While many senior executives continue to talk about the "voice of the customer," few demonstrate their commitment to this concept by spending time with customers. Many continue to use their intuition or `golden gut' in their attempt to provide superior customer value. Unfortunately, `senior executive intuition' is rarely attuned to the needs of their customers. While the competitive environment continues to intensify, executives have cut back on the time devoted to customers just when it should be increasing. This article discusses the need for senior executives to spend time with customers and provides examples of the benefits that this approach will provide.

Employers image determines the psychological bond between the employer and the employee team. Certain superior qualities have to be cultivated by the employer to command respect, to instill commitment, to evoke loyalty and to generate trust among the workforce, particularly with the HR team. In fact, the concept of `employers brand can be defined as creation, maintenance and management of an agreeable, trustworthy and progressive image of the employer with his policies addressing the needs and the concerns of the employees.

The boss drives his men; the leader leads them. The boss demands respect; the leader commands respect. So be a leader and not a boss, says an anonymous quote. Then why not the very boss be a leader? If only the boss is able to develop those leadership traits, his own personality would win over the team of his employees and instill in them a sense of devotion and commitment to him. Analogously, in the case of an organization employing a large HR team, it is the corporate's image, beaming across its workforce, which determines the psychological bond between the organization and its employee team. Therefore, irrespective of whether it is the image of an employing organization or the personality of the individual employer, certain superior qualities have to be assiduously cultivated by the employer to command that respect, to instill that commitment, to evoke that loyalty and to generate that trust all around, particularly, in the HR team. This image or the `employers' brand,' as it is known, is vital from every possible viewpoint of HR management. It is also known as `internal branding' and it is different from `external branding,' which is projected before the external stakeholders like the consumers and others who have something or other to do with the organization.

In fact the concept of `employers' brand' can be defined as creation, maintenance and management of an agreeable, trustworthy and progressive image of the employer with his eyes and ears tuned towards the needs and concerns of the employees and others who matter. The employer has to build for himself an image that not only attracts the best talent or the `high performers' but also retains them despite better offers by rival employers in the job market. It is the art of managing its own role as an effective and successful employer with a high retention rate. Indisputably, it is the tell-tale attrition rate that disagreeably dents the otherwise smooth and shiny image of every employer. Only that kind of an employer who is able to project a strong and trustworthy image can build a committed workforce by infusing in the employees a high degree of loyalty and a deep level of commitment which are so vital for the organizational welfare and business prosperity of the employer.

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