Business Horizons (2007) 50, 423433

www.elsevier.com/locate/bushor

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star?

W. Glynn Mangold, Sandra Jeanquart Miles
College of Business and Public Affairs, Murray State University, Murray, KY 42071, USA

KEYWORDS
Employee branding; Employee brand; Service branding; Psychological contracts; Internal marketing; Relationship marketing

Abstract In this article, a typology is presented which will help organizations better reflect the brand image they desire. The assisting typology is based on the extent to which employees know and understand the organization's mission, values, and desired brand image, and the degree to which they perceive their psychological contracts with the organization as being honored. Organizations can be classified as all-stars, rookies, injured reserves, or strike-out kings, based on the characteristics of a preponderance of their employees. As categorized, rookie organizations cannot deliver the desired brand image because most of their employees lack the knowledge and understanding to do so. Injured reserve organizations, on the other hand, cannot achieve the same because firm employees perceive their psychological contracts with the organization as having been violated, which renders the individuals unwilling and unmotivated. For their part, strike-out king organizations share rookie and injured reserve organizations' worst characteristics. Finally, and conversely, all-star organizations consistently deliver the desired brand image to others because their employees are both able and motivated to do so. To help firms attain this highly desired status, specific guidelines are presented herein which may help organizations become all-stars in their own right. 2007 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.

1. The employee brand

Highlighting a topic that has become increasingly important in today's dynamic and ultra-competitive business environment, the October 2006 cover of HR Magazine offered business managers and owners the following sage advice: Make sure employees support your brand. Inside the issue, Fox (2006) discussed just how valuable a brand can be, noting as an example Starbucks, which was ranked 91st on a list of the 100 best brands. Despite investing very little in advertising, Starbucks has achieved success,
Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (W.G. Mangold), [email protected] (S.J. Miles).

in part, by relying on its employees as primary conveyors of the company brand. Starbucks is not alone in this regard. In fact, it is evident that employees drive the brand image for many organizations, particularly those in the service sector. JetBlue Airways, for instance, has developed a strong customer following that is largely based on high levels of customer service and friendly, caring employees. Just as companies' staff members have the power to positively influence brand image, however, they also now have more opportunities than ever before to tarnish that image. One does not have to look very hard to see how employees' actions and communications can steamroll into a public relations and organizational nightmare. Consider, for example, the recent HewlettPackard spy

0007-6813/$ - see front matter 2007 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2007.06.001

424 scandal, which began when a staff member posted sensitive company information on Yahoo's message boards. In order to find out who was behind the leak, HewlettPackard engaged in questionable tactics, ones that eventually resulted in charges being filed against the company by the state of California. In less highly charged situations, employees are regularly posting on the Internet testimonies about their experiences with the organizations for which they work. For instance, the website www.wakeupwalmart.com provides a forum for current and former Wal-Mart employees to tell about their dealings with the organization. HRM Guide recently noted that 16% of bloggers admit they have posted negative entries about their employer or workplace. When one considers that, according to the same publication, one in twenty workers maintains a blog, the potential for significant corporate damage becomes quite obvious (http://www.hrmguide.net/ usa/commitment/negativity.htm). By definition, the employee brand is the image presented to an organization's customers and other stakeholders through its employees. It is tremendously important to the well-being of most organizations, given employees' potential for creating either extremely positive or extremely negative images. Heretofore, scholarly research in the field has focused mainly on the process of employee branding and the positive outcomes that are likely to be realized by organizations that successfully manage the process. Taking things a step further, this article presents a typology which will help leaders better direct the employee branding process in their organizations. Specifically, our diagnostic framework identifies four employee brand types, based on a preponderance of the characteristics of the organization's employees. Further, guidelines are presented for developing a strong employee brand, which can help enhance brand equity and cultivate a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace.

W.G. Mangold, S.J. Miles

2.1. Knowledge and understanding of the desired brand image

Employee knowledge and understanding of the desired brand image is pivotal to the employee branding process. That is, employees must be cognizant of and comprehend the image that the organization wants its customers and other stakeholders to experience. Understanding what the desired brand image is and how it is directly linked to the organization's mission and values will help staff make better decisions under conditions that are not explicitly covered in the policy and procedure manual. For example, most service organizations tell employees that customer service is crucial to success; however, the tenets of customer service are not always communicated or reinforced to workers. Consequently, they must interpret for themselves what constitutes good service and how it should be delivered. Employees' knowledge and understanding of the desired brand image can be developed through a variety of information sources. For example, it can be heavily influenced by messages that emanate from the organization's advertising and public relations efforts. While staff members are sometimes the intended recipients of these messages (particularly those stemming from public relations efforts), they are also exposed to many that are aimed specifically at customers and other external audiences. Such messages can also be used to proactively influence employees' knowledge and understanding of the desired brand image. Consider, as reported by Anders (2003), a HewlettPackard advertising campaign that focused on the garage in which the company's first products were developed. Although the promotion was targeted primarily at customers, it had a substantial impact on the firm's employees, as well. Its imagery, along with the theme claiming the original start-up will act like one again, unleashed a considerable amount of emotional energy throughout the company. By making it clear that the desired HewlettPackard brand image was one of innovation, focus, and bottom-line results, the campaign, among other things, managed to increase employee knowledge and understanding. In sum, staff members can develop an awareness of what the organization deems important and what customers expect when messages intended for external audiences are also designed with employees in mind. Companies' employee branding efforts are more likely to be successful when they are staffed with individuals who have the capacity to internalize the desired brand image and, then, reflect it to others. Organizations such as Southwest Airlines, Starbucks,

2. The employee brand typology

Two issues are critical in determining whether an employee will reflect the organization's desired brand image, and thus favorably impact the perceptions of customers and others. First, do employees know what image they are expected to project? Second, do they perceive their psychological contracts as having been upheld? These two factors are, in turn, driven by the extent to which the organization's messages are consistent with one another and with the firm's mission, values, and desired brand image. Together, they underpin the employee brand typology, and are expanded upon in the sections that follow.

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star? and Outback Steakhouse are known for their ability to hire the right employees and then train them to do just that. For example, as indicated on its website, Starbucks values excellence among its employees (called partners), respectful treatment of fellow workers (as well as customers), and a dedication to social responsibility (www.starbucks.com/aboutus/ jobcenter.asp). It is believed that people who share these values, when properly trained and developed, will deliver the desired brand image to Starbucks' customers. Once organizations are adequately staffed, those that are successful in their employee branding initiatives form strong employee brands by contouring training and development around delivery of the desired brand image. For instance, employees are often taught what behaviors are desired by being given explicit details regarding how to handle difficult customers or work through complicated situations in a manner that is most consistent with the organization's desired brand image. Performance management and compensation systems may also be used to help employees know, understand, and internalize the desired brand image. Hwang (2004) described Your Special Blend, the so-named identity-providing compensation system employed by Starbucks. This structure allows company staff members to satisfy their particular needs by selecting from a cafeteria-style array of benefits. Starbucks' effort toward supplying the wants and desires of individual employees communicates the company's values, and subtly suggests that it is important to fulfill the needs of a diverse array of persons. Most staff members understand this same importance applies to customers as well as to themselves, a concept that is underscored by the term bean stock, which helps retail salespeople gain a sense of ownership in the organization and feel personally responsible for satisfying its customers. The role of formal messages is certainly important in building knowledge and understanding of the desired brand. The role of informal messages emanating from organizational systems, which is well-documented in the corporate culture literature, also needs to be considered. Often, informal messages come through word-of-mouth, and can stem from co-workers, managers, and customers. These interactions can either reinforce the organization's values and desired brand image, or negate it. As opposed to formal communication such as advertising, public relations, and messages originating within the human resources department, informal communication is more difficult for organizations to control. Companies that are successful in employee branding, however, are able to manage these informal messages

425 to some extent by managing the organizational culture and the behavior of their leaders. Thus, this component of employee branding focuses on comprehending the desired brand image, as well as understanding the underlying value system. Knowledge and understanding is driven by the extent to which the desired brand image and values are frequently communicated and reinforced through organizational messages; the more recurrent and constant the messages, the greater employee knowledge and understanding is likely to be. Conversely, when messages are less frequently and less consistently reinforced, employees' levels of knowledge and understanding are likely to be lower. In this light, the knowledge and understanding dimension can be viewed as a continuum, with high knowledge on one end and low knowledge on the other (see Fig. 1). In organizations with high levels of knowledge and understanding, the desired brand image is clearly defined in light of the mission and values. Then, the image is consistently and frequently communicated through the organization's formal and informal mechanisms. The employees of highknowledge organizations know what their employers are trying to accomplish. They also know and understand the behaviors that are needed to deliver the desired brand image to organizational constituents. This perspective is consistent with Boswell, Bingham, and Colvin's (2006) article, which uses the term line of sight to underscore the importance of aligning employees with the organization's goals and strategies. In low-knowledge organizations, employees are not certain of the desired brand image or of the organization's mission and values. This confusion is often due to the sending of different, and sometimes conflicting, messages to various constituents. Customers may receive one set of messages, employees another, and stockholders still yet another. Employees who hear the messages that are intended for other audiences may become confused about the organization's true priorities. They may even call the organization's integrity into question when they perceive that duplicity exists. In such situations, employees are likely to work to

Figure 1

Knowledge and understanding continuum.

426 achieve their own ends rather than reflect the desired brand image. Low levels of knowledge and understanding may also come about when organizations do not successfully tie their desired brand image back to their mission and values. For example, an organization may emphasize that high levels of customer service are critical to its success, but provide no guidance for the manner in which that service is to be delivered. In such situations, employees are left to choose for themselves the demeanor that is to be used when delivering the service. Some staff members might choose a perky, upbeat demeanor that conveys a sense of humor, much like the demeanor of Southwest Airlines' employees. This approach is not appropriate for all companies and industries, though. Consider the banking industry, for example. Depending on the specific transaction, the use of too much humor in this setting could be interpreted as insincerity. In a worst case scenario, customers might label the bank as unprofessional, and might thus take their business to a more sincere competitor. To analyze where your company is in terms of employee knowledge of the desired brand image, refer back to Fig. 1 and mark an X in the appropriate spot on the continuum. Again, employees of highknowledge organizations receive frequent and consistent messages that define and reinforce the desired brand image, along with the values that support that image. Employees of low-knowledge organizations do not receive or experience internal messages articulating appropriate brand images. In this case, employees are unclear about the desired brand image, the manner in which the desired brand image is to be delivered, or both. In conclusion, employees' knowledge and understanding of the desired brand image is developed and enhanced when the organization's various message systems frequently and consistently communicate and reinforce the desired brand image. Their messages should be constant and unswerving, both in relation to each other and with the organization's mission and values, so that staff members develop a sense of the organizational purpose that underlies the desired brand image. This can be further enhanced when the messages that are intended for internal audiences are consistent with those aimed at customers and other external audiences. The human resource management system's role is pivotal to this effort. The desired brand image must be fully integrated into its processes and the messages that are embedded inside those processes. When this is not done, employees may be unclear about what behaviors are expected of them. They are also likely to use their own judgment or their personal disposition in choosing the behaviors they display.

W.G. Mangold, S.J. Miles

2.2. Upholding psychological contracts

A psychological contract represents an employee's perceptual agreement about the exchange relationship he/she has with the organization. Among others, extensive research by Robinson (1996); Robinson, Kraatz, and Rousseau (1994); Rousseau (1989, 1995); and Robinson and Morrison (1995) has indicated that employee motivation, trust, performance, organizational commitment, and satisfaction are contingent upon the extent to which employees perceive their psychological contracts as being upheld. It is important to note that psychological contracts exist only in employees' minds and that management is often unaware of the terms of the contracts, or even of their existence. Psychological contracts are formed based on formal and informal messages received from organizations and their representatives. For example, during the pre-employment phase of the hiring process, formal documentation and personal interactions with employees typically form the basis of employee perceptions as to what life will be like working for the organization. Prospective staff members make assessments based on these messages as to what the organization deems important, as well as the benefits of working for the company. Potential employees also make assessments about what they will have to give to the organization in exchange for the benefits they expect to receive. Once hired, their psychological contracts are formed on the bases provided by these early messages, and are upheld if the messages remain consistent after employment. Consider, for example, a prospective worker who is told prior to employment that promotions are based exclusively on high levels of performance. This individual's psychological contract will be upheld if she/he perceives this to be true after observing the organization's real-life promotion practices. In essence, the consistency of the communication flowing through the firm's message systems allows prospective employees to form realistic psychological contracts and enables organizations to effectively manage the psychological contracts that are formed. If inconsistencies arise and are interpreted as numerous and severe enough, however, employees may perceive their psychological contracts as being violated. It is imperative to note that, as Rousseau (1995) points out, failure to uphold psychological contracts does not have a negative impact on the employee. If the psychological contract is not upheld, the employee makes an assessment about the employer's willingness and ability to honor the contract. Inadvertent and unavoidable failure to uphold a contract does not typically result in negative consequences. When a staff member judges the firm able but unwilling to fulfill the perceived obligations,

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star? though, a breach can be expected to occur. This breached contract results in negative perceptions and behaviors that can seriously undermine the relationship. Morrison and Robinson (1997) point out that psychological contract violations are the affective states that may come about as a result of perceived breaches. Inconsistent messages and violations of psychological contracts can be expected to result in employees' perception that fewer obligations are owed to the organization, as well as lower levels of organizational citizenship behavior, motivation, organizational commitment, and satisfaction. Diminished trust is another significant outcome associated with psychological contract violation. Rousseau (1989) stated that: reaction [to violation] is directly attributable not only to unmet expectations of specific rewards or benefits, but also to more general beliefs about respect of persons, codes of conduct, and other patterns of behavior associated with relationships involving trust. (p. 129) These negative employee outcomes also directly affect customer experiences and, hence, customer satisfaction and loyalty. In summary, organizations can manage the psychological contracts they have with workers by achieving message consistency. That is, messages emanating from organizational systems, such as the human resource management system, must be harmonious with one another and with the organiza-

427 tion's mission, values, and desired brand image. Success toward this end can be expected to enhance employees' willingness to deliver the desired brand image and to reflect organizational values to others. While critical, issuing consistent organizational messages is harder to achieve than conceptualize; in other words, easier said than done. To perform an assessment of the message consistency level within your own organization, first list the values that are central to your desired brand image. Next, look at each of the organizational systems identified in Fig. 2 and determine the messages being sent. For instance, suppose working as a team is necessary to achieve your organizational objectives. Therefore, you want your employees to exhibit team behaviors. Start with the internal message systems in your organization such as recruitment, selection, training, performance management, and compensation. Do you emphasize the importance of teamwork in your recruitment efforts? Does your selection process delineate team players from non-team players? Are your performance checks based on team or individual behavior? Do you reward for individual accomplishments or team accomplishments? Do your corporate legends portray individual or team players? Are your employees provided with the necessary tools to engage in team behaviors? After testing the internal systems for continuity, turn your consideration to the messages that reach external constituents. The greater the variation, the more confused and the less trusting your employees are likely to be. If confusion and lack of trust are

Figure 2

Organizational message systems.

428

W.G. Mangold, S.J. Miles image in a manner that is consonant with the organization's values.

3. What is your type?

Figure 3 Upholding employees' psychological contracts with the organization.

common, you can be assured that employees' psychological contracts with the organization have been broken. In such cases, staff members are going to be inclined to put forth the minimum amount of effort that is required for the job. In essence, they will be compliant, but not committed. To assess the consistency of the communication (both verbal and behavioral) that emanates from your organization's message systems, refer to the continuum depicted in Fig. 3 and mark an X where appropriate. Staff members whose psychological contracts have been upheld will perceive that message and behavioral consistency exists within the organization. They will also be willing to project the desired brand image to those with whom they come into contact. Conversely, employees whose psychological contracts have not been upheld will perceive that duplicity exists within the organization; that is, they will feel that contradictory messages are being sent. Their trust in the organization will have broken down and their psychological contracts will have eroded. While they may be compliant, they will not be committed and many will pursue their own agendas, rather than strive for the good of the firm. Thus, these individuals will not be willing to consistently deliver the desired brand

Having plotted your employees' knowledge and understanding of the desired brand image, as well as the extent to which psychological contracts in the organization have been upheld, you may now categorize your organization's type by applying these assessments to the four quadrants depicted in Fig. 4. Do this by rotating the knowledge and understanding continuum into a vertical position. Then, convert your plots into the four quadrants. If you indicated that your employees were below the midpoint on both knowledge/understanding and the extent to which their psychological contracts have been honored, they chart in the lower left quadrant of Fig. 4. We refer to the members of this quadrant as strike-out kings (for reasons we will discuss later). If your employees are above the midpoint on knowledge/understanding, but below the midpoint on the extent to which their psychological contracts have been honored, they chart in the upper left quadrant. We call this group injured reserves. If, however, your employees are below the midpoint on knowledge/understanding, but above the midpoint as regards the upholding of their psychological contracts, they chart in the lower right quadrant. This group constitutes the rookies. Finally, if your firm is one of the fortunate few whose employees are above the midpoint on both knowledge/understanding of the desired brand image and the extent to which psychological contracts have been honored, yours qualifies as an allstar organization. Your employee branding process is

Figure 4

A typology of employee branding.

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star? working effectively and you are probably enjoying the sustainable competitive advantage that this has engendered. Your challenge, then, is to maintain the all-star position during times of change. Next, the four organizational types, along with their brand strengths, are described in detail. Finally, the strategic steps necessary for converting strike-out kings, injured reserves, and rookies into all-stars are addressed.

429 than these broader, but critical, issues. In other cases, management may feel that the people hired do not need much training. When this happens, individuals are not informed about the mission, values, and desired brand image the organization wants them to reflect. Therefore, lack of tenure and lack of knowledge and understanding often go hand-in-hand. The majority of employees in rookie organizations perceive that they have received consistent messages from their employers, even though they may not have a good handle on the desired brand image or the underlying mission and values. Therefore, their psychological contracts are intact and they are intrinsically motivated to deliver the desired brand image to customers, co-workers, and others with whom they come into contact. Regrettably, however, they are not clear about what the organization expects. For instance, should customer service be delivered with a sense of fun and humor? Or should a sense of seriousness pervade the service experience? How should specific customer requests and situations be handled? Motivation is high and knowledge is low in rookie organizations. These low levels of knowledge are problematic when the employees of rookie organizations encounter myriad circumstances that are not explicitly covered in the policy and procedure manual. In such cases, inconsistent performance is likely to occur, as the individuals must interpret for themselves what constitutes good performance and appropriate behavior. Unfortunately, their interpretation is not supported by a full comprehension of the desired brand image. Therefore, the employee brand image that is ultimately reflected to others may not be the organization's desired brand image, and the employee brand may not be consistently experienced by all customers.

3.1. Rookie organizations

Rookie organizations cannot deliver the desired brand image to their customers because a preponderance of their employees suffer from low levels of knowledge and understanding. That is, they are not familiar with and/or do not comprehend the desired brand image, nor the organization's underlying mission and values. This lack of understanding often comes about either because the mission, values, and desired brand image are not well thought out, or because they have not been clearly communicated through the organizational message systems. Two types of organizations are particularly subject to rookie status: entrepreneurial organizations and those with a large number of new employees. Entrepreneurial organizations frequently have rookie status because their channels of communication are not well developed. Although leaders commonly know the company's mission, values, and desired brand image, they often fail to effectively share them with staff. The latter weakness is sometimes attributable to the informality that characterizes many small organizations. Rapid growth can also play a role in many entrepreneurial organizations' rookie status. That is, a busy entrepreneur consumed with development may overlook his/her organization's internal message systems to focus on short-term revenue generation and organizational expansion. The informal nature of smaller firms results in few formal documents and processes. While this paucity of information can be expected to contribute to low levels of knowledge and understanding, it does not necessarily lead to violations of employees' psychological contracts. Rather, these may be upheld by a close-knit environment, a charismatic entrepreneurial leader, or the exuberance that frequently accompanies rapid growth. Companies with a large number of new employees are also likely to be rookie organizations. New staff members cannot be expected to fully understand their firm's mission, values, and desired brand image because they have not yet been fully assimilated into the organization. Unfortunately, training and orientation often focuses on specific job details rather

3.2. Injured reserve organizations

The staff members of injured reserve organizations know what image to project, as their employers have successfully communicated both the desired brand image and the organizational mission and values. Thus, knowledge is present. Regrettably, however, their psychological contracts have been violated by inconsistent messages they have received from the organization. For example, the employees of injured reserve organizations may have been told during the hiring process that family values are important and that the company takes extra measures to ensure family time is safely guarded. Despite this declaration, though, meetings may routinely be scheduled for evenings and Saturdays, with negative sanctions for those who do not attend. In a real-life example, Schneider (1980) observed that some of the bank

430 employees included in his study knew they were supposed to be service oriented, but perceived that signals from the bank's management encouraged a more bureaucratic approach. Such inconsistent messages break down employee trust in the organization and violate psychological contracts, thereby rendering workers dissatisfied and likely to leave. Employee dissatisfaction, in turn, often results in an unwillingness to project the desired brand image to others. When this occurs, the originally intended brand image is unlikely to be reflected to customers. The performance framework presented by Blumberg and Pringle (1982) suggests that employee performance in injured reserve organizations is likely to be low to moderate because willingness is low, even though opportunity is favorable. This is consistent with the point of view that violations of employees' psychological contracts are likely to bring about lack of trust, dissatisfaction, and greater turnover. Taking this a step further, worker dissatisfaction can be expected to negatively impact the service experience of customers. Therefore, customers and other stakeholders may feel that the staff members of injured reserve organizations exhibit a high level of variation in the images they project, resulting in employee brands that are inconsistent with the desired brand image. Such negative experiences are likely to influence customers' future decisions to do business with the organization, especially when substitutes abound.

W.G. Mangold, S.J. Miles the organization and fallout from violated psychological contracts. Employees subject to such conditions are likely to engage in negative word-of-mouth communication, aimed at anyone and everyone who will listen, including other employees, customers, and potential clients. Inside the organization, they may display the what's-in-it-for-me syndrome, since they have no real loyalty to the company. Indeed, these workers have even been known to engage in various forms of organizational sabotage. In strike-out king organizations, where insufficient knowledge and feelings of psychological contract violation abound, employees will be unmotivated, distrustful, dissatisfied, unproductive, and looking for an opportunity to leave. The negative climate will adversely impact customer experiences and, consequently, customer satisfaction and loyalty. This could spell disaster for the organization, as brand equity is likely to be diminished. For example, one does not have to reflect too far back to remember the extreme challenges faced by Continental Airlines prior to 1994. As highlighted by Brenneman (1998), customer satisfaction with the airline was so low that one organization went so far as to choose for its branch office location Dallas rather than Houston, so that company employees could fly American instead of Continental.

3.4. All-stars
Organizations that can be classified as all-stars have been successful in building their employee brands. Staff members of these firms have a high level of knowledge and understanding regarding the desired brand image, as well as the underlying organizational mission and values. Importantly, they also interpret messages received from the organization as being consonant with one another, and with the company's mission and values. This perceived consistency honors the employee psychological contract and creates a sense of trust in the firm. Thus, all-star organizations' employees are both able and motivated to project the desired brand image to others. The employee brand is a source of sustainable competitive advantage in all-star organizations. The requirements for employee workplace performance are present according to the classic construct presented by Blumberg and Pringle (1982). Because they possess such high knowledge levels, staff members of all-star organizations are likely to feel confident regarding their ability to make decisions that are consistent with organizational priorities, thereby adding to job satisfaction. In addition, these individuals may be less likely to separate from the organization, resulting in a more

3.3. Strike-out kings

Strike-out king organizations have some serious problems. Owing to low levels of knowledge and understanding, most employees in these firms are unfamiliar with what image they should reflect or, if they actually do possess this vital information, are unsure of how to project it. Even worse, the inconsistent messages they perceive violate their psychological contracts, as well as their trust in the organization. Because their intrinsic motivation has been damaged, strike-out king organizations' employees would be unwilling to project the desired brand image even if they had the necessary knowledge and understanding. This point of view is also supported by Blumberg and Pringle's (1982) performance framework, which substantiates that very low performance is the result of less favorable opportunities and low willingness to perform. Strike-out kings position their employees for failure. Workers are often confused by the apparent conflicts between the niceties put forth by the organization's advertising and public relations programs, and the day-to-day realities of life in the firm. Productivity on the job is reduced, due to distrust for

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star? stable workforce featuring highly experienced employees. All-star team members' affirmative feelings can also be expected to result in more positive, and less negative, word-of-mouth communication about the organization. In turn, the increased flow of interpersonal communication will most likely have a favorable impact on customers, as well as the firm's other employees. All-star status can be achieved when the organization's message systems act in a complimentary manner to communicate clear and consistent messages that continually reinforce one another. The staff of all-star organizations can be relied upon to steadfastly reflect the brand image to others. This uniformity will enable all-star organizations to best position themselves and their offerings in the minds of customers and other relevant stakeholders. It is also likely to produce enhanced customer satisfaction and higher levels of customer loyalty, thereby resulting in a sustainable competitive advantage for the organization.

431 CIGNA is a leading employee-benefits provider to employers and employees in the U.S. and selected international markets. We succeed through our commitment to serving our customers, the strength of our people and our drive for superior financial results. We recognize the value of a passionately committed, energized and diverse workforce. We reward excellence, promote development, expect high standards and encourage work/life balance. (www.cigna.com)

Empower

4. Becoming an all-star
The key to attaining all-star status is consistent communication directed toward achieving two goals: (1) ensuring that all the organization's message systems steadfastly reinforce the desired brand image, as well as the underlying mission and values; and (2) upholding employees' psychological contracts with the organization. Specific guidelines for transforming your organization into an all-star include the following:

employees to always deliver the desired brand image, even when doing so is not totally consistent with the policy and procedure manual. For instance, Outback Steakhouse emphasizes the importance of using good judgment in a manner that is consonant with the company's principles and beliefs (www.outback. com/careeropportunities/management.asp). This approach can be expected to contribute to the development of employees' knowledge and understanding, rather than a propensity to strictly adhere to the letter of the rule book. The internalization process may be further augmented when staff members are engaged in the organization's decision-making processes and, perhaps, in establishing the mission, values, and desired brand image.

Use the performance management and compen-

Consistently

communicate and reinforce the organization's mission, values, and desired brand image. For example, O'Reilly, Perlstein, and Capur (2006) relate that the term Life Engine is used at Yahoo! to unify the company's mission, values, and employee value proposition into an internal brand concept that is easy to grasp and understand. The Life Engine message underpins many of the organization's contests and events, and is supported by such internal media as posters, customized license plate frames, and visitor name tags.

sation systems to help employees know, understand, internalize, and deliver the desired brand image. Walt Disney Company is an organization which employs many recognition and reward programs to ensure that its cast members achieve this goal. Among others, Disney regularly hands out Applause-o-Gram cardsto anyone caught doing a good deed, Thumbs Up certificates for landscaping staff, Golden Hanger gift certificates for costuming workers, and Department of the Month awards (Rubis, 1998, p. 115). central focus of training and development efforts. For example, customer service employees should be taught what behaviors are desired by being supplied with explicit instructions regarding how to handle specific situations. These directives should also explain how the behaviors are consistent with the organization's values and the desired brand image. The 2003 Baldrige National Quality Program award recipient, Pensacola, Florida's Baptist Hospital Incorporated, even goes so far as to provide its workers with scripts that are to be used in certain circumstances. As

Make delivery of the desired brand image the

Help

staff members establish healthy psychological contracts with the organization by clearly stating both what they can anticipate from the company and what they are expected to give in return. As indicated on its website, the employee benefits company, CIGNA, uses the employee value proposition to establish and reinforce the psychological contracts it maintains with its workers:

432 stated on page 18 of the winner's profile, any employee who sees a visitor who appears lost will ask, May I take you to where you are going? Upon leaving a patient's room, employees always ask, Is there anything else that I may do for you? I have the time. (http://www.quality.nist. gov/PDF_files/Baptist_Hospital_Application_ Summary.pdf).

W.G. Mangold, S.J. Miles internalize the desired brand image will be enhanced when organizational leaders, managers, and co-workers regularly reflect the mission, values, and desired brand image in their decision making, as well as interpersonal communications. Sam Walton, founder of WalMart, put this principle into practice by maintaining very spartan office furnishings. Setting the firm's standard for frugality and a corporate emphasis on cost-cutting, Walton is said to have constructed and used a desk made of plywood set across two sawhorses in the early years of the business (Trimble, 1990).

Understand

that messages are communicated through decisions and actions, as well as through words. The characteristics of new hires, for example, send powerful signals regarding the firm's true priorities. Certain organizations, such as Brinker International, are known for their ability to appoint the right employees and train them to reflect the desired brand image to others. As indicated on its website (www.brinkerjobs. com), Brinker aggressively seeks individuals who share the company's six values: growth, diversity, family, integrity, balance, and passion. Workers whose values are aligned with those of the company, when properly trained and developed, will have a strong propensity to deliver the desired brand image to customers.

Make tough decisions when necessary. Consider

the manager of a retail organization who fired an employee after a poor customer service incident. This type of behavior reinforces the firm's commitment to customer service and clearly communicates the consequences of delivering service that is not consistent with the company's values and desired brand image.

Conduct a message audit to assess the consis-

Weave the desired brand image into all internal

and external message systems. It is only when the mission, values, and desired brand image are clearly defined and continuously reinforced that employees will be able to consistently reflect the desired brand image to others. Internal newsletters and employee-oriented websites may be used toward this end. Consider Southwest Airlines, which is noted for its use of the company house publication, Luv Lines, to clarify and reinforce the behavior that is expected and rewarded, as well as the mission and values that drive those expectations. integrate the messages that are intended for external audiences with those aimed at internal audiences. As employees are exposed to both, it is particularly important that the messages be consistent with one another in order to avoid a sense of organizational duplicity. Libby Sartein, Chief People Officer at Yahoo! uses the term internal branding to refer to this alignment of internal and external messages (O'Reilly et al., 2006). by example! Remember that leader behavior is a key element in fostering a corporate culture that is consistent with the organization's mission, values, and desired brand image. The ability of employees to

tency of the messages emanating from the organization. For example, a message audit conducted by S'Portable Scoreboards revealed a considerable amount of employee misunderstanding about the company's compensation system and decisions related to budget allocations. The firm subsequently used its internal public relations system to clear up various points of confusion.

Carefully

Lead

The message audit process begins with a review of the formal and informal messages coming from the organization. When inconsistencies are found, corrective action must be taken to ensure that the organization's mission, values, and desired brand image are being consistently and accurately communicated. Assume, for instance, that teamwork is an essential corporate value and part of the desired brand image. In this case, the performance management system should be assessed in terms of the extent to which it supports teamwork. Perhaps the performance management system incorporates an employee evaluation system that has a negative impact on teamwork because it requires that employees be rated in relation to one another, rather than in relation to a set standard. If such a system is found to have a negative impact on teamwork by discouraging employees from sharing information, the system should be changed to reflect and reinforce the teamwork value.

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star? Next, advertising and public relations messages should be checked to ensure that the communication directed to staff members is consistent with the communication directed to customers and other stakeholders. Steps must also be taken to ensure that management's decisions are in synch with the organization's mission, values, and desired brand image, and are therefore aligned with the communications emanating from the other message systems. Review processes may be established for this purpose. Perhaps message consonance is most likely to be attained when reward systems are put into place to encourage decision making that is consistent with the mission, values, and desired brand image, and to discourage decision making that does not meet that standard.

433

References
Anders, G. (2003). The Carly chronicles. Fast Company, 67, 6673. Blumberg, M., & Pringle, C. D. (1982). The missing opportunity in organizational research: Some implications for a theory of work performance. Academy of Management Review, 7(4), 560569. Boswell, W. R., Bingham, J. B., & Colvin, A. J. S. (2006). Aligning employees through line of sight.. Business Horizons, 49(6), 499509. Brenneman, G. (1998). Right away and all at once: How we saved continental. Harvard Business Review, 76(5), 162174. Fox, A. (2006). Building employee support for brands. HR Magazine, 51(10), 12. Hwang, V. (2004). Creating a unique blend: Total rewards at starbucks. Strategic HR Review, 3(4), 1213. Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: A model of how psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 226256. O'Reilly, C. A., III, Perlstein, T., & Capur, A. (2006). Internal branding at Yahoo!: Crafting the employee value proposition (field case HR25B). Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. Robinson, S. L. (1996). Trust and breach of the psychological contract. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(4), 574600. Robinson, S. L., Kraatz, M. S., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994). Changing obligations and the psychological contract: A longitudinal study. Academy of Management Journal, 37(1), 137152. Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, E. W. (1995). Psychological contracts and OCB: The effect of unfulfilled obligations on civic virtue behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16(3), 289298. Rousseau, D. (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2(2), 121139. Rousseau, D. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: Understanding written and unwritten agreements. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Rubis, L. (1998). Show and tell. HR Magazine, 43(5), 110118. Schneider, B. (1980). The service organization: Climate is crucial. Organizational Dynamics, 9(2), 5265. Trimble, V. H. (1990). Sam Walton: The inside story of America's richest man. New York: Penguin Books.

5. The employee brand: A final word

Organizations can achieve a sustainable competitive advantage by successfully developing their employee brand. The typology we have presented is a diagnostic framework that is intended to help leaders accomplish this goal. It enables them to understand where their organizations are and facilitates identification of what needs to be done to get them where they want to be. The guidelines emphasized herein are applicable to the broad range of companies in which success is largely driven by the point of interface between the employee and the customer. An organization that is able to effectively develop its employee brand should benefit from high levels of service quality, customer satisfaction, repeat purchase behavior, and lower employee turnover.