Personeel se persepsies rakende die aard van Senwes Hoofkantoor se korporatiewe handelsmerk en werknemerverhoudings

Abstract

Corporate brand building centres on the employees of a business since their everyday actions represent the corporate brand. This corporate brand that is communicated to all the stakeholders should embody the communicated corporate values of the business. In the long run, positive impressions are transformed into a favourable corporate reputation that has strategic value for the business. Managers should constantly aim to influence the employees’ opinions and behaviour positively and they should ultimately make this function part of their corporate brand’s strategy. Employees should therefore be regarded as one of the most important, if not the most important, stakeholder group and they should be seen as an important asset of the business. The entire workforce of the business should be mobilised to express the brand promise. The study focuses on Senwes, one of South Africa’s largest agri-businesses, and more specifically on the employees at Senwes Head Office. The researcher is himself employed at Senwes Head Office, and could subsequently identify certain problem areas in the employee-Senwes relationship. First-hand experience at the business gave the researcher the perception that employees have unyielding trust in the abilities of the organisation and that long-term relationships are the norm, although the staff members do not necessarily feel that their needs are all being met. This rare phenomenon motivated this investigation into the employees’ perceptions regarding the nature of Senwes Head Office’s corporate brand and employee relationships. The study is supported by two theoretical concepts, namely: (1) corporate brands, and (2) employee relationships. A literature study was completed on both, and the different components of corporate brands and corporate brand management were used to ascertain the perceptions of employees at Senwes Head Office regarding the corporate brand. Hon and Grunig’s (1999) PR Relationship Measurement Scale was used as guideline to determine the employees’ perceptions regarding their relationship with their employer. The results show a strong relationship between the strategy with the corporate brand, the corporate culture and corporate communication (as factors of a corporate brand), and the type of relationship, the quality of the relationship and the different relationship cultivating strategies (as factors of employee relationships). Korporatiewe handelsmerkbou is toegespits op die werknemers van die onderneming omdat hulle daaglikse optredes die korporatiewe handelsmerk verteenwoordig. Hierdie korporatiewe beeld wat uitgestraal word na al die belangegroepe behoort die gekommunikeerde korporatiewe waardes van die onderneming te versinnebeeld. Oor die langtermyn word positiewe beelde omgeskakel in ʼn gunstige korporatiewe reputasie wat vir die onderneming strategiese waarde inhou. Bestuurders moet konstant probeer om die personeel se opinies en gedrag ten goede te beïnvloed en hulle moet uiteindelik hierdie taak deel van hulle korporatiewe handelsmerk se strategie maak. Werknemers moet dus as een van die belangrikste, indien nie dié belangrikste, belangegroep beskou word en uiteindelik as suksesvolle bate van die onderneming gesien word. Die hele onderneming se werkersmag moet gemobiliseer word om die handelsmerkbelofte uit te leef. Die studie fokus op Senwes, een van Suid-Afrika se grootste landbou-ondernemings, en meer spesifiek op die personeel by Senwes Hoofkantoor. Die navorser is self by Senwes Hoofkantoor werksaam, en kon sekere probleemareas in die werknemer-Senwes verhouding identifiseer. Eerstehandse ondervinding by die onderneming het die persepsie by die navorser tuisgebring dat personeel ʼn onwrikbare vertroue in die onderneming se vermoëns het en dat langtermynverhoudings die norm is, hoewel personeel nie noodwendig voel daar word in hulle behoeftes voorsien nie. Hierdie rare verskynsel het ʼn studie aangaande die personeel se persepsies rakende die aard van Senwes Hoofkantoor se korporatiewe handelsmerk en werknemerverhoudings gemotiveer. Die studie word gerugsteun deur twee teoretiese konsepte naamlik: (1) korporatiewe handelsmerke en (2) werknemerverhoudings. ʼn Literatuurstudie is oor beide gedoen en verskillende komponente van korporatiewe handelsmerke en korporatiewe handelsmerkbestuur is gebruik om die personeel se persepsies van Senwes Hoofkantoor se korporatiewe handelsmerk vas te stel. Hon en Grunig (1999) se PR Relationship Measurement Scale is as riglyn gebruik om die personeel se persepsies rakende hulle werknemerverhoudings te bepaal. Die resultate toon ʼn sterk verband tussen die strategie van die korporatiewe handelsmerk, die korporatiewe kultuur en die korporatiewe kommunikasie (as faktore van ʼn korporatiewe handelsmerk) en die tipe verhouding, die kwaliteit van die verhouding en die verskillende verhoudingkultiveringstrategieë (as faktore van werknemerverhoudings).