Have you jumped on the employee advocacy train yet? If not, you are missing out big time. Employee advocacy is a powerful way to boost your hiring process and keep your current team happy, too. Plus, it amps up your reach and makes your company look way more legit to potential hires.
But let's be real—getting an employee advocacy program off the ground is quite a bit of a headache. That's why we'd like to show you some real-life employee advocacy program examples from companies that are totally nailing it. We've rounded up almost a dozen businesses–be it recognizable brands or lesser-known ones—that have figured out the secret sauce to make employee advocacy work like a charm. Read on.
Best Employee Advocacy Program Examples
The employee advocacy examples listed below will give you ideas to spice up your own advocacy program:
1. Dell
Dell takes employee advocacy pretty seriously, which is evident in their social media staff advocacy and training program. This program borrows over 10,000 employees to engage in online platforms and post brand-aware content responsibly on social channels.
As a former head of Dell’s program put it, Dell’s employee advocacy program prioritizes providing value to customers by pushing informative and helpful content, instead of just blatant promotion. This approach has been a driving force behind the success of Dell’s program.
Read this old but still completely relevant document on Dell’s approach to social media for some unique insights.
2. Salesforce
Salesforce has a notable employee advocacy program that involves over 20,000 employees actively participating as social media ambassadors. The company provides its employees with resources and content to share on their personal platforms, which helps build their personal and professional brands.
To ensure that its employees can always easily access and share authentic content, Salesforce has relied on an external agency (Haiilo) to optimize its employee advocacy program. Depending on external platforms like Highperformr leads to increased brand credibility and reach because these platforms have the necessary expertise and resources to optimize every step of the advocacy pipeline.
3. Starbucks
Starbucks has created the "Starbucks Partners" program that encourages employees to act as brand ambassadors. This initiative is supported by clear guidelines and instructions on how employees can share their experiences and promote the brand on social media.
This program emphasizes the importance of employees as true brand ambassadors, which has helped Starbucks maintain a strong brand presence and boost employee engagement substantially.
4. Sky
Sky, a big player in Europe's entertainment scene, has found a clever way to showcase its human side. It's letting its own people tell the story through "Life At Sky."
It's simple - employees share their day-to-day experiences on social media. This gives outsiders a real peek into what it's like to work there, warts and all. And it's working wonders. In 2019, these posts racked up over 10 million views. It's not just about looking good–it's helping Sky attract folks who really fit into this environment.
5. Adobe
Adobe's taking employee involvement to a whole new level. For instance, they frequently run games and contests where staff can show what the ‘Adobe life’ means to them. It has turned out to be more than just a fun in-house activity–it turned into a marketing treasure.
Adobe's Social Shift Program is also teaching employees the ins and outs of social media. The result is a workforce that's creative and also social media savvy, spreading the Adobe gospel far and wide.
6. Electronic Arts (EA)
EA had a bit of a challenge on their hands–how to create a unified culture when your offices are spread all over the globe. Their solution? Turn it into a game, of course!
They launched an employee advocacy program with a competitive twist, encouraging staff to share EA content on their social media. Rather than just posting, it was about who can make the biggest splash online.
This approach did double duty: it brought EA's global team closer together and showed the world that EA is a fun, inclusive place to work. Plus, it's given their online presence a serious boost.
7. Zappos
Zappos has been all about employee advocacy from day one. They're famous for their top-notch customer service, and that starts with happy employees. Zappos folks are encouraged to share their work experiences on social media to give the world a genuine peek into their unique culture.
It's a win-win: Zappos gets to show off its workplace, and job seekers get the inside scoop. Their social media team works hand in hand with employees to make sure the stories shared are real and authentic. This approach has kept Zappos in the spotlight as a great place to work and shop.
8. Inspire Brands
Inspire Brands are the folks behind big names like Arby's, Dunkin', and Baskin-Robbins. Instead of boring job posts, they've spiced things up with interactive content and polls to catch people's eye.
The goal here is to make job hunting actually fun. And with such a diverse portfolio, they're able to showcase each brand's unique flavor (pun intended). This way, they're not only filling positions; they're also finding people who really click with each brand.
9. Mastercard
Mastercard has this ingenious system set up with agencies like CareerArc that automatically sends job posts to its ambassadors worldwide. The clever bit is that it’s not just a one-size-fits-all approach.
The content is personalized to fit each ambassador's network. They've roped in their talent acquisition pros, leaders, and hiring managers to spread the word, which means job opportunities are getting out there without extra work for employees. It has helped Mastercard cast a wider net for top talent across the globe, all while keeping their employer brand message on point.
10. Vodafone
Vodafone's "Go Social" program started by asking their folks, "Hey, what's holding you back from sharing stuff online?" Turns out, people were keen but weren't sure what was okay to post. So, Vodafone got smart.
They set up this one-stop shop for approved content and threw in some social media dos and don'ts. To keep things fun, they added a leaderboard–because everyone likes a bit of friendly competition.
They even got ambassadors from different departments to spread the word. The result: over 200 employees are now social media mascots, churning out thousands of posts and raking in millions of views.
11. Merck
Merck has taken a different tack with their employee advocacy. They want to show off what makes working at Merck special, especially when it comes to diversity.
They're encouraging employees to share their favorite Merck moments, putting a spotlight on their impressive number of women in the workforce. By getting employees to spread the word, they're saving a ton on those job ads.
Advocacy is the New Currency: Let Your Employees Cash In
If you were still on the edge about starting (or restarting) an advocacy program at your organization, these employee advocacy examples will hopefully change your mind.
However, there are two sides to a coin, and as good as the benefits are, launching and managing a staff advocacy program and drawing their engagement is no piece of cake. It requires months of planning and several tries to execute properly.
Thankfully, Highperformr takes all the load off your shoulders with its employee advocacy suite.
Highperformr brings all your teams together and makes it easy for all your employees to share brand content on social media and improve organic engagement with zero ad spend. It improves content distribution and visibility with its Social AI copilot and allows easy collaboration with unlimited users and teammates.
