Advantages of Employee Ambassadorship for Your Company

Employees play a vital role in any company, and many employers understand the value of having employees who act as brand advocates. These advocates can effectively promote the company's success and achievements. This article explores the process of establishing an employee advocacy program and the potential benefits that employers can gain.

4 mins read
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about 1 year ago

To what extent do you believe your employees would willingly and independently support your company? How invested do you think they are in the business beyond their salary and benefits? Employers use employee advocacy programs to strengthen relationships with employees and find answers to these questions.

What is the difference between an employee benefits program and the ambassadorship program?

An employee benefits program provides various perks to employees as part of their benefits package. These perks include gym memberships, health and life insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and more.

An employee ambassador program empowers employees to be brand advocates and representatives by recognizing them in various ways. This program motivates employees to promote the company's values, products, and services through social media, events, and community outreach.

While both programs aim to enhance employee satisfaction and engagement, they differ in their focus and objectives.

What does employee ambassadorship mean?

Employee ambassadorship is when companies use staff members to promote their brand and improve their reputation. These selected employees have a genuine passion for promoting the positive aspects of the company.

They typically do this through participation in events and engagement on social media platforms. Their goal is to encourage interaction and improve the company's reputation. Compensation for working beyond regular hours may include monetary rewards or additional privileges and benefits.

An employee ambassador program is great for who like social media, are creative, and feel comfortable online and offline. Ambassadors have the opportunity to showcase their unused skills, uncovering qualities that may contribute to their career progression.

What's involved in employee ambassadorship?

The initial stage involves identifying staff members who demonstrate a true enthusiasm for the organization and its values. Consider factors such as communication skills, leadership qualities, and a positive mindset.

Give the project to HR. They will explain the program to staff and talk to potential candidates.

Remember the importance of diversity and inclusion within your team. To have employee representatives from different backgrounds is crucial. Additionally, be prepared to provide support to those with specific needs or requirements.

Employee screening: assessing online and offline activity

Check the person's social media to see if they would be a good online representative for your brand. Someone active on LinkedIn with a big network can create a lot of interest in your business. However, do not overlook individuals who are less active or have fewer connections. A well-placed post from them can be just as valuable as one shared in a busy stream of posts.

If you believe someone would be better at representing the company in person, ask if they're interested in doing so. The goal is to select individuals who can truly represent the company using their unique strengths and personality.

Provide training, establish guidelines, and offer incentives

Ensure that ambassadors receive comprehensive training on the company's background, values, and key messages. Equip them with effective communication skills and tools to represent the organization well in various situations. Conduct regular meetings to keep them updated on industry and company news. Maintain open communication with your internal communications/marketing team to avoid conflicting messages.

Create opportunities for ambassadors to share their experiences and knowledge with both internal and external audiences. This can include internal newsletters, company recognition, industry events, social media platforms, and regular employee meetings. Encourage ambassadors to actively participate in relevant industry events and conferences.

Recognize the efforts of ambassadors through appreciation programs and rewards. This motivates ambassadors and inspires other employees to aim for the role, creating a positive cycle of involvement.

Implementing employee ambassadorship programs

Seek support from upper management for the ambassadorship program. Managers and directors may need to involve themselves in or respond to ambassador actions, both online and offline. This creates a positive environment and highlights the importance of the program.

Establish clear goals for the program, whether it's boosting employee morale, enhancing brand image, or increasing social media engagement. Develop metrics to measure the program's success and make necessary adjustments.

Regularly gather feedback from ambassadors to adapt the program to the changing needs and challenges of the organization. Encourage input from employees regarding their thoughts on ambassadorship tasks and suggestions for improvement.

Collaborate closely with the HR department to align the program with existing employee engagement efforts. HR teams can help manage the impact of additional ambassador tasks on employees' regular workload. The ambassadorship role should not negatively affect an employee's well-being. If at any point they are unable to handle their responsibilities, it should not harm their professional reputation.

What are the long-term benefits for employers?

Ambassadorship programs enhance company culture, improve the work environment, attract potential employees, and are cost-effective compared to other marketing strategies. They also provide the advantage of authenticity. Employee support is crucial for achieving company recognition, increased job applications, leadership in sustainability, or successful promotion of charitable events.

If you want to attract employee advocates or join a progressive company, contact our expert consultants now.

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Coaching for intersectional inclusion
9 mins read

Coaching for intersectional inclusion

​Everyone has multiple layers to their identity, and no one is one label. There are other aspects of their identities to consider, and no one should be put in a box. Many businesses, which celebrate Pride Month, for example, are perceived as not doing enough for people who are underrepresented in more than one way.

Recent research by Culture Amp in ‘The Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Report 2024’ found disabled women and black women are more doubtful of their employers’ equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDI&B) efforts than any other group.

This is likely because women might feel their entire identity and additional barriers aren’t being considered, if they are part of more than one underrepresented group. Some employers’ initiatives provide a base-level overview of inclusion for women, but they might only explore the perspectives of white women, for example, or women in general, with no specific solutions explored for LGBTQ+, disabled or black women, for instance. Each may have very different experiences of what it means to be a woman.

Coaching people within your organisation can help leaders and employees gain a deeper understanding of intersectionality and why it’s important. We interviewed Mary-Clare Race, CEO of Talking Talent, for her insight and best-practice tips on all things coaching and inclusion.

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Q: What's the difference between coaching, mentoring, and other types of training, especially when it comes to equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging?

A: These terms are often used interchangeably in the world of talent development, but we see a clear distinction between them that is especially important when it comes to EDI&B.

In a training situation, the primary goal is typically to transfer knowledge from the facilitator to the participant, to raise their awareness and understanding of a particular topic or skill and provide them with practical tips on how to put that skill into action for themselves.

In a mentoring situation, there is also an element of knowledge transfer, but in a more personalised, relationship based, one-to-one situation where the mentee is paired up with a more experienced mentor who is there to provide them with support, advice and guidance.

Coaching takes the relationship-based approach one step further and focuses on supporting and facilitating the coachee to actively step in and facilitate their own outcomes. It is not about giving them the answer but rather supporting them to find their own answer, their own way forward.

At Talking Talent, we favour a coaching-led approach because it enables a deeper level of behavioural change. The coachee must be actively engaged and motivated to do the inner work on themselves and the coach is there to hold them to account. However, there is a role for all three approaches when it comes to solving EDI&B challenges and real power in combining all three.

Q: How can coaching help businesses become more inclusive and diverse?

A: If you look at what it takes to really move an organisation forward with their EDI&B strategy, we believe you've got to take a systemic approach and build inclusion into your culture and in how people behave every day.

There are several ways coaching can help with this:

Leadership behaviours: by working with a coach, leaders become more aware of their own biases, preferences and how their own identity shapes how they show up as a leader. The coach can help them develop the skills needed to foster a culture of inclusion and hold themselves and others accountable.

Developing talent: in many organisations there are pockets of talent who have been overlooked because of some aspect of their identity. Coaching-led programmes can support under-represented talent to thrive and overcome what may be holding them back so they can fulfil their true potential. And by offering coaching-led programmes that address the unique needs of underrepresented individuals, organisations demonstrate their commitment to supporting the needs of all their employees - thus driving retention and engagement levels up.

Improving culture: at the heart of culture change is the need to move behaviours forward at an organisational level. We believe coaching is the most powerful way to do this for an organisation - by helping individuals and groups develop the self-awareness, emotional intelligence and relational competency to work effectively in diverse teams and build inclusion into the culture.

Q: In your experience, why are diversity and inclusion initiatives so important to organisations and their talent attraction and retention?

A: In our industry, there's been significant backlash against EDI&B efforts, particularly in North America, and this sentiment seems to be growing globally. The issue often lies in viewing EDI&B initiatives as separate from core organisational culture. For me, EDI&B is about creating an environment where every individual, regardless of identity, can thrive and contribute fully. This isn't just about ticking boxes – it's critical for attracting and retaining talent, and crucial for overall business performance.

Ultimately, EDI&B isn