An inspirational vision or higher purpose is a must for organisations in all sectors, especially for generations Y and Z (currently 38% of the workforce and increasing to 58% in the next decade)

However, the very nature of inspirational words and statements of higher purpose can widen the gap between what is agreed in the board room and the everyday reality for employees who have to deliver.

Well crafted, high flying words do not in themselves drive the productivity or the improved customer experience and competitive edge they were designed for in the first place.

Brand vision from the inside out

If this rings a bell, it may be time to revisit your brand vision and brand purpose from an internal perspective.

Everyone wants to be inspired and most people come to work wanting to do a good job, but that brings an expectation that the leadership, systems and support will be in place to enable them to do that.

From this perspective, the time and resource put into supporting the delivery of the vision are as important as the vision itself.

If you ‘unpack’ the vision from an internal standpoint it becomes easier to create a way of embedding that vision throughout the organisation.

Behaviour and levels of engagement include individual feelings mixed with tangible needs, peer pressure and perceived problems.

Listen to your employees

Remove the corporate-speak about productivity and increased output and listen instead to teams and individuals talk about ‘how easy or difficult it is to get things done around here.’

This can unlock solutions for engagement – and improved customer experiences with higher productivity will invariably emerge from these kinds of conversations.

If you listen and capture this internal take on the best way forward, you can bring your vision and values alive with an execution plan that uses the language, structure, tools and support that gain trust and buy-in at all levels.

Effective employee engagement plans

For a more effective employee engagement plan, start the conversations around:

• The meaning of inspiration and vision from all angles
• How brand values help in every day at work
• What’s in it for employees when it comes to the brand promise
• How does the brand promise affect customers’ expectations?
• How can we build a brand vision journey from the ground up

The 80/20 rule holds true.  It’s just turned on its head in this case.

For organisations of all sizes – hello@imlondonhq.com for help with employee engagement, brand engagement, internal communications, Find out more