Cultural Branding
Branding is just as important today in attracting and retaining employees as it is for attracting and retaining customers. This is true because individuals use the same decision making process in buying consumer products or services as they do when deciding what company to work for. Kenexa’s Cultural Branding process reveals the essence of each organization’s brand in its purest form to help companies authentically articulate and manage their cultural brand, and attract and retain talent that represents a cultural best fit.
We believe that every company's cultural brand personality falls within one of 12 Archetypes. Archetypes are personality traits that help to tell a branded story. Kenexa’s research determines the archetype that best articulates the culture of each company. When we know the archetype that best represents the organization, we can help express the cultural personality in the most authentic form to communicate with current employees and potential candidates.
Discovery Phase
We employ four sources of research to clarify the cultural brand. The four elements of the Discovery Phase compliment and strengthen each other, while contributing to the clarity of each organizational brand.
Element 1: Secondary Research Analysis
Before any primary research is conducted, we begin the process of understanding as much as we can from existing company data. This may include a review and analysis of the current employee handbook, the corporate website, press items, the company’s annual report or investor information and other available data, such as employee engagement survey results or company competency models. This phase also includes a competitive analysis among companies that compete for talent.
Element 2: Existing Kenexa Data
Kenexa will review any materials or results of work that have been done for the company to shape the primary research tactics in Elements 3 and 4.
Element 3: One-On-One Stakeholder Interviews
The qualitative study of the cultural brand will begin with Kenexa analysts conducting open-ended, exploratory interviews in person or by telephone. These interviews will be conducted with executives and subject matter experts who best understand the company’s past, present and future. Each stakeholder interview will last approximately 30 minutes and will be held at times that are convenient for the stakeholders.
Element 4: Archetype and Cultural Brand Quantitative Survey
The final step in the process is to conduct a quantitative survey designed to accomplish two tasks.
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Through the use of a forced ranking system, we will first capture the cultural brand personality. Survey participants will be asked to rate the importance and frequency of use of various personality traits. This will help us extract the specific Archetypal personality from within and throughout the organization.
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Second, to refine the truths and facts learned in the first three steps of the process, the survey will include two or three key questions at the end of the survey.
The questionnaire is conveniently administered via paper or pencil or through a web-based system, and takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
Deliverables
Upon completion of the discovery phase, each organization receives a Cultural Brand chart summarizing the brand themes (Rational Facts and Emotional Truths) that are present across the entire organization, as well as those themes that are unique to each geographic region. Once the truths, facts and personality are articulated through the brand discovery phase, we then have all the elements required to tell the story of each company’s cultural brand and the clarity to know the proper way to express this brand.
Outcomes
Once we have a clear understanding of each organization’s cultural brand, Kenexa will develop creative ideas that can be utilized internally and externally for recruitment and current employee communications. Having a clear understanding of the cultural brand allows organizations to leverage it for growth and cost management.
The BPI or Brand Proximity Index was developed by Kenexa to augment our survey assessment capabilities by helping companies identify how well current and prospective employees will thrive within an organizational culture. This powerful tool is the result of the Cultural Branding process, but is delivered by adding key questions to Kenexa’s existing tools. The BPI can supplement existing pre-employment assessment and ongoing organizational assessment tools, such as employee surveys.
External Brand Module
Because some organizations need to align their external and internal cultural brand, the external brand module is designed to be coupled with the internal Cultural Branding effort. This module significantly increases efficiency by conducting both the internal and external process at the same time.