You Are the Brand

Campbell Soup: Engage Your Employees . . . Awaken Your Brand

In the early 2000s, Campbell Soup Company was called a “beleaguered old brand.”1 Its sales were down, employees were not engaged, and the company was losing some of its most talented performers.There were constant rumors that Campbell was for sale. But then, according to a 2009 Forbes profile, Campbell’s brand turned around dramatically. A new group of leaders and managers was brought in—some promoted from within, others recruited from outside the company—to set the tone and follow through on performance; soon, employees were more engaged and involved, and sales rose dramatically.2 The biggest reason for this impressive brand turnaround is the fact that Campbell got a new president and CEO in 2001. Doug Conant became the eleventh leader in Campbell ’s 140-year history. As with many organizations, it is leadership from the top that sets the tone for how a company will communicate and engage its employees and ultimately lead what is commonly referred to as a “turnaround.” To start the turnaround, CEO Conant actively promoted employee engagement, which, in turn, had a direct impact on building and bolstering Campbell’s brand both internally and externally and on improving Campbell’s performance in the marketplace. Here’s how it happened. What Does Your Workplace Look Like? Physical surroundings communicate a lot about how an organization sees its brand and itself. When Conant first arrived at Campbell ’s world headquarters in Camden, New Jersey, he was struck by the fact that some parking lots were surrounded by barbed wire.To 109 Campbell Soup Engage Your Employees . . . Awaken Your Brand Adubato_(Brand)_final 4/11/11 11:29 AM Page 109 many, it resembled a prison. Immediately, the new president and CEO replaced the fences, the first step on a journey to improve Campbell’s Camden campus, which culminated in 2010 with the completion of the Campbell Employee Center, an 80,000-squarefoot building with state-of-the-art café, fitness center, company store, training and development center, and other amenities for Campbell’s employees. What Conant realized was that the physical surroundings in which people work can send a powerful message regarding how leaders view the organization as well as how they communicate internally and externally. To engage employees, barriers must be broken down, be they barbed wires or departmental silos. So How Are We Doing? Conant also believed that it was important to get a baseline of employee engagement, no matter how ugly the results may be. Conant is fond of saying, “You must confront the brutal facts.” Campbell and Conant engaged the Gallup Organization in 2002 and found that 62 percent of Campbell’s employees said they were not actively engaged in their jobs, and 12 percent said they were “actively disengaged.” Of course, no one wants to see those results. However, you can’t know where you’re going unless you have a sense of where you came from. According to a Gallup Management Journal article, Conant argues, “I strongly believe that you can’t win in the marketplace unless you win first in the workplace. If you don’t have a winning culture inside, it’s hard to compete in the very tough world outside. Our mission is to build the world’s most extraordinary food company by nourishing people’s lives everywhere, every day. You can’t ask employees to achieve extraordinary results if they’re not fully engaged.That’s why we focus a great deal on getting the workplace right so that people are engaged and proactive—so that people are moving forward arm in arm and competing with a spring in their step. As they become more engaged, they find ways to win in the marketplace that are sustainable. You do have to shift your tactics every once in a while.You always have to bring something new to 110 YOU ARE THE BRAND Adubato_(Brand)_final 4/11/11 11:29 AM Page 110 the engagement mix to bring it to life again. It can be a big thing or a little thing.”3 Honesty Is Still the Best Policy Campbell’s turnaround was also boosted by Conant’s efforts to promote honest, open forums, along with confidential communication vehicles, for employees to express their concerns as well as recommendations for improving things. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is to avoid holding such forums for fear of negative things...