Employees on Social Media: Coaching, Poaching and Promotion

Modern companies should view their employees’ online activity as an opportunity, not a threat.

In many industries, employees' contributions have traditionally been greeted with wariness. This is especially evident in the conservative financial industry, where strict rules lay down what can be shared. In a excellent interview with Link Humans, Zurich Insurance's social media manager, Keith Lewis, acknowledges the organisation has been “inherently nervous about allowing people to speak out loud” but is taking steps to change that. For one, it has developed a framework giving employees the approval and, moreover, the trust to talk about their work life online.

Additionally, to equip new contributors, Lewis's team runs sessions and compiles how-to material so that Zurich staff see the value in social media and also know where to start in terms of navigating sites and building profiles. “A lot of that [face-to-face] networking now happens in an online space. We’re […] having to give people permission to operate and to get back out there.”

L'Oréal’s digital employer-branding manager, Alexander Onish, adopts a similar approach: “Social media policy is not about blocking Facebook at work. It’s about telling people what is important on social media, and why, and putting the tools and tactics in place to help them use it in the right way.”

But Won’t Our Employees Get Poached?

Showcasing your top talent on global platforms creates natural fears among management but, in truth, your employees are well educated, well connected adults. Smothering their professional online presence in the hope it will prevent them finding out about better opportunities is naive. It is up to companies to make sure employees see the brightest future where they are. After all, happy employees will happily reject offers.

Employees as Multipliers

The head-in-the-sand approach sadly foregoes the many benefits of social activity: Employees’ profiles are the top visited pages on social networks. They are multipliers for your company name and culture. Moreover, the LinkedIn data team has observed that companies whose employees have well maintained profiles enjoy better conversion rates from profile view to job view - 59% better. When you consider that your employees’ connections are a treasure trove in terms of receptiveness and cultural fit (and therefore retention), this is a massive opportunity.

Perhaps a real-life example will bolster this: Let’s consider the former CEO of ANZ Bank, Mike Smith. Mike did not believe in social media and undoubtedly shared many of these natural fears of poaching. Then he and his board came to visit LinkedIn, leading to a 180° turn and a new plan to get all ANZ employees online and networking. I invite you to read his letter to ANZ following the meeting and reflect on his reasoning.

Promotion, Promotion, Promotion

So where's a good place to start? On average, 99% of internet users are consumers and only 1% are creators, so establishing a community of internal bloggers overnight is unlikely. Instead, foster a culture of openness and creativity in your team. Encourage colleagues to interact with their peers’ updates. Every additional like, comment or share sends the post out to a whole new network of potential candidates, clients and partners, making this is one of the most effective, free measures you can take to generate awareness.

Think time is an obstacle? Well, if your team members can take photos to show 'a day in the life', have opinions on industry news or are looking for reinforcements for their department, congratulations, you have something worthy of posting which can be online in 60 seconds.

Employee Ambassadors: By the Numbers

• Jobs shared by employees yield 30% more applications.
• Employees are 3x more trustworthy than a CEO or PR person in reflecting your culture.
• Amplifying a strong, authentic culture attracts candidates who favour job satisfaction over having the biggest pay packet, and can thus lower your cost to hire. A 2015 LinkedIn survey showed 32% of German employees would accept a reduction in salary if the new company’s employer USP was attractive to them.