Companies spend a lot of time and money developing their brand and defining their brand values. After branding, there will be moments when you feel the need to sacrifice those brand values for short-term gain. The costs of doing so may be greater than you think.

Take my friend for example. He just got a new job as a driver. As a new employee, he spent a lot of time in safety training and was exposed to internal messaging indicating that safety is number one. Expectation set. His safety will never be compromised, right?

Last week, he had problems with his truck and asked that the truck be repaired so that he can do his job properly and safely. His manager decided that the downtime would cost too much and opted to have him continue his route without the repair for another two weeks!

Consider the call that manager made. He’s just wasted a lot MORE money than what he thought he saved. First, the company spends thousands of dollars on safety seminars, internal communication on safety, and marketing that promotes “safety” to new prospective employees. Instances like this one communicate that safety is not important after all. For the company, it’s money down the toilet.

Second, now that expectations have not been met, a new counter-culture of safety develops, one of “only when we feel like it.” This could lead to more careless behaviour from employees and more on-the-job accidents.

Third, the negative word-of-mouth spreads. My friend told three people, who then told three other people. You know how it is. Now, the organization needs to work harder to communicate that it is a safe company; it’s fighting an uphill battle against the negative perception which has developed.

Before you make a concession to sacrifice one of your brand values for a short-term, tactical gain, consider what it will do to your company and brand. In the end, you could be losing much more than what you’ll gain.