Your company may have a great product that your customers love. But do you also have a great company culture that your employees are inspired by and excited to come to work to become your brand ambassadors? Or are they leaving your organisation, and you have no idea how to retain them?
In today’s competitive business landscape, organisations increasingly recognise employee advocacy as a powerful tool for promoting their brand, improving customer relations, and driving business success while retaining their talent.
But what does it really mean to empower your employees to become your best advocates?
Let’s explore this concept in depth and understand the key steps to implementing a successful Employee Advocacy program.
Empowerment Definition
First, let’s start by defining what empowerment means in the context of employee advocacy. Empowerment is about giving your employees the authority, autonomy, and resources they need to represent your organisation effectively and authentically.
It involves providing them with the right information, tools, and support to advocate for your brand, share their experiences, and contribute to the overall success of your company.
Pre-requisites for rolling out a successful Employee Advocacy program.
What are the prerequisites for empowering your employees to become advocates? It begins with building a strong foundation of trust, transparency, and open communication within your organsation. Employees want to feel valued, respected and heard and should have access to the necessary information and training to understand your company’s goals, values, and brand messaging. Providing a supportive and inclusive work culture that encourages creativity, innovation, and collaboration is also critical to fostering employee advocacy.
Lead your Employee Advocacy program as a change management program to ensure success.
As a trained change management professional, I see any new initiative through the lens of change management.
Indeed, implementing a change management program effectively empowers your employees and drives the cultural shift necessary for successful employee advocacy.
Here are 7 steps to consider:
- Start small with a pilot phase
Begin with a small group of employees who are enthusiastic about advocating for your organization. This could be a team or a department that has shown interest in promoting your brand. This allows you to test the effectiveness of your program, adjust, and gather feedback before rolling it out on a larger scale.
- Provide comprehensive training and resources:
Ensure that your employees have the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively represent your brand. Provide training on your organisation’s brand guidelines, social media best practices, and legal and compliance considerations. Offer resources such as content templates, social media calendars, and monitoring tools to streamline the advocacy process.
- Foster a culture of recognition and rewards
Recognise and celebrate the efforts of your employee advocates. Create a system that acknowledges their contributions, whether it’s through incentives, rewards, or public recognition. This motivates your employees to continue advocating for your organisation and encourages others to join in.
- Get some quick wins
Identify employees who are natural advocates and are already active on social media or have a strong network within your industry. These employees can serve as early adopters and influencers, helping to generate quick wins and build momentum for your advocacy program.
- Continuously evaluate and iterate
Monitor the progress of your advocacy program and gather feedback from your employees. Identify what is working well and what can be improved and make necessary adjustments to ensure effectiveness.
- Mostimportantly, communicate, communicate and communicate.
Keep momentum by regularly communicating the success stories and impact of employee advocacy across the firm. Communicate at the beginning of the program, communicate during the program and keep communicating after the first phase. Share the wins, the success stories and the learnings with others. Show the impact it’s having both on the employee and the organisation.
- Plan for resistance to change.
Like any new initiative, not everyone may welcome the employee advocacy program. It can sometimes face resistance from employees who may be hesitant to change their behaviours or adopt new practices. That’s normal, and you should plan for that. Think of the various strategies to use to acknowledge and overcome concerns.
Ready to start empowering your employees to become your best advocates?
Implementing an employee advocacy program like a change management program can be a powerful strategy for improving your brand’s reputation, increasing employee engagement, and driving business success fast.
How can I help?
With 25 years of multicultural and multidisciplinary experience, I am passionate about empowering leaders, founders and organisations to increase their visibility and profitability in order to make a bigger impact in the world.
My unique expertise is at the intersection of digital transformation, coaching, marketing and branding, with a master’s degree in organisational consulting and change management.
I am only looking to support a handful of purpose-driven organisations that want to empower their employees to become their best ambassadors for a win-win partnership.
I work digitally and face-to-face across the world in English and French.
If you want to learn more about implementing an effective Employee Advocacy program, book a call.
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