How to make Your Employees feel like a Rockstar & see Your Employer Brand grow

25 Apr

Long gone are the Days when Companies has the Power over Candidates who ran their Doors in to work with them. No matter how strong a Company’s Brand is in the Market (even if you are a Google or Red Bull in your Industry), the biggest Challenge for every organisation is (and will always be) getting the Best Talents on board and keep them.

Having the best Brain Power doesn’t just drive a Business forward but also means it will attract other High Performing Peers which ultimately gives you the Competitive Edge.

What has changed in Talent Attraction & Retention?

‘Generation Digital’ has access to more Sources of Information than ever before. And with the Shared Economy we are in now, Reviews, Ratings and Recommendations from Peers similar to your Ideal Talent Group, have become one of the Key Drivers for ‘Purchase’ Decision (and I don’t just mean actual Purchases but also the ‘Buy In’ to a Company as Candidate).

Especially Millennials don’t just take a job for the sake of paying bills but base their decisions on Growth Opportunities, the impact they can have in their role, how much the Values of the Company resonates with their own and the overall Package (incl flexible working arrangements, wellness offers, access to (latest) technology etc) they get.

Highly Satisfied Staff is not a Luxury anymore – but a Necessity.

The more engaged Employees are, the more they are honest Advocates of their own Work and with that, the Company overall. This will make them more likely to share their great Experience and Achievements with Others in an authentic (= convincing) Way. And clearly – it shouldn’t come as Secret that High Employee Satisfaction results in Growth and Profit of the Company.

Considering, Millennials use on average 12-18 different sources of information before they even apply for a Job, Key to Success is to be where they are, offering Content and Information what they are looking for and in a way it resonates with them the most. Social Media has changed the way we consume and request Information – the ‘naked Content/ Truth is a much more powerful Way to influence Decision Makers than perfectly created and shiny Marketing Material with the CEO’s Smile.

Think big(ger)

Having an Army of Brand Ambassadors out there promoting the Company doesn’t only mean a much more authentic ‘Marketing’ Message but also a broader Reach. Individuals usually have a broader Network than Companies have due to Advertisement Restrictions but also increased Disengagement and Dis-Interest in Generic Company Promotion.

Ok, trusting that these reasons are enough Motivation for you to turn your Staff from Employees to Brand Ambassadors and invest in Employee Satisfaction, the next Question is:

How can you actually achieve Employee Satisfaction?

Here are a few ideas you can implement straight away – and at no (or hardly any) Costs either!

Ask for Feedback from your Employees about their Ideas:

This does not mean the formal Way of sending a Feedback Form to the Employee and making it mandatory for them to input their Response. This will rather force the Employees to give wrong Information. You should conduct fun Activities or Games to get Feedback from the Employees. This approach will make it interesting as it is not the usual Drill like before and they will be more encouraged to give genuine Response.

Listen to your Employees:

This means you have to actually listen to your Employees without any Bias. You have to listen to their Complaints, Dissatisfaction and Grumbles. Try your best to address to the Issues they have mentioned in a swift and fair manner. Also engage Peers to do so!

Share the Profit:

Try to share the Profit as a Bonus with your Employees. Again, it doesn’t mean giving them Shares but it could be arranging a Team Incentive when achieving a certain Company and/or Individual Goal. This will improve Employee Interest in the Company as well as their own Growth.

Provide Training for new Products:

The most common Reason why Staff is resistant to Change in an Organisation – across all Areas, whether it be for internal or external Use, is being uncomfortable with its usage. Provide Training to your Employees for new relevant Products for their work projects – maybe it can even be done in a fun way. There might be early Adopters in the Company who already know how it works or us them as SME – Subject Matter Experts. Let them share their Experience on how it works best for them. This will help Employees to overcome not only their fear to adapt new Technologies but also empower them to take on additional responsibility towards Others.

Having satisfied Staff doesn’t automatically mean you already have Brand Ambassadors though who shout from the Roof and promote Your Business. It is just a Base for your Employees to being able to share their Experience authentically.

So what can you do now to leverage from a high Staff Satisfaction and using it to promote your Business?

Encourage and Empower your Employees to share Images and Videos of the Company Events on Social Media:

This Step will increase the Company’s Social Media Presence and create a positive and more authentic Image in the Mind of the Viewers. In addition, (future) Talents will get to know more about how interesting and resonating the Work Culture of the Company is and will be more likely to wanting to work for the same Company in the Future.

Advice them to link up their Social Media Account to the Company’s Social Media Account:

The idea behind this step is to promote the Company through your Employees and tap into their Private Network. Imagine your Company has 10,000 Followers. On average, Individuals have 500+ Followers and it doesn’t take many Employees to easily surpass this number.

An easy Example is if an Employee follows the Company’s LinkedIn Profile and shares the Posts on the private Feed to the Personal Network which will help getting the Name out there much quicker and more authentic as it means this Person is proud to be associated with this Company.

Gift Promotional Product to your Employees:

Gift them T-shirts, Sweat-shirts, Pens and other Accessories with your Company logo. When the Employees start using these Products publicly, your Company’s name will quickly be out there and everywhere.

Ask them to take Advantage of and Support the Company Sponsorship / Corporate Social Responsibility Program:

Remember, especially Millennials have different Values and are interested in being part of something bigger, something that gives back to the Society, supports a good Cause and they are proud to be associated with.

If you don’t already have a Corporate Social Responsibility Program, get your Staff together and brainstorm Ideas which will also give you a good Idea of their Interests.

Not just are these Insights are Gold for engaging with your current Staff but also with future Staff. Why? Because it is highly likely that Talents you want to attract are similar to your High Flyers you already have in the Organisation and they are more likely to have the similar motivations than their Peers who they can relate to.

So supporting a good Cause is beneficial for your Organisation in so many ways, leave alone the rewarding feeling everyone will get out of it!

I’m keen to hear from You and Your Strategies that has turned your Staff into Rockstars! Get in touch and Share Your Experience and Success Stories!

Petra Zink