Almost one in three employees (29%) prefer the company brand of their previous employers, and more than a quarter say their own personal brand doesn’t fit with that of the company they work for.

The research by learning and development consultancy Bute Coaching, based on a detailed online survey among business professionals drawn from across the UK and from a mix of sectors, suggests that communicators need to work harder to sell their brand values to internal audiences.

“Having over a quarter of your staff saying that they don’t like your brand and that their own personal brands don’t match up with the company’s can have a truly devastating effect on both individual and business performance,” said Margo Manning, MD of Bute Coaching.

Moreover, 45% admit they don’t even think about their own personal brand, while 43% confess they didn’t know or were not sure what others thought about them.