News Flash: Like it or Not, Your Company Needs Employee Advocacy.

“Lisa, does my company really need an employee advocacy program?”

As a business strategist, I generally come back with, “98% of employees already use one social media site for personal use, of which 50% are already posting about their company. Do you really have a choice?”

There are 2 ways people respond when I share this statistic with executives I consult with on employee advocacy:

• Fear – that employee branding could lead to a PR nightmare which ends up hurting their bottom line, open up their star employees to be poached by competitors, or worse....outshine their own company brand.
• Opportunity – that employee branding could be a fantastic new channel to spread the company’s values, find and nurture great talent, generate leads, and create greater conditions of belonging.

Because here’s the truth: it doesn’t matter if you believe in employee advocacy or not, if you can’t foster a place where employees can show up and bring their whole selves to work, they’ll leave for a place that does. I can GUARANTEE that.

But how do you create a place where employees can bring their best selves to work? Through connection and belonging.

Deloitte’s 2020 Human Capital Report found that 93% of the workforce agreed a sense of belonging drives organizational performance and Better Up found that this belonging also affects your bottom line:

• Employees with a strong sense of belonging see a 56% increase in job performance. 
• 50% reduction in turnover. 
• And a 75% decrease in sick days.

Deloitte’s report is important: 

Because in this day and age, social media has quickly become an important part of all our lives, including employees. So preventing employees from sharing their expertise and experiences online could negatively affect their sense of belonging – increasing the possibility of great employees leaving.

It’s your responsibility to give them a reason to not just stay but GROW.

Don’t let them be the competition's greatest asset. 

But even though the numbers are fascinating, they barely scratch the surface because an employee advocacy program could even be a strong PR tool to amplify messages during times of crisis. Post Beyond found that when employees share a piece of branded content, it reaches 561% more people than the branded channel.

Why is this important?

Because in a crisis, you need to control the narrative and a rock-solid employee advocacy program can be just what you need to control the flow of news. This fits in well with Weber Shandwick’s report that 59% of employees are likely to defend their companies in the event of top-tier change.

This means employees are showing up for their companies in times of need. Because they care about what happens to your company. And they want to help in times of crisis.

But most important of all: In the 21st century, people work for people. Not companies. 

In this day and age, you need employees to share your corporate values online because it is for the greater good and as a bonus, you also have a fantastic channel to attract top talent and retain them long enough to advance forward together.

Why? Because employee personal branding creates a more cohesive unit.

Today’s employees want to work for leaders they can admire, trust, and look up to. Encouraging star team leaders to start building a personal brand is a fantastic way to nurture this admiration. 

Think about it: who will an in-demand full-stack engineer work for - someone he admires and already follows online or a CTO of a company he has never even heard of?

The answer is obviously the CTO he follows online.

The reason is simple: today’s employees are looking for meaning from their work. They want to work hard. But they want to feel like they’re a part of a team. They want to follow people that can help them grow. Those they can relate to. People they admire and look up to. People they can learn from.

Employee advocacy is how you can encourage star employees to get online and start sharing their values: what moves them, drives them, and the causes they support and believe in. It’s your responsibility to foster an environment where they feel safe to be able to share it online.

That’s how you attract people who believe in your company’s values. Because trust me: if you don’t? Someone else definitely will.

And they’ll most likely be the competition.

But what’s next: 

How do you start with an employee advocacy program? What companies should you aspire to emulate? How do you set definitive company-wide guidelines for a team?

To find the answer to these questions, I recently put together a resource.

It’s a white paper that will tell you everything you need to know about employee advocacy – the what, why, and how it could work for your company. Download it here. 

Looking for a consultant to build out an employee advocacy program from scratch?

With 2 decades of experience working with leading companies around the globe, I can help. But first, start with this piece on the 5 people who should avoid consultants like the plague. Then get in touch.

96% of executives believe employer and company reputation can positively or negatively impact revenue but only 44% monitor the impact.

Don’t be one of them.

Be Great,

LP