Becker's Hospital Review

28 POPULATION HEALTH 28 CEO / STRATEGY Going through a rebrand? Do these 4 things to get employees on board By Jackie Drees O ne of the most important compo- nents of a successful hospital rebrand is getting buy-in from employees across the organization. As rebranding becomes more common and frequent across health systems, it's clear that much more effort goes into the process than merely changing a name. is year alone, more than 20 hospitals and health systems have started rebrand projects or revamped their brand identities. From designing and deploying new signage and badges to communicating the changes and identity of the brand across the organization, going through a rebrand without agitating workers can sometimes be a tricky task. Here, three healthcare systems share their tips. Involve employees in the rebranding process Fostering an inclusive atmosphere among employees and staff when approaching a rebrand is a critical component to creat- ing a long-standing, effective new brand. In 2018, UCare, a Minneapolis-based nonprof- it health plan, conducted extensive research with employees and stakeholders when it started the rebranding process for a new logo and tagline, the company told Becker's Hospital Review. While employees' voices and engagement are essential to a successful change, they also can be an asset to creating brand stickiness outside of the marketing department, Kimber Sever- son, chief marketing officer at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., told Becker's. "An engaged employee who feels valued and listened to can become your biggest brand am- bassador inside and outside the walls of your office," she said. Ensure the rebrand is in line with the company's mission When approaching its brand program, Prov- idence leads with the notion that "brands are built from the inside out and the outside in," meaning it is critical to engage the Renton, Wash.-based system's entire family of organi- zations, said Jigar Shah, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Providence. "We made sure to treat [our rebrand] as a transformative change that involved both lis- tening to and sharing with caregivers how this change would deliver a better brand experi- ence for our patients," he said. "is meant get- ting our mission, change and communications teams engaged at the very beginning, starting with employee sensing sessions alongside consumer research, and creating a cross-func- tional, brand governance structure for deci- sion-making." Providence stressed the importance of clearly connecting its brand positioning to the health system's mission, vision and values and en- sured equal emphasis on deep subject-matter expertise and cultural alignment with values when choosing new agency partners. A lack of consistency between the hospital's brand and how it operates as a company could hinder employees' overall support, Ms. Sever- son said, adding that "if there are disconnects, your employees will know, and they won't buy into the change — and worst of all, could be- come detractors." Reach out to workers in different ways Breathing life into the new brand goes beyond informing workers that a change is coming. Ms. Severson recommends trying out multiple initiatives across different employee touch- points to get workers on board. "You can't rely on communicating through the written word alone — employees have to feel and believe it's a new day for the organization," she said. While Providence made decisions around the architecture of its new brand, it communicated updates to employees through methods such as leadership road shows and brand training. e health system even launched an online brand hub and ambassador brand program for its caregivers to get as many teams as possible involved across the organization. Have fun and be creative Before unveiling its rebrand to the public, UCare organized an internal reveal for its em- ployees as a way to spark inclusion and excite- ment within the organization. e payer orga- nization rolled out a teaser campaign, desktop videos, launch events with its CEO, and UCare logo gis and contests. It also cast employees in TV ads. UCare dedicated one year to operationalizing the rebrand in marketing and member mate- rials, building signs and replacing employee badges and other digital assets to minimize the stress the changes could put on its workforce, a company spokesperson told Becker's. By hold- ing UCare brand workshops and making new resources available on its intranet, the orga- nization drove up employee engagement and achieved buy-in. "e best way to bring employees on board with a new brand is to communicate about it frequently, have leaders champion it, keep it fresh and fun and involve employees in the brand in creative ways," UCare said. "Be- cause, at least in our case, our employees are our brand." n "You can't rely on communicating through the written word alone — employees have to feel and believe it's a new day for the organization." - Kimber Severson, Sanford Health

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