What if your employees became ambassadors for your company? HR functions face many challenges in 2022: new work organisation, automation of HR processes, new employee expectations… Attracting new talent has also become a major concern. Therefore, it is important to develop strategies to improve your employer brand, retain and engage your employees…
If there are already many HR blogs that give you advice, we offer it to you complete instructions Answers to the following questions:
- Why should you turn your employees into ambassadors?
- 3 examples of companies that have taken this approach;
- How do you choose your employee ambassadors?
summary
- Ambassadors may not be what you imagine
- What role does the employee ambassador play?
- 5 (good) reasons to spoil him
- How do I choose a staff ambassador?
- What strategy should be followed for an employee to become an ambassador?
Ambassadors may not be what you imagine
Contrary to popular belief, no, an ambassador is not necessarily one of your employees!
It is finished anyone who speaks positively about your business and recommends it. So it could be one of your customers, a supplier, a consumer of your products or services, an influencer, or one of your employees.
It goes without saying that it is your employees who know your company, its history and its values best. You are therefore in the best position to talk about it. At a time when attracting new talent is becoming increasingly difficult, it’s an asset to have up your sleeve. Your speech will indeed impact your employer brand.
What role does the employee ambassador play?
An employee ambassador represents, builds and defends the company’s image.
It promotes your products and services, even if it’s non-commercial, and spreads the employer branding message in a positive and natural way. This behavior is fostered by a strong culture, commitment and sense of belonging.
For example, when asked where he works, Louis doesn’t just name his job title. He can talk passionately for hours about the company he works for.
5 (good) reasons to spoil him
We call “employee representationThe marketing strategy that aims to turn employees into ambassadors for a company. It is a powerful lever to develop your employer brand as it allows you to:
- A wider audience and better visibility. The information that the employee ambassador disseminates can be provided by word of mouth, but also via social networks. By spreading his message in his privacy, he can achieve a goal that your company has been unable or difficult to achieve.
With its program, the AccorHotels group mobilized the employees of its 3,700 hotels on social networks “Social Desk”. The result: the audience on his platforms was multiplied by 6!
- A message that gains credibility. Addressing an employee is more authentic and credible than an address coming directly from the company, which can be perceived as an advertising address. Confidence in the message also increases.
78% of consumers trust recommendations from peers and loved ones, while only 14% trust a promotional tweet.
- An improved brand image and a boost for your recruitments. A candidate who has a choice between several positions naturally prefers the company for which the number of positive employee reviews is most important.
45% of executives report being affected by hiring difficulties (personnel study). And 83% of job seekers are likely to look at company reviews and ratings when deciding to apply. (Glassdoor study, 2018).
- Employees who feel valued and involved. It is a real guarantee of trust given to an employee ambassador to express themselves for the company. It is therefore also a source of motivation, commitment and commitment that will be reflected in the teams. By highlighting them, they become key players and see that they are having a real impact on them.
Only 6% of French workers say they are engaged at work (to learn State of the Global Workplace by Gallup, 2017). The placement interview is a great way to encourage engagement. Learn more in this article.
- Turnkey training. Beyond the positive points this means for the company, it can also bring a lot to the employee ambassador himself. By positioning himself as an expert, as a reference for the company, he can work on his personal branding and expand his network.
An employee reaches an average of 1,140 people in social networks (to learn Why employee advocacy is now mainstream from Dynamic Signal, 2015).
Not all of your employees can be good ambassadors. Certain qualities are required to ensure the success of this strategy, both for you and for him. But the golden rule: don’t force it (we stick to it)!
It is preferable that the process of sharing this or that content occurs at his initiative, that the message remains authentic, that it reflects his personality and that it is spontaneous. We explain it to you
- Be a good communicator. It is ideal to give preference to an employee who has a certain ease in expressing himself or herself in writing and orally. And who also likes to send a message to others. Some people have a way of attracting and holding attention when expressing themselves.
Each week, Faurecia employee ambassadors engage the brand community in their daily lives on Instagram. They present their work, their missions, their working environment to all corners of the world.
- Be motivated and enthusiastic. The employee must be persuasive (CQFD) and adhere to your company’s values. He needs to be able to show you off.
At Air France, volunteer employee ambassadors answer questions from the community on a special platform. A great way to highlight the different professions and create a privileged closeness with their audience.
- Master the codes of social networks. The employee must be able to build and maintain a community. But also use the right formats, the codes of the platform on which it communicates… If you have a community manager, he can offer him a short training session to advise him.
Dell has set up an “Academy” that offers courses to all employees who want to learn how to use digital tools. At the end of the course, they will be awarded a skill diploma. Speaking of results, 58% of employee ambassadors communicate for the brand at least once a week.
Do you already have internal ambassadors? You can take a look at LinkedIn to identify them.
What strategy should be followed for an employee to become an ambassador?
The culture of the company and its values are of course elements that have an important place in this process. But it is also important to build a genuine bond with your employees.
- happiness at work. An employee who wants to speak positively about their company is first and foremost… a happy employee! Quality of life at work (also called QVT or more recently QVCT) is therefore an issue that needs to be addressed. They can take steps to improve their well-being: adapt work environments, encourage hybrid work to improve work-life balance, etc.
- A spirit of cohesion and group. We don’t hear it often enough, but it’s about reciprocity. If you want an employee to speak positively about your company, you have to make sure that the working atmosphere is good and that they feel well integrated. The management style chosen is also a condition for creating cohesion, promoting listening and communication between teams.
- meaning and implication. In this continuity, show him that developing his commitment is essential for the proper functioning of the company. For example, you can offer to take part in the recruitment process in order to keep him, give him responsibility…
Now that you have the keys to implementing this strategy in your organization, you can implement your employee advocacy program. It allows you to shape your practices and deploy them on a larger scale. It’s a roadmap that will guide you and your employees. There is no framework that you are forced to follow and you can create your own.
*Fichier Entreprise is the HR magazine edited by experts in the field.