Dr Hugo Brand, previously head of HR for Weskus Distrik Municipality, and now the Executive in the Municipal Manager’s office, discusses how people and brand are inextricably intertwined.
“However well a brand is constructed and communicated, the experience promised is delivered by an organisation’s people. Even if an experience is automated, the technology and process is still shaped by people. It follows that the HR and Brand teams should complement each other’s work, aiming to align employees to brand values”.
Dr Brand believes that the first intertwining step is for HR to develop a closer understanding of the brand’s values. The next step is to think about how the brand can be communicated to employees in a compelling way. Ultimately, employees need to ‘live’ the brand wherever possible.
Weskus Distrik’s brand values are:
SOLID – reliable, trusted, and inclined to do the right things.
ACTIVE – decisive, action-focused, and getting things done.
INCLUSIVE – diverse, open to fresh ideas.
ASPIRATIONAL – growth and development, positive, inspiring.
“These brand values resonate closely with our strategic target audience of investors and business decision-makers. Weskus Distrik has worked exceptionally hard to make these real and authentic, and it’s important that our people consistently deliver these values”.
How do you embed brand values with employees?
“A brand is intangible, so it is not straightforward. One must educate employees and show them in a practical way how living the brand impacts on service delivery. One example is the brand value of “solid”. Among others, “solid” refers to our track record of clean audits. Simplistically, if your processes are not compliant, you will struggle to deliver services as funds could be misspent or not spent at all, as just one example. It is also extremely challenging to attract investors into the region if the municipality is dysfunctional”.
Other ways to create a brand-led culture include:
- Highly visible posters throughout the corridors which attracts and focuses attention.
- Videos which not only educate employees but inspire them.
- Internal communications which excite and motivate employees.
- Including brand values in performance stands, measured by 360-degree peer reviews.
- Exposing employees to your external communications and marketing programmes.
- Acknowledging employees whose contribution has lifted the brand.
“The Brand team relies on the entire organisation to deliver the brand’s promise, and HR is an important facilitator in connecting people to the brand”.
Dr Hugo Brand
Executive in the Municipal Manager’s Office.
