This is a common question in our house, with two small curious kids interested in everything. And, too often, the answer is ‘just because!!’.
In a business context that doesn’t wash. You know what you do. You even know how you do it. But do you know why?
That’s what Simon Sinek’s neat The Golden Circle is all about. ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it’.
As part of a rebranding exercise, one of our clients took this theme to heart to really figure out what their ‘why’ is. They recognised that a business is only as good as the people in it. In a world where there is so much competition for practically everything, customer experience is key to enabling a business stand out. And excellent service is given by engaged staff who know the why.
The management team wanted to know what the staff think of their place of work and so they put together a simple set of questions: what do you actually do, how do you do itand (crucially) why do you do it?
Each staff member was asked to respond anonymously within the week, and given an A4 print-out with the option to scribble more, if they felt the need.
With an 80% response rate, the answers were very insightful, perhaps due to being anonymous (although some chose to waive this). They read quite freely, giving the management team a virtual ‘temperature gauge’ as to how the company is perceived from within. Most staff stated they were happy with their place of work, using the same words or similar to describe the nature of the service they provide. They stated a clear reason to come to work each day, over and above simply paying a mortgage. Some noted where improvements could be made and a few outlined areas they’re not happy about.
This useful info will help the management team to address any niggly things they’d previously been unaware of, consider new ideas, and engage with an enthused team, making sure everyone’s on the bus.
It also gives them permission to pat themselves on the back for what they are doing right – something that’s all to easily forgotten!
But what does this mean in terms of rebranding?
Well, the client can now determine a set of collective values that the whole company can buy into and engage with. It’s now our job to design a new identity that best reflects these values – an identity that can be applied to all media, on and offline. An identity that each employee can be proud of and know exactly what it stands for. And an engaged employee is worth their weight in gold, right??
If you’d like us to help you figure out your ‘why‘, get in touch. We’d love to help.
The Golden Circle model is ©Simon Sinek
