Why do some employee advocacy programs see massive success while others fail miserably? Most companies will look at those with successful programs and try to emulate their success, but will that automatically ensure the same results?
Since there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to employee advocacy looking at those who failed, and ways to avoid repeating those pitfalls, can be just as beneficial when building a successful employee advocacy program. Research shows that 1 in 10 employee advocacy programs fail and many for the same avoidable reasons.
After working with hundreds of marketing teams, both fast-growing companies and enterprise. to help launch or revive programs we’ve identified these top five pitfalls that cause employee advocacy programs to fail.
Program Adoption
The initial launch of an advocacy program can be the biggest ‘make or break.’ As the saying goes there is no second chance at a first impression. How a program is presented (and launched) is pivotal. Following these four steps is key to making your advocacy program something your employees actually want to join.
Build Hype
If employees don’t know it exists how can they participate? It’s really that simple. With offices all over the world, and a dispersed workforce, getting the word out can be easier said than done; however, it’s necessary. Announce the program at a company all-hands or stand up, send follow-up emails, create posters for common areas and promote on social media. The more you can shine a spotlight the better.
What’s In It For Me? (WIIFM)
Now you know the mediums you’ll use to promote the program launch, what should the messaging be?
In addition to explaining what employee advocacy is and the software your organization will be adopting, a commonly forgotten key point is addressing the “What’s In It For Me?” question aka WIIFM. There needs to be concrete messaging surrounding the benefits of employee advocacy for the individual employee specifically. Higher program adoption can sometimes be as simple as showcasing how employees can personally and professionally grow from adopting advocacy into their daily routines. Learn the WIIFM for Employees In Employee Advocacy.
Host Training Events
You have a strategy to build hype and concrete messaging around the benefits, now it is time for training. Hosting an in-person meeting (or webinar if employees are dispersed) is the best way to run through training materials and answer any questions. The more comfortable employees feel with the concept of employee advocacy and using the technology, the better program adoption will be. Create strong policies to guide employees and give them a sense of comfort when sharing on social. Handy one-pagers help guide to employees on what sort of content and messaging suits each platform.
Bonus: If your employees are not natural social shares leverage the scarcity principle to help create more program appeal. BCD Travel has consistently been a top performing PostBeyond customer when it comes to user engagement. A big reason for is the way they positioned their program; access to their employee advocacy platform was more of a privilege than a right. Learn more by reading the BCD Travel Case Study.
Lack of Resources
Another potential pitfall of employee advocacy programs is the number of resources dedicated to maintaining the program. Program admins often have to run a program in addition to a myriad of other tasks. If admins are unable to spend enough time managing a program, it will suffer. Easy ways to mitigate this is to share duties, have multiple people on the marketing team suggesting, approving and analyzing content and performance.
Another way to lighten the workload is to leverage your organization to help with content sourcing. Encourage employees to suggest content they feel is relevant and make it easy for them by enabling a chrome extension for one-click sharing suggestions. In addition to making it easy, reward those who are suggesting content to encourage the behavior.
Content Issues
As mentioned above, content is key but also time intensive. If the content on an employee advocacy platform is minimal, stale or boring users will stop logging in and the program will stop seeing results. Successful programs create and source content employees want to share. Content within the employee advocacy program should cater to employees who will be using social sharing to build up their thought leadership presence. Creating case studies, blogs addressing customers pain points, and articles containing industry-relevant news are more likely to be seen as valuable and “worth the share” to employees.
Another way to create engaging content is to highlight those who work within your organization. This fosters belonging and pride within the organization and gives your employees a massive reason to log in to the platform and share.
Declining User Rates
A frequently seen problem is programs start off with a bang then fizzle. The two main reasons PostBeyond has seen are: lack of fresh content and/or lack of recognition. To encourage behavior on a long-term basis, employees need to be reminded and encouraged. Leveraging gamification features within your employee advocacy platform and running contests will help to regenerate excitement and engagement. Here are some explains of employee advocacy contests PostBeyond has helped run in the past.
Minimal Support
Technology, materials, and excitement can all drive a program forward, but for long-term growth, support is needed. An often overlooked reason why programs fail 6-12 months down the line is lack of support:
Executive/Leadership
In PostBeyond’s experience, employee advocacy programs that are fully supported by executive leadership are far more successful than those where leadership is not fully onboard. Why? Employees look up to leadership to set the tone of the business (aka if leadership is not participating or at the minimum encouraging advocacy then employees won’t feel like it’s priority.) Presenting a strong value prop to leadership and getting leadership onboard is essential for adoption and program success.
Customer Success
A software without proper admin support is like an airplane without a co-pilot. Your employee advocacy support team can help solve potential issues before they become huge problems. Customer Success teams live and breath employee advocacy all day, every day and should be able to provide support and insight into what is working, what isn’t and solutions to constantly improve the program. Working with an employee advocacy brand who prioritizes customer success and partners with your brand to create a tailored program, specified to your organization’s needs, will help drive results.
There are many reasons an employee advocacy program can see lackluster results, luckily with a little planning most can all be avoided. Looking for more employee advocacy best practices? Subscribe to our blog!
