Common Hiring Mistakes to Avoid and Foster a Great Company Culture Mistakes made during the hiring process can cause several negative implications for a business. This is why you must get it right. After all, a single bad hire could have long-term effects on your business. Wendy Dessler, the author of this blog post  is a super-connector who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in HR, digital marketing, tech and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans. One of the first things you must understand is that recruitment is an investment in your business’s future. Not only do you need to find people who have the skills for the open position, but they also need to fit in with your company’s culture. HR payroll systems lets you find the right hires and avoid some of the most common mistakes. You can also keep reading to learn more about the mistakes that may occur and what you can do to prevent them. Posting Vague Job Descriptions If you post a job description that is too vague, you may mislead your candidates. When you do this, it’s as if you are inviting many people who don’t fit the brief to apply. You can avoid this situation by telling the whole truth in all parts of the job description. Be sure to create a detailed job description, a specific written policy, and the concise benefits you offer. When you are honest with job applications, you will begin to foster an environment of trust. Also, by posting the truth, you can avoid lawsuits for making promises that you can’t keep. Trying to Rush the Hiring Process You may feel pressure – especially from upper management – to fill a vacant position as quickly as possible. While this may be the case, it’s dangerous to make a decision too fast. You should avoid the temptation to do this. In some cases, a quick referral from existing employees could result in a good hire, but it may also limit the perspectives in the office. Remember, if you over-rely on inside referrals, it may result in stagnant growth. Avoid hiring the first person who comes along. Instead, remain patient. Sometimes it can take some time to get the right person for the job. Not Performing a Background Check When you believe you have found a perfect candidate for the open position that you need to fill quickly, you will be tempted to skip the background check. However, this is essential if you want to know how a person is going to perform in this position. Be sure to check references to see what past employers have to say. Also, confirm their education, work history, and certifications. Depending on the role, you may also need to conduct a credit check or a criminal background check. By doing this, it also assures you that your valuable company resources, such as credit relationships and finances are being put in good and safe hands. Neglecting Your Company Culture While it is necessary to find someone with the proper skills and aptitude, their resume doesn’t tell it all. You also need to find someone who is suitable for the company and figure out if they will fit in with your company culture. The best way to determine this is by sharing various parts of your company culture, which will help an applicant make the right decision regarding if they are a good fit. The way an employee interacts with clients, customers, and colleagues will impact how the company is run. If you want to ensure you find...

What is Brand Identity? Definitions Business Dictionary: The visible elements of a brand (such as colors, design, logotype, name, symbol) that together identify and distinguish the brand in the consumers’ mind. Investopedia: How a business wants a brand’s name, communication style, logo and other visual elements to be perceived by consumers. Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism Model: The brand identity prism by Kapferer describes the brand through six different facets. The identity of a brand describes what makes it stand out and special, as well as the attractiveness of the brand. By the brand’s physique the physical appearance is meant. This includes a prototype of the brand: the product that represents the brand’s qualities.The brand personality connects the brand with human characteristics to differentiate. It is the way a brand speaks to its customers.Every brand tries to build a relationship with its customers. This relationship is more obvious for service brands, but product brands like Porsche and Morgan build relationships with their clients The question here is what role does the brand occupy in the relationship. It could be being a friend or being dominant.The culture of the company is reflected by the values the brand is communicating. Values can be linked for example to the origin of the company and their heritage.The reflection of a brand can be seen as the typical user of the product it is the outward mirror of the brand. It therefore often gets confused with the target market.The self-image is the way customers see themselves when using the brand and how this makes them feel. (Kapferer, 2012) Pic Courtesy: Marketing91 What are the top 3 things that make customers loyal to a brand? Quality – Quality in business, engineering and manufacturing has a pragmatic interpretation as the non-inferiority or superiority of something; it is also defined as fitness for purpose.  Quality is a perceptual, conditional, and somewhat subjective attribute and may be understood differently by different people. Customer Service – The process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a product or service. Often, customer service takes place while performing a transaction for the customer, such as making a sale or returning an item. Customer service can take the form of an in-person interaction, a phone call, self-service systems, or by other means. Price – For many consumers, price is a very important attribute. The attribute price can indeed be more important on decision making than that of quality, brand name and others. We can conclude that consumer consideration to decide product brand is mainly based on price. The main question is how consumer brand decision is effected by price fluctuations. Does consumer move to another brand as price rises? Branding Gone Bad : Pizza Hut Tries to Lose the Pizza For some bizarre reason, Pizza Hut made an attempt to rebrand in 2009 by calling themselves “The Hut.” As a result, the fast food chain received a significant amount of ridicule from the public, and had to revert back to the original name. Although the company may deny rumors regarding the name change, photographic evidence of the redesigned logo are still circulating online. When British Airways Removed the Union Jack In 1997, British Airways executive Bob Ayling stated, “Perhaps we need to lose some of our old-fashioned Britishness and take on board some of the new British traits.” The company then embarked on a project that saw the Union Jack tail fin flag being replaced with other designs. After receiving numerous complaints from customers, this decision was reversed in 2001 when Ayling was replaced by Rod Eddington, and the Union Jack was once again painted on the fleet’s tail fins. Source: Six Examples of Branding Gone Wrong How Important is Brand...