TV commercials are annoying enough, but the ones that get on my nerves the most are the ones with the smiling, happy employees. That’s because I never see those smiling, happy employees when I go there.

According to The Gallup Organization, only about a third of employees are “actively engaged” in their job. Those who are “actively engaged” are enthusiastic and perform well in their work. The rest are either moderately engaged or actively disengaged.

Here are 5 ways to begin the process of internal brand alignment and improve employee engagement at your company.

1. Hire the best people possible
Those soft skills that fall under the heading of “emotional intelligence” (social skills, controlling your emotions, correctly sensing what others are feeling, etc.) are critical for short and long term employee success. These skills can be tough to identify in an interview but you’ve got to make the extra effort to seek them out.

2. Communicate, communicate, communicate
And when you think you’re done, communicate some more. We’re all consumers and we know there’s nothing quite as annoying as an employee who can’t answer any of your questions. Educate your staff about your history, your product, your services. Let them know that part of what you’re paying them for is the ability to answer the questions customers/donors ask. Part of your training should help them learn how to problem solve and figure out where to go for the answers.

Educate employees on the state of the business, the goals and plans you have. Challenge them to solve the problems you’re facing and you’ll be impressed with the results.

3. Use stories to illustrate your values
Identify what’s most important to your business. What are your company values? Then think of times when employees have demonstrated those values with customers and with each other. Share those stories with new hires and existing staffers. Publicize stories of people living the values in your company newsletter. Celebrate those people. It takes 7 to 10 impressions before your message gets across to consumers and it takes 7 to 10 impressions before the internal message gets across to employees.

4. Look for inconsistency between what you say is important and what you reward
Misalignment creeps into every company when we’re not being vigilant. A great example is when you say things like “Teamwork is critical” and then you promote the person who can’t seem to get along with anyone. There are plenty of other potential points of inconsistency and you should allow employees to point them out.

5. Give them the tools to do the job
If one of your corporate values is excellent performance, then you need to have staff that are trained to perform that way.

In addition to formal training, providing top of the line equipment and supplies sends the message that the staff is important and they deserve the best tools. Labor is your biggest expense but it’s also an investment that pays off handsomely. Your marketing efforts may capture customers but it’s the experience they have with employees that will bring them back time and time again. It costs approximately 80% less to get an existing customer to do business with you again, compared to the cost of obtaining a new customer.

Converting one time customers into long time customers and then into brand advocates requires dedication to deliver an outstanding customer experience at every touch point. Investing in your staff is one of the best ways to enhance your brand perception.

Your next step: Meet with your recruiters and discuss how to improve the quality of candidates obtained and how to evaluate the quality of those interviewed. We’d love to discuss how we can help.

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