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Brand DNA: Finding the Authentic Match
The term ‘Brand DNA’ isn’t new to brands within the retail industry, but it has grown to be more of a focus in brand talent consideration and acquisition.
Much like in biology, Brand DNA is the core of the brand. It is the make up of the brand’s personality, ethos, and voice within the industry. A brand’s DNA is what separates it from its competitors, not necessarily in strategy or product, but in identity and values.
In retail specifically, setting a clear of expression of brand DNA creates greater opportunity for customer brand loyalty and attracts talent that parallels brand DNA.
Image Source: Brandculture.com
It is often said that people are a company’s greatest asset. Employees are an extension of the brand. Hiring the right talent that inherently possesses the brand DNA ensures a more seamless and authentic experience for the customer.
In retail specifically, skills can be taught. DNA, however, is inherent and can only be enriched. Hiring a new associate for a retail space will likely require training of the POS system, restock procedure, and cleanliness and merchandising standards. Often brands even go as far as instructing the new hires on how to greet, engage with, and sell to the customer. It is fair to say that customer interactions may take some time to become comfortable.
The difference between hiring someone with the basic retail skillset vs. someone who shares the brand DNA, is authenticity in engagement and enthusiasm for the task being completed. When a brand hires individuals who share the personality, ethos, and voice of their brand, the talent better represents the brand during the time of development and will be more authentic in doing so. Naturally, shared purpose + shared fate= higher performance + better results.
According to statistics pulled from a commissioned Forrester Consulting study conducted on behalf of Shopify,
“Forty-nine percent of retailers say hiring and retaining employees will be a top challenge over the next year, something 40% of brands are striving to improve. This comes as no surprise considering staff at major retailers have been expressing their frustration with the industry through striking and quitting.”
Now more than ever, talent is focusing on finding brands that they identify with to work for. According to the same study, “83% of millennials expect brands to align with their values.”
Brands are being called to greater transparency in their practices and values. Brandculture.com said it well,
“ Your employee brand experience represents the manifestation of what employees see in the company now… and the aspirations of what they’re working for in the future. By defining the value, you claim as a company and creating an employee brand experience rooted in a common bond and shared values, the flag of your culture will fly high, long into the future.”
Clearly, hiring brand DNA matched individuals leads to greater retention and reduces turn over.
Vuori, a premium performance apparel brand, is a great example of a brand who is in touch with their brand DNA and keeps it at the forefront of their hiring process. They look for those who are an authentic match and not just those who have the skillset.
They are a value-based business who aim to “bring together people from all walks of life to create and share positive, meaningful experiences.”
“At Vuori our guiding principles are simple...we aim to make great products, be in great relationships and live extraordinary lives.”
Since the retail staffing environment is competitive and challenging, finding that authentic brand DNA match can take time and work. As a brand focused recruiting agency, Emerging Blue makes it a priority to understand your brand’s DNA, ethos, and culture to the fullest extent.
With a robust internal database of candidates and recruiters with large networks of talent connections, Emerging Blue is driven to find candidates that are not only top tier talent but that inherently possess your brand DNA.
If you’re looking for talent that shares your brand’s DNA, connect with us here or send us an email at info@emergingblue.com.
Additional Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/brand-identity-hiring-employees-fit-planning-your-recruitment-gill
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ensure-your-employees-have-companys-dna-rosalin-mohanty
Now Hiring: Store Manager & Sales Associates
An American lifestyle brand is growing their retail team in SoHo! We’re looking for an experienced Store Manager and reliable Sales Associates to demonstrate excellent customer service skills and provide support all retail functions on the salesfloor.
Interested? Check out these opportunities below:
Looking For a Role in Retail or HR?
We’re always hiring for Retail & HR jobs in fashion, home, & beauty.
Check out the jobs we’re working on today:
Human Resources Business Partner - San Diego
Human Resources Business Partner - Carlsbad
The Perfect (out)Fit
One of the top driving factors for success of a retail business is the strength of its internal team, woven-in values, and company culture.
Retail post-pandemic is a new frontier in many respects, one of which has largely been finding great employees and retaining them.
A workplace without a strong company culture can see employee burnout and high turnover, especially in a retail environment. To create the most positive retail experience for your customer, investing in your dream team is a great first step.
The impact of the “great resignation” has hit retail specifically. With the challenge of an increased interest in remote and hybrid work, and a shifting view by perspective employees on what defines “perks of the job,” it is more competitive than ever to be the retail brand that employees commit to joining!
Investing in employees can appear in many ways, most commonly in the form of financial compensation and benefits offered. However, in recent years, there has been a shift in the priorities of employees’ values; this shift being placing a higher value on overall company culture than compensation. According to Business News Daily, “American millennials are more likely to care about work culture over salary (65%) than those age 45 and older (52%).”
To build a retail business where employees feel supported, there must be a compelling mission, goals, and values that are well-defined and implemented into all work practices, most crucially being the hiring and onboarding processes. If hiring managers articulate the company values during the interview process, employees are more likely to understand and reflect those values on the retail floor.
There are three underlying values that are trending as top priority in the retail sector: employee voice, diversity, equity, & inclusion, and sustainable practices.
Company culture extends beyond shared lifestyles and common interests. Employees want to feel heard by their leaders. An insider at Fast Company wrote, “If you look at some of the strongest companies around the world, regardless of industry, a common thread is that leaders in those businesses don’t just dictate. They also get feedback from their teams and consider what workers say.” Retail is a particularly important industry for employees to feel heard, as they serve as the face of the brand and interact with customers in-store, every single day. Likewise, retail employees provide invaluable internal feedback on the day-to-day retail operations.
There is a level of responsibility for company leaders when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fact, a study found that “more diverse workforces perform better financially compared to those that are less diverse.” It can be challenging to know where to implement these practices. An insider at Forbes suggested, “Start inside and ask your teams what types of training they would find beneficial when it comes to diversity, inclusion and belonging and how they would like to see the company improve its efforts in the months and years to come.” When business leaders engage with their employees and respect their opinions on these sensitive matters, they make their employees feel supported.
These authentic conversations about diversity, equity, & inclusion should always be included during the employee hiring processes. One of our amazing clients, Vans, leads diversity and inclusion in the workplace by great example. We are proud to align ourselves with a brand that has such a strong commitment to providing a diverse and inclusive workplace for their employees. If you haven’t heard of it before, check out their “Off The Wall” mindset that promotes and embraces creativity and self expression.
Most consumers, including employees of the fashion retail industry, have expectations of sustainable and ethical transparency from fashion retailers. Many employees are seeking opportunities to implement change on a local or global scale. Liv Simpliciano, policy and research manager at Fashion Revolution, said “Transparency is the antidote to greenwashing. Scrutiny might sound like a scary thing [for brands], but it’s actually a capacity-building exercise.” For brands looking to grow their retail businesses, ethical and sustainable transparency, in addition to a positive work culture, is attractive to both employees and customers.
Vuori is a great example of a brand that is actively invests in sustainable practices. In fact, they offset 100% of their carbon emissions to help combat global warming. Not to mention, they’re rated the #1 retailer to work for in Encinitas, CA.
Vuori’s 2021 Footprint. More information about their sustainable efforts can be found here.
If you’re looking to grow your fashion retail business and build a strong team of employees that are the perfect brand-fit, there is much to consider. By having honest conversations with your applicants and digging into what values they’re looking for in a company, you’ll find that you are able to identify the right fit most efficiently. Creating a strong company culture by hiring employees that share a passion for your mission is what will guide your retail business into undeniable success.
Emerging Blue focuses on the brand and the fit, Britt Noyes is our Retail Recruiting Director for Retail with 8+ years of experience in the fashion retail industry. If you’d like to partner with Britt to grow your brand’s retail business or support in finding that perfect brand-fit candidate, reach out to us at info@emergingblue.com.
Now Hiring: Interior Design Consultants & Retail Sales and Interior Design Associate
Experienced in Interior Design? We’re thrilled to be hiring for several roles with our client, an online interior design company, who is launching a temporary pop-up in SoHo! This is a great opportunity to be among fellow creatives who share a passion for interior design in an inspired space.
Check out these opportunities here:
Now Hiring: Sales Associate Specialty East & West
#DoubleJobAlert! We’re hiring two Sales Associates for Mizzen+Main, Specialty East and Specialty West to manage both territories of independent and men’s specialty accounts. 3+ years working with specialty accounts in wholesale sales is preferred. Menswear experience is a plus! Both roles are located at their headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Click here to read the job descriptions:
Fenty Beauty Is Now Available At ULTA!
One of the most rapidly growing, inclusive beauty brands of 2022 (and one of our personal EB favorites), Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, is now available at ULTA!
Fenty Beauty was founded by Rihanna, who is most commonly known for her notable achievements in the music industry. Originally from Barbados, she has always had a fascination with makeup, and would model her mother’s lipstick even as a young girl. Makeup has always been one of her special tools for creativity and self expression.
“Makeup is there for you to play with. It’s there for you to have fun with. It should never feel like pressure, and it should never feel like a uniform.”
Having noticed a gap in the industry of tones for all skin types, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 so that “people everywhere would be included.” Her focus has always been to create a lightweight product that works for all skin tones, especially those that are traditionally most difficult to match. One of our favorite things about her line is her goal to “make skin look like skin.”
Fenty Beauty has grown exponentially since it’s initial launch, and is now one of the largest players in today’s beauty industry. In an industry that has been so traditionally exclusive, we admire her commitment towards inclusion of all people with all skin types. There is no doubt that the success of a brand with these strong values at the core of it’s foundation, is well deserved.
Click here to learn everything there is to know about Fenty Beauty.
Click here to see what other amazing beauty brands are now available at ULTA!
Now Hiring: Head of Sales, Wholesale
Exciting leadership opportunity as Head of Sales with Mizzen+Main to oversee their wholesale business and manage their existing relationships with their big box and specialty retail partners. If you’re a director looking for the next step in your career, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Golf experience is a plus!
Now Hiring: Retail Accountant
Another exciting opportunity to work for a growing technical apparel and snowboarding brand in California! We’re looking for a Retail Accountant to hop on board their team.
Click here to learn more and to apply.
Now Hiring: Retail Allocation Manager & Accessories Merchandise and Inventory Planner
As athleisure continues to dominate the apparel industry, we’re having a ball partnering with our client, one of the most popular and rapidly growing activewear brands. Click the links below to learn more and to apply to two of their jobs we’re working on in Carlsbad, CA.
KREWE's Retail Team is Growing!
KREWE, an independent, high-fashion eyewear brand founded in New Orleans, is growing their retail team! We’re hiring for three retail jobs in New York City: a Flagship Store Manager, Store Manager, and Optical Manager.
If interested, please apply by heading over to our Jobs page or email your resume to Britt Noyes at britt@emergingblue.com. If these aren’t a fit for you but someone you may know, feel free to forward these opportunities along! You can learn more about our Referral Bonus Program here.
Now Hiring: Retail Accountant
It may be warming up, but we’ve got a super cool job opportunity with a snowboarding and technical apparel brand in California. Our client is looking for a Retail Accountant with 3-5 years of experience in general accounting, auditing and/or corporate finance experience to join their team.
Ready to hop on board? You can read the full JD and apply here.
Now Hiring: Optical Manager
We’re looking (through our fresh new KREWE specs, of course) for an Optical Manager in SoHo, New York! As the Optical Manager, it will be your responsibility to seamlessly integrate the Optical Program into KREWE’s retail locations.
Take a look at the job description to see if this could be a fit for you or a friend.
Now Hiring: Director of Visual Merchandising
Our client in the Bay Area, a cool, comfortable apparel brand with over 50 locations, is looking for a Director of Visual Merchandising to oversee the visual excellence of their fleet of stores. This person will be responsible for bringing the brand and its story to life in every location, near and far.
This is an opportunity you definitely don’t want to miss. Click here to apply.
Now Hiring: District Manager (Northeast)
A SoCal based activewear brand is growing their team in the northeast! We’re #hiring a District Manager to build and develop our client’s unique shopping experience.
Sound like a great fit for you or someone you know? Click here!