An employee ambassador program is a good way for your company to develop its employer reputation (e-reputation) on a large scale, to positively leverage word-of-mouth and recommendations, and to capitalize on networks of ambassadors who are convinced and convinced by your employer brand. To launch your ambassador program and make it last, here are 7 steps to follow!
Why launch an employee ambassador program?
As it is based on a favorable internal social climate, an employee advocacy or ambassador program has a wide range of positive impacts, particularly in terms of your employer brand and recruitment.
Your employee ambassadors :
- Give credibility to your employer brand.
- Increase your chances of sourcing the candidates you’re interested in, through referrals.
- Are more committed (because they’re more valued) and more likely to unite your other employees.
- They’re a powerful way of convincing candidates to join your ranks.
By setting up an ambassador program, a company can develop widespread positive word-of-mouth about its quality as an employer… And not only that! E-reputation also plays a part in the purchasing process of customers, who are also sensitive to the way a brand treats its employees.
An employee ambassador program doesn’t have to be a huge HR machine, like an ocean liner requiring a whole host of processes, regulations, controls, tools and so on. One of the most important prerequisites is a favorable internal climate. Your employees already feel good in your company; the program serves to make this well-being visible. No more, no less!
At Keycoopt, for example, our teams offer turnkey animation kits to facilitate communication and commitment. Our cooptation and internal mobility solution enables employees to become ambassadors too.
Step 1: Define your program objectives
First of all, it’s vital to define why you want to set up your program, and who it’s intended for: boosting your recruitment, raising the profile of your employer brand, building employee loyalty, improving your image with your customers… There are many reasons for this.
Clarifying these reasons in advance of your launch will enable you to define where you are going to devote your efforts and the means to achieve your objectives:
- Number and type of ambassadors required.
- Communication channels and objectives.
- Content strategy, etc.
As you go along, you can also adjust your objectives according to your strategy and the results you achieve.
Step 2: Who will embody your program?
To make it easier for you to approach your employees, and to create an identifiable point of contact internally, don’t hesitate to put a face to your program: a sponsor from your management team would be ideal, but it could also be a team in charge of the project.
By naming a sponsor and/or a team behind your program, you enable :
- From make it identifiable for your employees (they’ll know who to contact).
- Make it a real strategy for everyone to see.
- To have a guarantor who will be a driving force and whose mission will be to make the program last over time.
You can also give your program a name and market it to make it easier for your employees to get on board.
Step 3: Your employee ambassadors
Once you’ve defined your objectives and appointed a program manager, you can start approaching your employee ambassadors. In your approach, make it clear to your employees that the program is voluntary (otherwise it loses all meaning).
As mentioned in the preamble, an employee ambassador program can evolve and grow over time. First of all, you can identify and solicit those who speak up spontaneously: your natural ambassadors. (They may also include former employees, just think about it! )
You can also call for volunteers:
- to reinforce your program and expand your ambassador team.
- according to your needs or lack of representation (managers, executive team, by geographical area, by business, etc.).
Step 4: Your ambassador’s journey
To make life easier for your employee ambassadors, you can build your journey around :
- Modalities with simple rules that everyone understands, allowing us to set a framework and define everyone’s roles in a flexible way (why become an ambassador? How to become one? What’s involved? What precautions need to be taken?)
- Training courses, in digital and social network communication for example, to help and support your employees in expressing themselves, and to help some of them get over the hurdle.
- Facilitators such as: ready-to-post content (texts/images that can be used as they are by your employees), sources of inspiration for topics thanks to an internal newsletter, a tool like Keycoopy for sharing company information (in 1 click).
It doesn’t have to be complicated, and it’s by offering your ambassadors a simple path that your program will be most effective.
Step 5: Varied content for greater spontaneity and impact
One pitfall to avoid when launching an employee ambassador program is to confuse “providing employees with elements” with “controlling what employees say”.
Spontaneous communications from employees on social networks, for example, are generally positive and rewarding for the company. So trust us!
By varying the topics, you allow each of your ambassadors to express themselves on what’s closest to their hearts, in a spontaneous and credible way. The power of your ambassador network also lies in its diversity.
In this way, you can provide content on: your brand’s product and universe, societal, social or ecological commitments, recruitment and HR (job offers, integration, professions), working atmosphere, career development, etc.
Step 6: Acknowledging your ambassadors’ commitment
Let’s draw a parallel with another employee program: the cooptation program. The co-optation program and the employee ambassador program have a number of points in common, particularly when it comes to the mechanics of long-term commitment.
Although based on voluntary and committed employees, a co-optation program lasts over time thanks to the employer’s recognition of its employees/coopters (social recognition, co-optation bonus, etc.). Unlike a co-optation program, the type of recognition most often used to thank ambassadors is non-monetary.
Regular, public recognition of your ambassadors’ involvement keeps them engaged (on your internal website, career site, at an event, etc.) and encourages others to join your program!
You can also offer gifts to your employees, depending on how you wish to thank your committed staff.
The ambassador program highlights the commitment of your employees, and can also be a lever for engaging your staff… a welcome incentive that will boost their desire to get involved.
Step 7: coordinating your employee ambassador program
Animating means organizing regular communication around your employee ambassador program.
In animation, you can find several types of communication:
- Informative, as a reminder of your program’s existence.
- Educational to explain how it works.
- Valorizing to talk about successes and ambassadors.
- Engaging to recruit new ambassadors.
The golden rule of animation is regularity. This doesn’t mean communicating every day, 3 times a day, don’t worry!
You can liven up your program with simple actions to breathe new life into it and stay in people’s minds: posters, flyers, kakemonos, posts on internal (or external) social networks or on your dedicated platform, videos, digital or face-to-face events, articles on your blog or career site, gifts ….
Our Keycoopt project managers are experts in the field of recruitment community development, providing advice and sharing best practices: turnkey packages for specific actions or communication plans, strategic and operational advice… We do everything we can to make your events easier, more regular and more effective!
The 3 words to build an effective animation :
- Consistency: All communication with your employee ambassadors must reflect their reality.
- Transparency: Being transparent when distributing your content will help you gain the trust of your collaborators. It will also give them a broad and real vision of your strategy.
- Relevance: the more relevant your content, the more likely it is to interest your colleague. You need to make them want to share this content (job offers, news, employee recognition, etc.).
Now you’re ready to launch your employee ambassador program! One last tip: use a Test & Learn approach to build (with your employees) the program that satisfies you the most. And don’t forget, your ambassador program is designed to enhance your internal climate… Pamper your employees, and they’ll return the favor!
