A 2012 survey by the Edelman Trust Barometer indicated that 50% of consumers trusted the opinion of a company’s employees. Only 38% said they trusted the CEO. Knowing this information it may be time to invest some of your PR budget into empowering your current team to become your best advocates. Here are some ways to do that.
- Allow access to social media. Encourage your employees to not only share their experience on social media but also use the platform to be experts on your brand. Give them the tools to tweet information about your company or be able to answer questions posted on Facebook. Provide a way for your employees to contribute to the company blog whether by posting articles they have written or responding to comments on the site.
- With great power comes great responsibility. You do take some risk in allowing your employees free range on the internet but the advantages can be endless. You can establish some guidelines but you don’t try to control their message. The best program is to make sure that you have the right rewards in place for excellent work. If an employee does cross the line and posts negative comments or puts the company’s intellectual information in jeopardy you should have established consequences up to and including termination. Don’t force your employees to lie for you but provide them with a great experience so they want to share positive feedback on the web.
- They trust you, you trust them. When you treat your employees well and allow them freedom to express their opinions you will find that they become the best advocates for your company. In order to do this you need to first become an advocate for them. Develop excellent employee benefits programs including perks such as an exceptional employee break room or gym memberships at a discount. Have a good vacation policy in place. Provide performance feedback regularly and give bonuses and raises as they are earned. Happier employees perform better on the job and share their experiences with the public.
Are you looking to work with a staffing agency who understands the needs of a modern organization? Contact the team at NRI today!
