Are you seeing your HR and Marketing and Communications departments coming together to develop a seemless internal and external approach for engaging both customers and employees around the value your company delivers?

Yes, we are beginning to see that kind of collaboration in a small number of companies so far. While the general idea is intriguing to many companies, existing structures and silos have made such changes difficult. However, where we have seen that kind of cross-functional collaboration, it has begun to reap real benefits. Put simply, your employees are the “face of the brand” to the world. To the extent that all employees know clearly how the work they do ultimately impacts the customers, the more consistent and aligned the entire company will become. But much of this kind of work has to start - at least initially - in the board room. In many cases in which I have been personally involved, even the executive committee cannot agree on what the company’s brand promise is and how they are different from their competition. Until that gets sorted out, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the rank and file to align themselves behind a single, coherent, and consistent branded experience.