate your leadership’s behavior and drives best practices that trickle down. So businesses who want to compete today don’t just have to lead with purpose, they have to deliver on that purpose – following through with every brand touchpoint, living their promise, driving towards their greatest goals, and bringing their employees together every day.

It’s in the Data For Business

When we look at the data, we see the role of purpose having more and more of an impact on business results. According to recent Gallup research, 88% of millennials claim they would remain at their jobs for more than 5 years if they “were satisfied with the company’s sense of purpose,” but only 27% report feeling satisfied with their current company’s values. And this low rating directly impacts business with low employee engagement, low retention rates, and increased difficulty attracting the right fit of talent – top concerns for execs today.

Linking Together Brand, Purpose, Culture

Strong cultures can’t happen in a silo. They require shared accountability and leaders who behave in purpose-led ways that set an example for the rest of the business. And although building a purpose from the ground up is always the easiest practice, it might not be an option for many businesses today. That’s why leaders need to understand how brand, culture, and purpose have to work together to position the business for success.

Although purpose has been accepted by many businesses and brands as a strategic priority, many are struggling to directly link it to their company’s culture. Because of this, purpose can’t do the job it needs to do. First off, HR, not always seen as strategic, needs to be involved. As people demand more transparency, more authenticity, and more purpose from the businesses they want to work for, HR needs to have a seat at the strategic table – helping build a purpose-driven culture that can come alive and drive the business forward.

It’s all about strong leadership, clear vision alignment, joining forces at the strategic table, and figuring out how to communicate an inspiring vision to employees. Because when employees understand why the brand truly matters – what is driving the behavior of the company and its values – they can then align themselves in ways that help the brand outperform the competition and position the business to thrive.

Into the Future

Brand, purpose, and culture are critical to the success of your business. Investing in your brand is a good first step into driving your business and its people in the right direction. But when you invest in your brand, you also have to invest in your culture and never stray away from the power of purpose. Understanding the ways in which culture and purpose are linked, and how they drive your brand forward, is key.

Getting aligned around purpose and delivering on that purpose at every touchpoint should always be a strategic priority. Infuse it into your culture and help it motivate your people forward. Your company culture – when truly led by purpose – can bring any strategy to life, position your business for growth, and situate your team and your brand to thrive no matter the obstacles ahead.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in Oakland, California.

The Role of Company Culture in Business Success

Posted on by Tracy Lloyd

The Corporate World is Restructuring Company Culture

Your company culture matters more than ever. Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016 survey, “The new organization: Different by design,” maps and draws connections between the talent, leadership, and competitiveness challenges organizations around the world face.

This year’s data indicates a shift: CEOs and HR leaders are more focused on culture as a source of competitive advantage than ever, and they are turning to restructuring their organizations to increase employee engagement and retention, improve leadership, and build the kind of meaningful culture that drives success.

To put this in perspective, the 2016 study found that for the first time, 90% of respondents are restructuring or are planning to do so.

What’s the thinking behind all this restructuring? These companies are fostering highly empowered teams that are driven by a new model of management and led by globally diverse leaders. They are striving to transform themselves to be better and “different by design.” They are making a shift away from hierarchical, functional business models toward cross-functional “networks of teams” in an effort to become more agile, more collaborative, and more attuned to customers. These companies are transforming the way they do business in order to foster a culture of enhanced performance.

And with these transformations, we’ve seen company culture play a greater role in a business’s strategy. Fully 82% of respondents view workplace culture as a potential source of competitive advantage. Over 50% of the companies surveyed say that they are actively attempting to change their company culture. Yet, there is evidence indicates that leaders are “awakening” to the importance of culture. Fewer than 12% of those surveyed say that they understand what their company culture is.

People ask us all the time how to create a stronger and more innovative culture. This type of change isn’t easy or fast, but when you get it right, it can drive innovation and competitive differentiation in a way that’s good for your business and creates a more committed, creative, and even happier workforce.

Brand strategy has a very direct connection to the issue of culture change, and investing in brand strategy is fast becoming the norm for smart companies who want to create strong cultures and build meaningful engagement with their teams to drive business. When employees know why the brand matters – what is driving the behavior of the company and its values – they can align in ways that outperform the competition.

Recommendations

As you reflect on brand strategy and cultural change, here are our top recommendations for meaningfully transforming your business:

  • Develop a purpose-led brand promise for your brand
  • Help employees understand how to live this promise
  • Take a good, objective look at your organizational design
  • Be transparent in your interactions with employees
  • Make sure leaders and managers are leading by example
  • Be clear with employees on why your brand matters
  • Create a physical working environment that fosters the culture you want
  • Recruit with the brand promise in mind to attract like-minded people

The data from Deloitte paints a compelling picture of executives getting serious about understanding and managing culture as a linchpin their business’s strategy and transformation. For company leaders who are committed to building a better “different by design” organization, the best step forward is to integrate your brand strategy with your transformation or restructuring plan.

Please follow this link to read Deloitte’s survey.

For further insights on company culture, please enjoy our white paper on Meaningful Workplaces.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco branding agency.

The Power of Debate in Meetings to Drive Business Forward

Posted on by Saja Chodosh

Meetings: Valuable or Valueless?

What’s more frustrating than sitting through endless meetings and coming out on the other end asking: What was the point of those? As technology introduces even more ways to communicate offline, you would think we’d see the quantity of meetings decreasing. However, the opposite has been shown.

Research shows meetings increasing in length and frequency. In the 1960s, executives spent less than 10 hours in meetings. Now, executives spend about 23 hours a week in them.

And although no one loves a day jam-packed with meetings, what’s really at the heart of the frustration is lack of quality. HBR found that 71% of senior managers think most meetings are “unproductive and inefficient.” And we too are in support of less but better meetings.

What’s the Point of Meetings Anyways?

The reason we have meetings – real, in-person, everyone-around-one-table meetings – is to discuss what can’t be properly discussed in an email or a quick phone call. Meetings should be made to decide on something that deserves more than a disjointed video conference. Because as advanced as technology is, it’s still hard to gauge emotional reactions or read a room across a screen.

Meetings are where we, as people, we can hash things out. Where we have an opportunity to voice opinions, to disagree, to argue, and then, to negotiate, to empathize, and to see anew – cultivating alignment and coming to decisions that everyone in the room can get behind.

The Power of Debate

We believe good debate can transform meetings from lackluster events into something people can actually walk away from and say, well, that was useful. We’ve seen productive debate in action in our own studio for years.

Here’s What We’ve Learned

1. First thing’s first: a clear meeting objective

Every meeting must have a clear objective. No matter how obvious the goals might seem to be, always reiterate the meeting objective before the it begins. Reminding people why everyone is there from the start can help ensure debate is directed. And if the meeting doesn’t have a clear goal? Don’t have it.

We find it’s also helpful to have a designated leader. In all of our client workshops, we designate a facilitator. This person asks hard questions, fosters productive debate, encourages quiet voices to speak up, and is able to step in to redirect when needed. It takes true leadership skills to make sure people feel empowered to speak, respected, and clear about what’s at stake – transforming the time normally wasted into time for engaging discussion.

2. If you don’t have a contrarian, play one

In most groups, there’s likely one person who questions everything. “But is that really the right approach? Not to play devil’s advocate, but…” We say, play it. It’s easy for groups to get caught in group think and sway towards one single idea.

Hashing it out might uncover that not everyone is as aligned as they think they are. In fact, when we conduct workshops for clients, leaders often discover misalignments quickly when we help open up conversations no one’s been having.

And even when aligned, questioning common assumptions, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, and thinking through a new lens can help test what you believe as right. We’ve found that debate allows businesses to step away from the challenge at hand and see the problem in a new light – enabling new and better solutions to emerge.

3. Debate requires respect

As advocates of arguments (where’s the fun if everyone agrees all the time?), above all else, we are advocates of respect. Fostering a culture of respect is integral to productive debate. With respect at the table, we’re more likely to share opinions, open up to new ideas, and embrace different ways of thinking.

And as an agency who prides itself on our client relationships, we believe that in-person communication is essential to building respect. As is respecting people’s time. We all work hard – no one wants their time wasted.

That’s why people are more likely to engage in meaningful ways in meetings if they feel their time is valued. So erase pointless meetings from the calendar and put more thought and work into building meetings that matter.

The Power of Meetings

In many of the meetings we have with our clients, big decisions are made that define the trajectory of a brand and business. We propose shifts that require full leadership alignment and backing. And especially at the early stages of a project, our role is sharing what we see and opening up a conversation. What we’ve found is that it’s often in these conversation and in the debates they encourage where our greatest insights are uncovered.

Within our agency, debate is one of the best ways we come to creative solutions for our clients – questioning, being questioned, and leveraging other people’s ways of seeing to make our own solutions better. Debate helps us help our own clients push back against the status quo, embrace unique opportunities, and look forward, not backward.

Rethink debate into your meetings and see meetings as a new opportunity to drive your business and brand forward.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy and design agency.

CEOs: Building Trust and Living Your Values

Posted on by Chris Ames

The Truth Is Always Trending

Good relationships are built on trust. Whether it’s between romantic partners, brands, customers, or government agencies, trust is the currency rate by which messaging is valued against. So, how much is your word worth? In today’s hyper-polarized landscape, it really depends on who’s speaking.

In fact, the world is moving apart in trust. According to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, “In previous years, market-level trust has moved largely in lockstep, but for the first time ever there is now a distinct split between extreme trust gainers and losers.”

No market saw steeper declines than here in the United States. The U.S. saw a 37-point aggregate drop in trust across all institutions. After all, this is the era of fake news, social media bots, and a react first, research later mentality.

For the first time in Trust Barometer history, the least-trusted institution was media. That also includes social media, platforms, and search engines. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, voices of expertise are now quickly regaining credibility. And that’s great news for CEOs.

Value Your Values

As trust in large institutions fades away, CEOs have the opportunity to establish credibility for their brand. How can they do this? For one, they can start by living their values.

Take a look at Delta Air Lines. In the wake of the deadly Parkland shooting in Florida, activists online began pressuring companies that offered discounts to the National Rifle Association to sever their ties. Delta, along with others, chose to end their relationship with the NRA. Naturally, the political right responded with proposed boycotts, canceled memberships, and in some cases, threats of physical violence.

As a result, Delta faced a decision that many brands in this politicized, post-capitalist whirlwind must face: Take a stance and potentially divide your customer base in half, or remain neutral and try to appeal to everyone? Delta doubled-down.

“Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale,” CEO Ed Bastian issued in a company-wide memo. “We are in the process of a review to end group discounts for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

Our values are not for sale. Delta may take a financial hit in the short term, but when a brand demonstrates consistent behavior and a purpose beyond profit, it’s going to excel in the long-run. That’s how you build trust. That’s the power of values-based decision making. It’s okay if your values don’t match up with everyone. Those who agree with your views will follow you with a renewed dedication. As we’ve said before, if you’re for everybody, you’re for nobody.

Trust the Process

We really can’t say enough about trust. We’ve written about the trust economy, how brand purpose drives trust, the need for trust with your employees — and there’s a good reason we tackle this topic from so many angles. While trust will always remain supreme, the way people define it is always changing. Just take a look at this timeline from the Edelman report.

Establishing long-lasting trust can feel like trying to hit a moving target. As we parse through the statistics, here are some insights and implications for today’s CEOs.

Insight: 56% of people believe that companies that only think about themselves and their profits are bound to fail.

Implication: Your company doesn’t have to be an NGO to think outside itself. Providing transparency in the supply chain, supporting worthy causes, and demonstrating diversity and gender equality in the workplace are all ways of elevating a brand’s trust.

Insight: 60% of people believe that most CEOs are driven more by greed than a desire to make a positive difference in the world.

Implication: You must have a clearly articulated purpose. Here’s the thing about core values: they will still be there if the market shifts or customer preferences change. Hence, brand purpose becomes the anchor that keeps the ship afloat, even as the seas churn.

Insight: 64% of people believe that CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting for the government to impose it.

Implication: To employ some bumper sticker logic, be the change you want to see in the marketplace. Warby Parker didn’t wait for customers to get better healthcare, they responded with the Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program to give people the gift of sight.

In the battle for trust, the truth is not self-evident — but CEOs have the opportunity to make it so.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in San Francisco.

Are the “Best Places to Work” Really the Best?

Posted on by Saja Chodosh

The Clout of the “Best Places to Work” List

Companies like Fortune and Glassdoor have been dedicated to naming and honoring the ‘Best Places to Work’ for more than 10 years. And these awards have gained more and more clout with time. Much like colleges treasure their rankings, workplaces hold these awards like badges of honor.

The ‘Best Places to Work’ emblem is hung from work walls, integrated into recruiting and new hire materials, pushed on social media, and celebrated by the press, employees, and company executives alike. Our work building employer brands with companies looking to attract the best talent out there has showed us first-hand how much businesses today really value these rankings.

And for good reason – as a group of people who believe meaningful brands must be built from the inside out, we’re all for the pride. Focusing on culture and employee fulfillment, satisfaction, and happiness is key to building a business in the right way. The question is: What story do these rankings tell? Is it the whole story? And just because a workplace is deemed one of the ‘Best Places to Work,’ should recruits be jumping on the celebration wagon and signing contracts just like that?

First, Let’s Look at the Patterns

When you look at the companies who make the cut, yes, a bunch are big brand names you’d expect on the list. But many are less expected. So what ties them all together? Here’s what we noticed when we dug deeper.

1. They Lead with Purpose:

These are companies who are clear, aligned, and proud of who they are, what they stand for, and what they care about. Leaders have a vision for the future that everyone shares. The brands help employees live by the mission of the company every day – something we’ve always believed defines successful business today. Purpose-led companies who integrate purpose into their culture inspire and empower their employees to move the company forward in a meaningful and sustainable way.

2. They Offer Opportunity and Growth:

These are workplaces that celebrate employee accomplishments, foster a growth-mindset, work with employees to co-create the optimal work experience, and motivate employees to set high goals and help them actually meet those goals. This helps employees build a more meaningful relationship with their work along the entire employee journey. Above all else, employees feel as though they are invested in and valued – that people want them to grow, learn, be challenged, and succeed.

3. They Behave with Transparency:

Saying you value transparency is no longer enough. You have to live it – and not just externally. What ties many of these ‘Best Places to Work’ together is their leadership. Leaders don’t work in silos – they share challenges and successes with employees, hold open forums, have open door policies, and embrace honesty (even when it’s hard.) And it’s this kind of transparency that drives employee trust.

4. They Listen and Adapt:

The power of listening is huge. Being a good listener as an employer means you can better build empathetic, meaningful, and productive relationships with employees. This requires humility from leadership and openness to new ideas, perspectives, and opinions. And in turn, listening to employees creates more creative, innovative, diverse, and open work environments. Employers who not only listen – but act on what they hear – are able to flex to changing demands of employees, stay relevant and meaningful to the people who matter most, and never get stuck in past best practices.

It’s important to point out that what brings the companies in these lists together isn’t solely perks and benefits. Yes, a lot of the workplaces on the lists give out a lot of free food. Even free concerts, gym memberships, the most cutting-edge health benefits…But benefits and perks only get you so far. They have to tie back to employees – their purpose, their goals, what helps them grow.

Forget About Benefits and Perks, “Best Places to Work” Is About Something More

Because ‘Best Places to Work’ is often used in recruiting it’s important to remember that making any list of great places to work isn’t enough. Potential employees and current employees need to understand why you are not only great, but why you are a perfect match for them.

The employees who are going to drive your business forward not only care that you’re a great place to work (sure, that might be a plus), but they also care about connecting with you. A good fit means that they understand and admire what you do and why you do it. They feel aligned and connected to your business because it connects to their passions, expertise, and ambitions. Your purpose is a purpose they want to latch onto.

Yes, from 1984 to 2011, those that won ‘Best Places to Work’ outperformed peers on stock returns by 2.3% to 3.8% per year. But that’s because they did more than just display ‘Best Place to Work’ on their walls – they lived up to it. They committed to their unique workforce and their careers. They committed to their community. And they helped their community commit to their purpose with pride. In the end, those might be more worthy causes than any award out there. That being said, we wouldn’t be surprised if you made the list if you did just that.

If you need help evaluating your workplace and what you offer employees, give us a call and we can help you build a more meaningful workplace that will help you drive your business forward.

You may also want to download and read The Meaningful Workplace which has been downloaded more than 7000 times.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy and design agency.