What Employee Influencers can do for your Business

Employee Influencers – people on your team who confidently and passionately represent the business – are the best brand ambassadors you can invest in.

“We map out the territory to bring awareness to the fact that a brand is not just a logo, and everyone is responsible for its communication and welfare.”

How do employees influence?

An exercise that is a favourite among teams I work with is NWC’s Brand Expression Quadrant. This is where everyone gets involved to brainstorm ways the organisation’s brand is expressed through its people. We map out the territory to bring awareness to the fact that a brand is not just a logo, and everyone is responsible for its communication and welfare. Brand is deeply connected to Culture, and in fact, a clearly communicated Brand can strengthen Culture significantly.

Just a few of the ways your employees influence others’ perceptions of your business, internally and externally, include the following touchpoints. Where are the gaps in your organisation’s communication?

• Intranet or internal emails/news bulletins
• Emails to clients, suppliers, contacts
• ‘Official’ and ‘unofficial’ social media content and engagement
• Online reviews on Culture and management, such as on Glass Door, and casual comments on personal social media
• Water cooler conversations
• The ways meetings are run, internally and externally
• Networking at conferences and events

As you can see, there are many opportunities to review and re-energise how your organisation is talked about and demonstrated – how you demonstrate ‘who you are’. While the aim is not to control everyone and everything, there is a lot that can be done to inspire and equip your people to represent your organisation well – and my experience is, most staff members genuinely want to do that – but lack the clarity and tools.

“My experience is, most staff members genuinely want to represent the organisation well – but lack the clarity and tools.”

Employee Influencers: How your business benefits

1. Elevates Brand visibility (and grows the business): The more staff talk confidently and positively about the work they do and the organisation they are proud of, the more the brand is strengthened and promoted for the right reasons… and the more customers through your door.

2. Attracts more of the best talent: Great people talking about a great organisation with their friends and networks – likely, other great people – will mean more opportunities for great hires.

 3. Promotes a great Culture: Giving clear language, signposts and communication tools to staff empowers them to talk about the organisation with confidence, and to live out the brand values every day. It empowers your leadership and management to guide the Culture and bring everyone along for the journey.

4. Retains your top staff: Giving team members a real opportunity to connect with the brand, how their work brings value to the business, and make their expression of the brand their own, fosters pride and belonging. Your top people will want to continue to be part of something they believe in and where they know they are making a difference.

Want to try the Brand Expression Quadrant and learn about Brand Culture Strategy? Book a Discovery.