Employee Advocacy is a practice that is gaining in popularity. It is increasingly being implemented by HR departments or business owners. This does not surprise us, as we are sure that every company is first and foremost about people! So why not invite its employees to promote and spread the word about the organization? Learn more about what Employee Advocacy is, why employers are eager to use this tool and how to implement it in your company.
What is Employee Advocacy?
The term Employee Advocacy can be literally translated as employee advocacy. In practice, it means being an ambassador for the company and employer as part of a program to which employees of the organization are invited. Employee Advocacy involves representing the brand, speaking positively about it, and promoting the services or products it provides through its employees. All of this aims to build a positive image of the brand as an employer. However, the focus here is not just on the company itself, but on the people who make it up and their personal brands. Employee communications are more credible than those created by companies, confirming the quality of the organization and strengthening its position in the market.
How does Employee Advocacy differ from Employer Branding?
In recent years, much has been said about Employer Branding. This is an action aimed at building the employer’s brand in terms of how it is perceived by customers, contractors, or potential employees. Employer Branding is a top-down image-building activity, strategically planned by HR departments, business owners, management, or marketing teams. It involves promoting the brand’s vision, mission, and values, and the elements of these messages should be consistent.
What sets Employee Advocacy apart from Employer Branding is the decentralization of communication and the narrative guiding the process. The key here is giving voice to employees, emphasizing the diversity of perspectives of those employed, and the ways of talking about the company. A very important aspect of Employee Advocacy is authentic communication, the ability to express oneself in one’s own words, and the lack of pre-assigned briefs or standardization of required communication methods. It is this naturalness resulting from giving the reins to employees that makes Employee Advocacy initiatives effective and positively impacts the company’s image. As LinkedIn experts point out, content published by employees on their profiles on this social media platform is perceived as eight times more authentic than that posted by the company on its official fan page! Additionally, LinkedIn asserts that Employee Advocacy materials generate up to seven times more positive reactions and responses than publications from the organization in which these individuals work.
How to choose employees for the ambassadorial program in the company?
The key to the success of Employee Advocacy initiatives is selecting the right people for this corporate ambassador program.
Actions for the image and development of the organization should primarily be fully voluntary. An employer cannot force an employee to participate in such a program. Additionally, candidates must be open, enthusiastic, positive, confident in themselves, and their competencies. A person participating in the program should identify with the values of the company or be satisfied with working within its ranks. It is also important for them to be someone who enjoys sharing their thoughts or experiences from daily work and is willing to do so on various social media and offline channels. It is also worth remembering that such actions also benefit employees because they influence their personal branding and recognition in the market.
How to implement Employee Advocacy activities in the workplace step by step?
Your task, as an HR professional or business owner, is to effectively implement the ambassadorial program and guide employees through this marketing process transparently and comfortably. This requires an appropriate strategy.
So, it is necessary to start by selecting individuals who will become representatives of the brand according to the guidelines outlined above and will be willing to share content on behalf of the brand.
Next, you need to determine the goal of these activities. Is it to increase the reach and expand the audience that hears about the company online? Is it to build the brand’s credibility and position itself through the promotion of experts in a particular field? Or is it the promotion of specific services or products offered by the company? It depends on the individual expectations of the brand.
After that, it’s time to establish clear rules for this type of cooperation. This means listing all types of benefits within the Employee Advocacy program. Detailing the ways they are implemented as well as the quantity of, for example, publications or appearances in a given period.
Then, the program needs to be implemented. However, do not forget to support employees in their journey with Employee Advocacy. It is worthwhile to offer training or advice in this area. A good way is to introduce positive competition among employees covered by the program or to reward their involvement. Remember that otherwise, enthusiasm and willingness may wane, and the effects of the actions may diminish over time.
What Employee Advocacy practices can we distinguish?
It is worth mentioning that Employee Advocacy activities can take external forms – those aimed at industry professionals, contractors, acquaintances, potential employees, or new customers. They can also manifest as internal activities – those directed at other employees already working for the company.
We distinguish the following external activities within Employee Advocacy:
- Positive expression about the organization outside the workplace;
- Creating communications about one’s employer on their social media;
- Creating substantive publications about the work being done;
- Participating in conferences as a company expert;
- Writing industry articles on behalf of the organization;
- Appearing at industry events as a company employee;
- Recommendation and promotion of the company’s services or products;
- Speaking in promotional and educational materials created by the employer, such as podcasts, videos, commercials, blog posts;
- Wearing company merchandise.
In turn, within internal Employee Advocacy activities, we can distinguish:
- Positive expression about the organization among other employees;
- Active participation in initiatives organized by the employer;
- Being a “Buddy” for new company employees to determine the values and mission of the organization and integrate them into its ranks;
- Speaking in promotional and educational materials created by the employer, such as podcasts, videos, commercials, blog posts.
What benefits can Employee Advocacy bring to your company?
Referring to LinkedIn research, companies that have implemented ambassadorial programs can boast a 26% increase in employee retention and a 58% increase in loyalty among employees. Other data highlighted by platform experts indicate that Employee Advocacy can increase brand awareness by 24%, online traffic by 11%, and the arrival of potential customers to the company by 6%.
Based on our experience, we can also highlight such benefits of this practice as a better image and reputation of the organization, business development, increased sales, as well as increased motivation and efficiency of employees! We know this well because we have implemented an Employee Advocacy program ourselves. See for yourself in your own company.
