Educating Employees on Personal Branding

Some companies perceive the concept of creating a “Personal Branding at work” to be self-serving for the employee. But the reality is there is no downside to having team members with heightened self-awareness and a willingness to improve themselves. Basically, that is the foundation for developing a respected Personal Brand at work; to get clarity on who you are AND who you aspire to be, make the necessary changes, and then conduct yourself accordingly.

However, there are other important reasons why companies should empower and encourage their employees to focus on Personal Branding. Here are four key benefits that perhaps you haven’t considered:

Increases Morale & Understanding

A simple phrase that I share in the Personal Branding Workshops and Keynotes I conduct for corporate events, that quickly puts this into perspective, is: “Whenever someone has contact with you, your Personal Brand is either strengthened or weakened”. When an employee takes that concept seriously, be they entry-level or senior-level, an internal behavior barometer is created that helps them effectively manage their Personal Brand by monitoring what they say and how they act. This certainly isn’t easy for everyone (of any age or career-level!) but the more employees who adopt that mindset, the better. It is a critical component in turning a toxic department or company culture into a healthier one.

Improves Employee Satisfaction and Retention

As an employee becomes clear on their Personal Branding, they become more clear on their personal and professional values. This normally leads to asking themselves things like: Am I in the right job or role? Do I even like what I do or should I make a career change? Does my Boss, or the Company, mesh with my Personal Brand values? Those are all valid questions. Knowing the answers to them benefits your company because it improves the odds of having employees “truly happy to be there”…and that improves employee satisfaction and talent retention.

Encourages Open Communication

So what if you have a great employee who doesn’t like their job, or role, or Boss? Wouldn’t it be better to know so you can possibly help them move into a different role or department, versus lose them to the competition? Empowering employees to focus on Personal Branding can help foster open dialogue and communication with their Supervisors and/or HR, and that also benefits your company.

4 Reasons Educating Employees on Personal Branding Benefits Employers & Teams

Better Prepares Younger Employees for Leadership Roles

A majority of Gen Z and Millennial employees who attend my presentations do not feel adequately prepared by their employers to assume management and leadership roles. Yet, due to the extreme generational shifts occurring in the workforce nowadays, such as the massive Baby Boomer population aging, Millennials and Gen Zers are getting moved into those roles faster and younger than generations before them out of necessity.

But their feelings of “not being prepared” aren’t just based my own observations. It is supported by significant research that you can easily find online, so I won’t site stats and factoids here. However, I will say that companies need to take this seriously and provide their younger employees with Leadership Development training quickly. And educating them on Personal Branding should be the FIRST step in their leadership development process.

They have to know “who they are and who they want to be” in order to perform in management and leadership roles effectively. Again, Personal Branding is all about self-awareness, acknowledging your weaknesses (such as having a bad temper or being poor at communication), making changes to improve yourself, but also understanding your strengths.

In closing, there are many other reasons why educating employees about Personal Branding can benefit your company, but I hope the four I shared are enough to shed some light on its importance.

One last point: My employee audiences often range in age from their 20’s to 60’s. And every time I present this particular keynote or workshop, “older” attendees always say that they wish people had been talking about Personal Branding when they first entered the workforce, or even while they were in college. Thus, employees of all ages find value in developing and managing their Personal Brand at work…and it’s never too early or too late to start!

Author Bio:

Lisa Orrell, CPC, is globally recognized as The Chief of Change. As such, she’s an in demand Corporate and College Speaker, Author, Certified Leadership & Life Coach, and Media Guest. Her four award-winning business books, including “Your Employee Brand is in Your Hands”, can be found on Amazon, and you can visit Lisa’s website to see her presentation topics, client list, vids, and more

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