A Quick Way to Ruin Your Reputation

As we continue to be mired in a deep recession, it is as important as ever to concentrate on your brand image. Whether you are concerned with your personal brand or your company’s brand, it is so important ensure you are open, genuine and transparent to your public.

That said, I have seen companies sacrifice their brand image on the altar of quick and easy. What people don’t understand is your brand is visible in everything that is associated with your firm.  What you do, say and infer reflects on your company. What you wear, how you address people and even if your company truck is clean or not, creates an impression on your client base.

Lately, I have seen a few companies bring on employees that aren’t a good representation of their organization. They are in such a rush to hire someone to get them out into the field that they sacrifice quality for quickness. They think that they are losing potential revenue if they do not have a representative out in the field. The truth is: you are losing much more by having a poor depiction of your business. Some people are just not a fit for client interaction. Although there are a plethora of different personalities out there, I believe there are a chosen few that have the character traits that can relate to most all personality types. These are the people you want to be representing your organization. The people that are combative, pretentious or downright irritating aren’t helping you. They are damaging your brand, company and reputation.

So when making a hiring decision make sure you take your time and hire the right person. Don’t sacrifice your brand just because you need to fill a position quickly. More often than not, you will have to remove that person from their role and then you will be back in the same spot you have always been. In addition, you may be in a worse spot since you will have to repair the damage the person has done.