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Often a brands most valuable asset should be its employee base. In this ultra-competitive world, profits come first. Often front line customer-focused employees are the ones being placed under increasing pressure to deliver. For them, the threats loom large particularly from trends like outsourcing and automation.

worker compaints reach highest level in 4 years

With low cost being the driver, what incentive is there for a real worker or an outsourced one to be a true representative of the brand? When service suffers, so does the brand. Often most marketing efforts are directed externally and ignore the most important audience of all, the employee. In our business, we often create big flashy television campaigns for brands, but barely pay any attention to supporting them through internal communication efforts.

Shouldn't brands start by trying to mean something to their employees?

It appears that employees demand and expect more from their employers these days. They are looking for more humanity, flexibility, understanding and the most important, a sense of purpose. Often, unlike the business, for the employee it is about much more than money.

It's clear that companies who find a way to manage the financial needs of business and those of its employees, will be the ones to benefit big in the future.

This is not about a return to the traditional paternalistic relationship, but developing a new idea for what organizational structure and culture should be.

Management guru, Charles Handy believes organizations need to develop into "citizen companies". Taking full responsibility for the totality of their internal and external ecosystems.

1997 interview with handy

Some companies are already making this aspect a core element of their appeal. American Apparel is one such company. It believes in treating its workers more fairly than their competitors and its very transparent about it. It's this single fact that has driven the appeal and growth of the brand.

american apparel's website

It's also the case with some of the small thriving brands like the ones discussed by Influx Insights a few weeks back.

influx story on innocent drinks

influx story on howies

In fact, it's the small and medium sized companies that are driving the trend.

It would be easy to dismiss all this thinking as nothing but trivial new age nonsense and a pipe-dream, but front line employees do make or break customer relationships, and in certain categories, there is only so much automation that customers are prepared to take.

We are likely to see more tension between workers and employers develop in coming years over these very issues. Companies need to be bold enough to redefine the very notion of what being an employee means in the 21st century. If new models can be developed, companies will find strength and regain brand advocacy among those closest to them.

a webcast and links on the future of work