As 2019 is drawing to an end, have you decided what you want to achieve in 2020?

There’s a widely known adage that goes like this “Failing to plan is planning to fail” and this phrase is commonly used to motivate people to achieve their goals. I certainly don’t believe anyone sets out planning to fail, but sometimes over commitment (too many goals), focusing on the wrong thing (unclear goals) or lack of discipline to follow through (unrealistic goals) are some of the reasons behind self-sabotage.

So what can you do to empower yourself to succeed in 2020? I believe in the power of questions. Here are ten questions that I have used to coach my clients to set better goals, write better goals, and follow up on goals better. I hope they will work for you too.

Ten questions to ask yourself:

1. What is my headline for the year 2020 – in one sentence?

2. What would I like to have MORE of in 2020?

3. What would I like to have LESS of in 2020?

4. What are my top 3 goals?

5. What positive difference will these 3 goals (name them) have for me?

6. What new thinking or action is needed for me to achieve my goals?

7. How committed am I?

8. What potential barriers might get in the way of me taking that action(s)?

9. What kind of resources do I need to achieve my goals?

10. What must I do every day to stay on track?

So get out your pen and paper and have a go at it. Here’s wishing you every success in 2020!

Employer brands, corporate brands, product brands, personal brands (e.g. the CEO), are just some examples of an organisation’s brand inventory. We’re heartened to see more and more organisations spending time and effort developing an employer brand and positioning their company as an excellent place to work.

However, we’ve also noticed that some organisations build their Employer Brand independent of their Corporate Brand and vice versa. Historically, Marketing focuses on the outside, the customers, and the HR on the inside, the employees. The danger is when HR drives one message, and Marketing drives another, and they never shall meet. This is less than ideal. Why? Let’s explore.

Corporate Branding & Employer Branding

Corporate branding is about your reputation as a business. It helps to promote your products & services, it is outward facing; targeting your clients, customers, the consumers, partners, distributors and answers the question “Why should you do business and/or partner with us?”

Employer branding is about you as an employer. It’s how you treat your employees, it entails developing the employee value proposition, is both outward and inward-facing; targeting job seekers and your employees, and it answers the question “What do we want to be perceived as an employer?”

Corporate Branding and Employer Branding share similar characteristics; both have to be unique, relevant and resonant, and delivering the brand promise.

What is the connection

Firstly, employees are the interface between the organisation and customers; hence, employees are a vital element of building an organisation’s corporate brand. If an organisation cannot deliver its brand promise as an employer, it is highly unlikely the employees would be motivated to deliver the brand promise to the customers. 

A research study has also found that potential applicants compare their needs, personalities and values to the Corporate Brand. If the Corporate Brand is not “changing the world” in the marketplace as espoused in those lofty vision and mission statements, it’s going to seed doubts in the prospective talent as “the place to work.” If HR is experiencing cognitive dissonance sharing the corporate brand’s vision, mission and core values during the recruitment and onboarding process, well, there’s work to do on the Corporate Brand.

And finally, employees research the organisation just as much as a customer would – maybe even more. That is why the marketing and HR teams have to work together.

How to Align

What unifies the Corporate Brand and the Employer Brand is the organisation’s vision, mission, values, culture and personality – this is the sweet spot where HR and Marketing intersect, where both disciplines can collaborate to make a difference in the workplace and the marketplace. The Corporate Brand is the driver, and the Employer Brand must align closely to the critical elements of the corporate brand and contextualised to cater to the employees and the candidates.

Take for example, Microsoft, its corporate mission is “To empower every individual and every organisation on the planet to achieve more”, and the Employer Brand promise is “Be the one who empowers millions” – same message but nuanced. Now if this just sounds like “pure marketing messaging”, here’s where the rubber meets the road – Microsoft is ranked number 4 in the Best Global Brands 2019 report by Interbrand and ranked second as the World’s Best Employer 2019 by Forbes and Statista.

Conclusion

The Corporate Brand and the Employer Brand are inextricably connected, they cannot work in isolated vacuums, and run the risk of sending contrasting messages that serve to engage neither the external nor internal stakeholders. Look for common ground, articulate and reinforce the messages, and critically deliver on your promises.

When executed correctly, both brands can immensely benefit and be magnified by the other. Let’s get your HR and Marketing teams to work together to take your brands to the next level.

In the last two months, three clients have coincidentally been talking to me about high-performing divas in their team. While these divas, according to them, were exceptional at their work and produced results, their collaborative spirit was less than exceptional. My clients were frustrated – they wanted to figure out how to lead their high-performing divas who are reluctant to collaborate and help others succeed, especially when it comes to peer groups.

A diva in the team may come across as a hassle, thanks to uncanny ability to annoy others and alienate their co-workers. However, a high-performing diva is a treasure that you should nurture so that you have a super-charged team that produces results despite working alongside a diva.

If you cannot lead and manage a high-performing diva, their attitude can be detrimental to the workplace culture and other colleagues. While these prima donnas can have moments of agreeability and pleasantness, their self-interest and selfishness take precedence. That is why many managers find them a nuisance. Nonetheless, they can be managed and led while keeping their negative attitudes and impact on co-workers and organisational work culture to the minimal.

After comparing notes with several C-suite clients who have successfully leveraged on their high-performing divas, here are four tips if you face such a situation:

Tip 1 – Observe & Give Feedback

Divas are self-absorbed, oblivious to their flaws and societal norms. So, they are unaware that they are  petulant, rude and obnoxious. The best way to make them aware of their inadequacies is to observe and provide prompt feedback. Do this in private, in a one-to-one talk, to give the diva something to ponder on.

Tip 2 – 360-Degree Feedback

Some high-performing professionals have the misconception that their success is due to their personality and attitude. To break this belief, it is necessary to present data. Divas react more positively when they have data in front of them. Data cannot lie, especially when presented by a person in authority which is you or someone they respect.

Tip 3 – Tough Love

If you have concluded the behaviours are unacceptable and do not align with the corporate values and culture, establish clear-cut guidelines about conduct and the consequences. Remember, the aim is not to fire the diva as that would be counterproductive. Think carefully and come up with consequences that the diva would have to endure (yes, that is the right term) for each unacceptable behaviour. Write down the guidelines and the consequences so that there is no scope for ambiguities. Make sure you enforce the guidelines stringently, tough love is what your diva needs to weigh each behaviour carefully before displaying it.

Tip 4 – Coaching

Divas need support to change without disturbing their equilibrium and performance. You can accomplish through coaching. Do not present coaching as a punishment. Instead, present it as a support system that helps them work better and achieve success through others. Keep reinforcing that you value their work. attitudes.

Conclusion

High-performing employees can keep other team members on their toes. So, it is a good thing to have such employees as they are smart, driven and hard-working, albeit their annoying behaviours. As a manager, determine the best path to deal with the diva in your team so that you have a productive and efficient team. The best way to ensure this is to be fair to other team members, engage your high-performing diva and provide the necessary support based on company policies to achieve positive outcomes. Leading with tough love, honesty, firm hand and honesty is the best way to bring out the best in your diva and other employees.

In this Spotlight video interview, we speak to Ms. Angela Sim business owner of Chug, a lifestyle drinking app, and Managing Director of Ence Marketing Group on what makes Chug brand unique.

Watch it here.

 

 

 

 

 

In this spotlight feature, we speak to the passionate Mr Bernie Poh, CEO of Allium Healthcare.

Hi Bernie, please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Allium Healthcare.

How long has Allium Healthcare been in the market?

Allium Healthcare is a wholly-owned member of the GK Goh Holdings Group and established in the year 2017. Under the Allium Healthcare brand, our suite of offerings emphasises relationship-based service and a continuum of long-term personalised care that upholds the dignity, respect and well-being of the older adults.

In Singapore, construction is underway for our first nursing home, Allium Care Suite, a 129-bed private nursing home with single and double en-suite rooms located at Venus Drive. We’ve also recently commenced both our home care and day care services, under Allium Home Care and Allium Care Studio brands respectively.

In Australia, Allium Healthcare co-owns Opal Aged Care, with 72residential aged care homes and more than 6,200 bed-spaces across four states.

What does Allium mean?

Allium is a beautiful flower. We chose this purple flower to represent our brand – The vibrancy and elegance of the Allium flower reflects our vision of the ageless spirit and signifies our belief in providing the very finest in personal care.

Our brand logo features a collection of interconnected flowers united in a larger circle of perfect harmony. Each flower links to the next via a single floret in a seamless arrangement conveying the unity, community, and tranquillity that defines the Allium Healthcare experience.

What is unique about Allium Healthcare?

We are bringing personalised and immersive experiences to our customers. Every ageing person is different and has his/her unique lifestyle; our range of care services is specially tailored to those needs and lifestyles.

How do we do that? Firstly, we deploy an evidence-informed care model; person-centred care with emphasis placed on personal autonomy and dignity throughout the journey of ageing. Take for example at our future nursing home Allium Care Suite, we only build en-suite single and double rooms and small households versus large size wards. Our residents get to choose their diets, their daily rituals and get to decorate their space with their favourite furniture.

Secondly, the depth of our programs. We focus on relationship building rather than just caretaking because we believe that care is not just about tending to physical needs but the entire emotional and psychological well-being for both the client and their caregivers.

Finally, we take a consensus approach working closely with the elderly and family members. Each family is unique, and we invest in efforts to achieve a shared family vision of caregiving for our clients.

What is the vision for the Allium Healthcare brand?

Singapore is ageing rapidly. Today, one in seven Singaporeans is aged 65 and above. By 2030, this will become one in four. Beyond the increase in numbers, there will also be an increase in care needs as Singaporeans live longer lives, as well as higher expectations from a wealthier and better-educated generation of seniors. We are making a long-term commitment to play a constructive and progressive role in the evolution of Singapore’s aged-care ecosystem.

We are partnering closely with other service providers, such as primary care clinics, hospitals, dental clinics, as well as regional community care organisations, to optimise holistic and restorative care for its residents. We also work with the communities and agencies around our nursing homes to facilitate active ageing and ageing in place, and to enhance social inclusion and engagement.

Our vision is to Celebrate the ageless spirit of people and a healthier, happier ageing community.

What challenges did you face in building the brand? 

As a new brand in the market, we need to build brand awareness and get the market to know us, but more importantly, as we are growing and moving so fast, the immediate challenge for us is to quickly get our new employees to understand our vision and care about it to make an impact. We are using our brand purpose and values to orient our culture efforts, and this will take time.

What keeps you awake at night?

Singapore’s government expenditure on healthcare is accelerating over the years – rising by at least S$3 billion by 2020. This means that more and more healthcare workers are required to support this sector, but there may not be enough qualified talent to meet the demand.  Our challenge now is to attract more people to enter this sector and join us to serve the needs of the communities.

What are your plans for growing the Allium Healthcare brand?

Our business is all about creating shared value. Allium Healthcare’s mission is to co-create rewarding aged care experiences with the communities we serve. This means that growing our brand means investing in other facets of aged care where we deliver superior services centred on the needs of the individuals. This not only includes new and innovative products and services but educational talks to empower our communities.

What is coming up in a year or two, we should watch for (e.g. new product lines, new outlets, new markets)?

We have a couple of exciting developments; Allium Care Suite will be ready in early 2019. This is not a standalone project. We plan to build a portfolio of integrated day and home care services and nursing homes in various districts in Singapore, providing residents with a broader range of care options. In the long run, we plan to introduce our philosophy of care and operating model into the region.

Website address

www.alliumhealthcare.com