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Ron Johnson

@ronjohnsonco

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Author. Keynote Speaker. Storyteller.
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If you have disengaged employees delivering poor or mediocre service, that attitude is going to find its way outside of the organization. That’s why (modern) branding is not just about engaging the customer, but also engaging the employee. You simply can’t have engaged customers if you don’t first have engaged employees. Customers will never love a brand that is hated by employees.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HRandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #employeeengagement #employeeexperience #companyculture #customerexperience #customerengagement #customerservice by @ronjohnsonco
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6 months ago
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After spending nearly two decades in the branding industry helping companies build brands that are loved by employees and customers (in that order) and interacting with HR professionals in the wild, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two types of HR professionals – “Transactional HR professionals” and “Transformational HR Professionals”. ⁠ ⁠ Transactional HR professionals’ main focus is on administrative tasks and rules enforcement. They are the type most likely to be referred to as “Policy Police” or “Compliance Cops”. “Transformational HR Professionals”, on the other hand, have evolved to become a refreshing source of workplace innovation and creativity, focusing on activities such as building a highly engaged company culture, enhancing employee engagement, strengthening internal communications and building a continuous stream of positive and nurturing employee experiences – activities that go a long way towards nudging employees to love the company they are working for and love the job.⁠ ⁠ Modern HR business leaders know and accept that their HR departments need a healthy mix of Transactional HR professionals and Transformational HR Professionals. But they also know that rules enforcement should not come at the expense of company culture and employee engagement. If your HR Department is heavily stacked with Transactional HR professionals, consider expanding your HR team to include more Transformational HR Professionals that can help you build a workplace environment that your employees can fall in love with.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HRandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #employeeengagement #employeeexperience #companyculture #customerexperience #customerengagement #customerservice by @ronjohnsonco
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6 months ago
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Poor customer service is not a problem! It’s actually a symptom of something far worse – that or poor employee engagement. It is completely unreasonable to expect disillusioned, disgruntled or otherwise disengaged employees to deliver the type of customer experience that transforms casual customers into raving (and paying) fans of your brand.⁠ ⁠ Delivering remarkable customer experience – the type of customer experience that causes customers to remark positively about their interactions with your brand is a noble endeavor, and one that should be taken seriously. But the harsh reality is that you can’t have highly engaged customers unless you first have highly engaged employees. ⁠ ⁠ If you want to solve the “problem” of poor customer experience delivery in your organization, you need to place equal emphasis on both employee experience and customer experience. Because even the most creative, imaginative or strategic marketing, advertising or communications campaign can be completely derailed by just one disengaged employee delivering poor or mediocre service… ⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HRandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #employeeengagement #employeeexperience #companyculture #customerexperience #customerengagement #customerservice⁠ by @ronjohnsonco
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7 months ago
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It was an absolute pleasure to conduct a guest lecture for the students of the Supervisory Management course at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology. My topic was “Branding and HR sitting in a tree: Why branding and HR are two sides of the same coin.” I chose this topic because as a branding professional of nearly two decades who has seen the massive evolution in both the branding and HR fields, I think that it is super important for academia to keep pace with the on-the-ground changes taking place in these two industries. I’ve seen firsthand how the lines between branding and HR are becoming increasingly blurred. Branding and HR are two sides of the same coin because both branding and HR professionals are co-defenders of their organizations’ brands – with branding taking the lead on customer-facing engagement activities (such as marketing, advertising and social media campaigns) and HR taking the lead on employee-facing initiatives (such as company culture, internal communications and the overall employee experience) The two-hour lecture was interactive and engaging, and the students had a lot of questions, particularly on the role of modern HR professionals in the workplace – questions that made me re-realize that many HR professionals are still being relegated to mostly administrative roles (think “Policy Police” and “Compliance Cops”) by their organizations. These questions have made me even more determined to advocate for HR professionals to be empowered to be true drivers of employee engagement and take their place as co-defenders of their organizations’ brands – right alongside their marketing peers. A big thanks to Shauna Marshall for entrusting me with her students for this guest lecture. And thanks to the students who gave me their rapt attention and peppered me with some truly thought-provoking questions! by @ronjohnsonco
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10 months ago
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Customers will never love a brand that is hated by employees!⁠ ⁠ It is unreasonable to expect disgruntled, disillusioned or otherwise disengaged employees to deliver the type of service that converts casual consumers into raving (and paying) fans of your brand. If you want customers to love your brand, you first have to ensure that your employees love your brand. ⁠ ⁠ As author Sybil F. Stershic, author of Taking Care of The People Who Matter Most eloquently notes, “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” If your employees hate their jobs or the organization they work for, this discontent will be passed on to customers, who simply won’t feel valued. ⁠ ⁠ When you starve your HR team of the resources needed to take care of employees or make them feel valued, you automatically create a scenario where customers don’t feel taken care of or valued, won’t fall in love with your brand and won’t purchase your products and services. ⁠ ⁠ If you want your employees and customers to fall in love with your brand (in that order), a good place to start is giving your HR team the resources they need to plan and execute the engagement activities needed develop a highly engaged culture where employees are excited about the work they do and are willing to go the extra mile for customers.⁠ ⁠ Remember, customers will never fall in love with a brand that is hated by employees.⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #employeeengagement #employeeexperience #companyculture #customerexperience #customerengagement #customerservice by @ronjohnsonco
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10 months ago
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It’s time to spill more tea on the branding agency!⁠ ⁠ I’ve worked in the branding industry for 2 decades and over that time, I’ve found that the “best” way to waste your marketing budget is to have your marketing department or ad agency develop amazing customer engagement initiatives like marketing, advertising and social media campaigns that are designed to drive customers through your doors and spend absolutely no money on employee engagement activities.⁠ ⁠ Why is this such a great way to waste your marketing budget? Because even the most creative, imaginative or strategic campaign can be completely derailed by disengaged employees delivering poor or mediocre services that alienate customers and send them scurrying for the exit door.⁠ ⁠ If you want your branding campaigns to be successful, you need to invest time, money and other resources into developing a company culture where employees are excited by the work they do and are willing to go the extra mile to convert casual consumers in raving (and paying) fans of your brand. And that means empowering your HR team to design employee engagement programs that complement and support the campaigns being put out by your marketing team or ad shop. ⁠ ⁠ As a branding professional myself, I know the excitement that comes with developing and releasing sleek, sexy campaigns that capture customer attention, and I am NOT trying to dissuade companies from putting out customer engagement campaigns. But I AM advocating for companies considering their (modern) HR professionals as important members of their branding teams! ⁠ ⁠ As we tell our clients, “it takes a village to raise a brand” and HR is an important member of that branding village! Stop wasting your valuable marketing dollars! Give HR a seat at the branding table and empower them to be co-defenders of your organization’s brand.⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #CEOForum by @ronjohnsonco
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10 months ago
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The way market-leading companies go about branding their companies is shifting! In a big way!⁠ ⁠ Scroll back a couple of decades and branding was all about the customer – and only the customer. Today, modern companies understand that they need to engage employees (and potential employees) with as much vigor as they engage customers. And that means inviting HR to have a seat at the branding table. Why? Because the department in your organization that is most likely to be responsible for employee engagement is your HR department.⁠ ⁠ It's time to stop looking at “best practices” for branding and HR, and start looking at “next practices” where these two groups of professionals work hand-in-hand, rather than in silos.⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #CEOForum by @ronjohnsonco
3
10 months ago
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A big thanks to Nigel Henry, Global Director of Operations at Yum! brands (which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger and Grill) for being a part of Blueprint Creative’s first ever Tighten Your Shoelaces® CEO Forum which was held on October 30 at Regus. Nigel is a Caribbean-born seasoned business leader who oversees Yum! brands’ massive operations ecosystem across the world and is responsible for driving excellence in customer experience, operations development and food safety technology.⁠ ⁠ Nigel is passionate about using his skillsets and experience to help Caribbean businesses up their game using globally recognized best practices. Nigel brought a global perspective to the CEO Forum using his vast experience working at a Fortune 500 company and freely shared his perspectives to the business leaders gathered at the Forum. ⁠ ⁠ Nigel used his storytelling talents to give examples of companies that provide world-class experience and challenged the attendees of the Forum to up their “experience game” and provide employee and customer experience that rival globally-recognized companies like Disney.⁠ ⁠ Looking forward to future collaborations with Nigel!⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #CEOForum by @ronjohnsonco
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10 months ago
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I just love spilling tea on the inner workings of the branding industry. HR professionals, this one is for you!⁠ ⁠ Here’s today’s dose of spilt tea: THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY’S BRANDING PROGRAM IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE WORK YOUR HR TEAM DOES!⁠ ⁠ Your branding team may be responsible for developing campaigns that drive customers through your doors, but HR has an influence over how those customers are treated after they come through those doors. If customers are met by disengaged employees delivering poor or mediocre service, they will simply turn around and walk out the door and all that money you spent enticing customers to your business will be wasted. ⁠ ⁠ If, however, those customers are met by highly engaged employees who are excited about the work they do and are willing to go the extra mile to convert casual consumers into the raving (and paying) fans of the brand, your campaign has a better shot at being successful and driving sales.⁠ ⁠ What does HR have to do with any of this?⁠ ⁠ In most organizations, the HR Department is the department most likely to be charged with the responsibility of developing a highly engaged culture where employees are excited to go the extra mile for customers. When HR does a great job of shaping this highly engaged culture, the campaigns developed by branding professionals have a better chance of thriving; But if HR fails to do a good job of creating this culture, the campaigns developed by branding wither and die faster than a plant starved of water.⁠ ⁠ HR PROFESSIONALS ARE BRANDING SUPERHEROES IN DISGUISE! It’s high time that CEOs, marketing managers and branding agencies recognize the work that HR contributes to defending and building their organizations’ brands.⁠ ⁠ HR professionals, if you don’t feel valued for the work you do in supporting your organization’s brand, please accept this heartfelt “thank you” from the community of branding professionals who appreciate the work that you do.⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding⁠ #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #CEOForum by @ronjohnsonco
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a year ago
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I had the opportunity to “spill the tea” (literally & figuratively) on modern branding at the Tighten Your Shoelaces® CEO Forum held at Regus Barbados on Oct 30, where a group of 20+ of Barbados’ visionary business leaders gathered to hear presentations from myself & Nigel Henry, Global Director of Operations for Yum! brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut ,Taco Bell and Habit Burger and Grill. The session was entitled “Branding and HR sitting in a tree: What branding agencies (probably) don’t want you to know.” One of the misconceptions that we addressed was the “Advertise more, advertise more, advertise more” strategy that many branding agencies still encourage their clients to engage in even when there are other factors (such as employee engagement) that the organization needs to focus on in order to build a strong brand. Here's the spilt tea: If you want your brand to be successful, don’t spend your entire marketing budget on customer-focused campaigns. Why? Because even the most creative, imaginative or strategic marketing campaign can be completely derailed by disengaged employees delivering poor or mediocre service. Here’s a better approach: Divert some of your budget to your HR team and give them the tools and resources to develop a highly engaged culture where employees are excited about the work they do and are willing to go the extra mile for customers. It makes little sense to blow your entire marketing budget on campaigns to bring customers through the door and have those same customers walk straight back out the door because they received poor customer service. Sure, spending less on paid marketing may mean that your message may reach less people, but overall, chances are that when you invest in both employee engagement & customer engagement, you’ll actually convince MORE shoppers to purchase your products & services and convert them into raving (and paying) fans of your brand. Special thanks to Regus Barbados for being a good sport & letting us (literally) spill tea on their floors. #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativelnc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #CEOForum by @ronjohnsonco
4
a year ago
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It was an absolute pleasure to co-present at Blueprint Creative’s Tighten Your Shoelaces® CEO Forum at Regus with Nigel Henry, Global Director of Operations at Yum! brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.⁠ ⁠ The CEO Forum was held at Regus Barbados and was themed “Branding and HR sitting in a tree: What branding agencies (probably) don’t want you to know”. The session focussed on how branding and HR can work together to improve performance, productivity and profits by focusing on both employee engagement and customer engagement with equal vigor. ⁠ ⁠ At the session, we quite literally “spilled the tea” on the branding industry and dispelled some of the longstanding myths about branding. (Thanks to Regus Barbados for being a good sport by allowing us to spill tea on the floor and mopping it up every time we spilled the tea)⁠ ⁠ A big thanks to the visionary business executives who attended the session and participated in the QTA (Questions, Thoughts and Answers) segment where attendees were encouraged to pose questions to the presenters, compare notes and make observations on the state of the branding and HR industries in Barbados. ⁠ ⁠ Stay tuned. More picture and videos of the CEO Forum to come.⁠ ⁠ If you want to be notified of our follow-up Executive Forums please feel free to reach out to me right here on LinkedIn⁠ ⁠ #TightenYourShoelaces #BlueprintCreativeInc #Bhranding #TheBhrandingEquation #BrandingAndHR #HrandBranding #HR #HumanResources #HumanResourcesManagement #CEOForum by @ronjohnsonco
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a year ago
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Discover the incredible synergy of Branding + HR = "Bhranding". ⁠ ⁠ Dive into a world where HR not only meets expectations but exceeds them by enhancing your company’s brand. Through my engaging videos and thought-provoking articles on platforms like Fast Company, we explore the dynamic collaboration between HR and branding. ⁠ ⁠ Let’s celebrate and empower HR professionals to showcase their invaluable contributions to your organization’s identity. Learn how to harness this powerful synergy and elevate your brand to new heights. ⁠ ⁠ Interested in workshop facilitation or keynote speaking? DM me to bring this transformative experience to your organization!⁠ ⁠ #tightenyourshoelaces #Bhranding #BrandingAndHR #HRandBranding #TheBhrandingEquation #employeeengagement #employeeexperience #companyculture #customerexperience #customerengagement #customerservice by @ronjohnsonco
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a year ago
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