Businesses are successful because of their people – so it’s essential that your employees are an integral part of the process involved in raising awareness of your employer brand online.
Building your online presence naturally involves looking at the metrics of engagement and reach. Much focus is often placed on boosting a brand through the voice of the business.
A company’s brand signals what candidates can expect, gain, and learn from working there. In a recent survey, the leading employer branding company, Universum, part of IrishJobs, found that 78% of the world’s most attractive companies see employer branding as one of the top priorities.
Employee advocacy is a powerful tool that makes use of the strength of an engaged workforce – it is simply a way that employees promote your company. Successfully leveraged, this can be used to significantly drive your talent attraction and retention strategies.
Benefitting Your Employer Brand with Employee Advocacy
1. Attracts new hires
Giving employees ownership over sharing the unique aspects of your company culture, whether that’s team “away days”, good lunch spots near the office, or company social events helps to paint a positive picture of your overall employer brand.
As a result of your employer brand having a more tangible online presence beyond your job postings, your organisation is more likely to receive applications from those who are not just a good fit for the role, but a good fit for your company culture. You are also more likely to become an employer of choice for your target talent.
2. Highlights your brand as a thought leader
Content shared by individuals validates it as being useful or informative, as it shows that people are not just reading the content, but actively engaging with sharing it. Securing a strong reach for your content insights further instils your position as a thought leader in your market.
When your employees engage in sharing your content, it demonstrates their belief in the value of your organisation’s insights and expertise. This not only enhances their own professional credibility but also highlights your employer brand as a hub of knowledge and innovation. This showcases to the industry and potential talent that your company is at the forefront of industry trends and thought leadership.
3. Humanises your brand
Diversifying your brand’s voice highlights the collaborative effort that forms your business, resulting in making your brand more approachable. It also gives employees more opportunity to make their voices heard when it comes to sharing company updates or project completion posts, highlighting their personal contributions to these business developments.
By allowing them to have a voice in communicating these milestones, you acknowledge their hard work and dedication and empower them to take ownership of their accomplishments.
4. Increases employee retention
Open communication channels are essential to a strong employee advocacy strategy. It’s not purely about what you share externally, but how initiatives, successes, and learnings are discussed internally that will further feed employees with a positive experience that will also contribute positively to retention: those who feel listened to and valued are more likely to stay with the business longer.
Recognising and rewarding employees for their contributions is another aspect of enhancing retention. Implementing a comprehensive employee recognition program that acknowledges and appreciates exceptional performance can significantly boost morale and job satisfaction. Recognition can take various forms, including monetary rewards, public acknowledgements, or career advancement opportunities. Celebrating individual and team accomplishments not only reinforces a positive company culture but also reinforces employees’ sense of worth and encourages them to remain loyal to the organisation.
Key considerations when creating an employee advocacy strategy
There is no single way to create and implement a successful employee advocacy strategy, but it is important to remember that ultimately it is an employee’s decision when it comes to how much brand-related content they want to share on social media channels.
Your employees’ social channels are their own personal platforms. While providing company guidelines so people understand how they can best present the brand, they ultimately have ownership over how they use their LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram profiles.
Similarly, being too strict over how they can promote the brand online risks your employees simply becoming an echo of the brand voice that already exists on the company channels. While employees need to align with the company’s tone of voice to a certain extent, it’s beneficial for their own voices to shine through. They should feel able to use their initiative when it comes to choosing how they promote the brand – whether that’s through writing their own statuses, sharing existing content, or commenting on news stories that strike a chord with your business.