Treat employees like your family

A simple but powerful idea from John over at Brand Autopsy: treating employees with the same respect and consideration you would your own family.

"Endearing and enduring companies are those that develop meaningful
relationships with its employees that go beyond being professional to being personal."

He gives the example of a Mc Donald’s franchisee who boosted profit and cut staff turnover to 1/3 the normal level in fast food joints, by offering benefits such as free childcare and cheap loans. John points out an interesting secondary benefit from this beyond the obvious benefits they offer: people worrying less about problems at home can more easily focus on their jobs.

Many brand engagement campaigns fail because the basics of rewards and compensation are not right. And if people don’t think they are being treated well and respected, no amount of fancy pants communication will persuade them to "live the brand". A good example of a company getting this right is Pret a Manger, who offer a whole load of benefits including vouchers for new mums and paying well above the average.