Your staff is one of your biggest untapped resources.

Most staff have some digital footprint or presence on social media and other digital channels so doesn’t it make sense to tap into that and leverage it for the company and your staff’s personal development? It is like a sleeping giant, just waiting to be awakened.

Tips to activate your employees you need to have these ingredients as a minimum:

• Create a brand Employee Engagement Program – it all starts with creating a formal program that gets your internal influencers, social media lovers and driven employees on board to work together for the greater good of all involved
• Get buy-in from your team, particularly the influencers – you want to clearly articulate why you are implementing the program and get buy-in from key staff and influencers.
• Provide training – don’t just set up and expect tour staff to know what to do next, you need to provide ongoing training and support, especially in the early stages of the program. Don’t make the big mistakes of setting up then not putting any effort into the next phase.
• Make it easy and create a Content Gallery for them to access – provide approved quality content, video, and images that your staff can access and share. Make it easy for them, and this overcomes another obstacle in the path to success.

There are many benefits for you as a business and your staff to get involved:

STAFF BENEFITS

• Your company provides training which gives you new skills
• Position yourself as a thought leader
• Be seen by your C-suite and senior manager as being a positive and active employee
• Future employees can see you have initiative, are a team player and driven to improve
• Looks great on your resume
• Reach new prospects and create personal opportunities

BUSINESS BENEFITS

• SEO and more visibility to prospective clients
• Creates a positive company culture
• Leverage an existing asset
• Get more exposure from your marketing campaigns
• Increase your eyeball count and digital visibility
• Be seen by new networks, potential clients & other stakeholders
• Be recognized as an innovative company that leads and doesn’t follow
• Become an employer of choice
• Inexpensive to implement

With nothing but upside, collaborating with your staff can be a very smart initiative to put in place, no matter how big or small your business is. It works for everyone if done the right way.