How employees can make a lasting impression

What is impression management? The term, coined by Erving Goffman in 1959, states that one tries to alter one's perception according to one's goals.

Say, the global CEO of a company is visiting its India office for five days. The India office suddenly starts buzzing with activity, right from the house-keeping tidying up the place to the function heads preparing for the meetings scheduled with the CEO. In addition, the focus is on sharpening the town-hall agendas, preparing business updates, briefing employees to present their best self and on do’s and don’ts, social outings being thought. Now that is a classic example of impression management, says Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM India. 

Sounds familiar? Well, we all have found ourselves in this situation more than once in our organisations, when together we are all trying to make a positive impression on the leader of the organisation. 

"Managing impression today has become an important skill to accomplish goals and be effective in managing relationships both professional and personal,” Khanna says.

To begin with, concentrate on what you wear and how you look; make sure that you always dress as per the occasion, focus on the words you speak which include the way you communicate. Know your company product and its processes thoroughly, this is mandatory irrespective of whom you are communicating with. 

Companies today are investing a lot of time and money to cultivate good relationships internally as well as externally and continuously working towards building a high standard of excellence for their brand where impression management plays a crucial role.

“Today, especially in the case of larger firms, employees are encouraged to become brand ambassadors for their firms and are given both the training and tools to play this vital role. The concept of brand ambassadorship by employees goes beyond just impressive visiting cards. It includes participation in specific training sessions, using personal social media accounts to make the brand stand out more prominently and favourably, obtaining customer testimonials. 

"Employees who are expected to play this role can reasonably need to be given access to the company’s proprietary research, well-designed capability decks and various brand-specific accessories. A responsible company which expects its employees to help create more brand awareness for it must be open to suggestions and be ready to implement them. Finally, the best brand-building tool the company can give its employees is healthy, well-designed workplaces where it is a joy to work and a matter of prestige to receive client,” says Sukhdeep Aurora, chief people officer, ANAROCK Property Consultants. 

At an organisational level, with increasing awareness amongst the stakeholders and constant media exposure, there is a pressure on the corporates to portray and maintain a certain image. Corporates are trying to inculcate transparency in their processes in order to build in confidence in the employees, customers, shareholders collectively. 

Organisations are going beyond the mandatory disclosures as set by the government in giving out information, one of the examples being the financials - monthly, quarterly, annual performance of the company in order to maintain and grow their reliability quotient in the business world. 

“Managing social relationships becomes a lot easier once we have arrived at an understanding other's social context and what makes others tick. With that awareness, we are able to fine-tune our communication to align with what may be of value to them and how the symbiotic association could lead to win-win for both the parties. As a result, we are able to conduct our social interaction in a way which helps us be more authentic and build meaningful relationships in the process,” Khanna says.

Statistics reveal 78% of customers have not made an intended purchase because of poor customer service. Weak internal relationships have led to lesser productivity as compared to the company’s actual potential. Right impression management training gives companies the credibility they require to work smoothly and efficiently. 

It also helps firms in building the goodwill that can lead to collaborative relationships with colleagues and clients, repeat business, recommendations, more productivity, and an increase in revenue.

The author is manager - human resources, SILA