Ted thanks for bringing this topic up. I worked for over 30 years building internal and external marketing programs. This is nothing new, but what is new is the term internal marketing. Most just call it internal communications. And it does work and it is certainly marketing in all its glory.

The problem is that most companies don’t pay much attention to “employee marketing” until they start having problems attracting quality employees. And the companies you site are all in a field where the turnover is very high and there is a shortage of qualified people who want to fill positions. That is one reason why service is such a problem in many quick serve restaurants.

Employee marketing, internal communications, motivation or whatever you want to call it is a way of life not a program. Companies need to truly care about employees, set high expectations of their performance and give them support so the employee can meet those expectations. It certainly is not just a TV commercial designed to recruit.

One of the best books of the 80’s on the subject of employees was Ken Blanchard’s “One Minute Manager” and the one phrase that resonates from his book is “find someone doing something right.”

Internal programs are mostly looked at as an expense, but the truth is that they can be as effective for increasing the bottom line as an external marketing program. In fact, employee programs can be both motivational and external marketing. If you are interested I wrote a couple white papers on the subject titled “Is Your Best Salesperson the Janitor?” http://www.hallman.com/esp/presentations/employeesales.pdf and another titled “Creating Employee Buzz”. http://www.hallman.com/esp/presentations/buzz2040507.pdf.

Harry Hallman

Harry, you are correct. It is called Internal Communications at most businesses.

At Starbucks, I oversaw that functional area and my primary job was to work with the Retail and HR departments to build brand from the inside out. However, we were successful not primarily because of our communications but because the executives and the policies supported those communications. I would encourage every business to recognize that employees are the most important rung on the marketing ladder.

Thanks, Harry, for sharing your insights into this important topic. To marketing people working within companies, "internal communications" (or as consultancies refer to them--"internal branding") programs are not always a key point of focus, or much expenditure. Yet, company employees all combine to create a unique culture--an outward facing one to the customer. If employees have no sense of pride or belonging, no sense of being an important part of the whole business, then what are they communicating to the customer? How can they be "the brand" to the consumer? Can there be great service if there isn't any employee buy-in? Can the company keep quality people and groom them for future management slots? Very doubtful on all fronts.

And Lewis, thanks for bringing up another very important point: if management from the top down doesn't support internal branding initiatives, and they aren't living examples of the corporate brand themselves, then all of the efforts of marketing departments go for naught.

It takes genuine commitment and consistency to build great brands--and that starts from the inside out.

Ted - Thanks for sharing your insights. After starting at McDonald's in 1994 as a crew kid, I am proud to say that I am still with this great company, now working at the corporate level. McDonald's is more than just a job, it's a career, so when you ask can it work - I say "YES IT CAN!" But it takes more than just a :30 commercial to show that you care about your people. At McDonald's we are committed to attracting and retaining the best people through the enviornment we create in the restaurants, the benefits we offer and the traning and development opportunities we provide for personal and career growth.

Todd,

Thanks very much for weighing in. As a corporate manager working for McDonald's after starting at the bottom, you have a lot to offer in this discussion.

Obviously, a 30 second ad spot isn't enough to sell anyone on making McDonald's their ultimate career choice. However, the company's interesting departure in turning over the HR department's former responsibility to attract talent, and potentially keep it, noteworthy.

Can you share with us how McDonald's is working through its internal communications to accomplish this, besides offering training? It might help other companies to follow a new tack in this area. Thanks, Todd.

Ted, I don't think McDonald's has left hiring to the HR Dept. for years. And it's about a lot more than a heart-warming TV ad.

When I directed p.r. for McDonald's metro NY region in the late 1980s, a good part of our public relations efforts were aimed at recruitment and retention by showing that McDonald's can be a career where people can advance. I personally knew many real-life examples -- people who began as crew members flipping burgers and serving fries and advanced themselves to store managers, executives in multi-store franchisee organizations, and owner/operators.

Say what you may about fast food, but McDonald's really does care about its employees and about growing people from within.

David,

Thanks for adding your insight to this. From the way the BW article read, it looked like McDonald's has recently made this shift--from PR to Marketing to handle its employee branding and communications initiatives, but your perspective as a former insider begs to differ.

It's great to have employees and former employees of a company weigh in since they have the most valid observations to make.

Ted,

So many organizations place their major emphasis on external sales - an extremely important part of their business to be sure - but they virtually ignore the most important sale they need to make each day. In order for an organization to be effective in the marketplace (be they manufacturerer, retailer, or service provider), everyone in the organization needs to be sold on the company and the product or service provided. From the receptionist to the boardroom, everyone needs to be on-board every single day. It's from this internal enthusiasm and confidence that sales to consumers and marketing to the general public or other businesses can occur and be effective.

Steve