How to attract brand ambassadors to your organisation

Customers and clients are not your only audience or the most important one. Your people are your audience too. 

Employees are the face, voice and physical presence of your brand. What they think and say about your organisation matters. To the public, they are perceived as the experts of your brand and as advocates of your employee experience.

When attracting talent, there are many factors to consider that go beyond a person’s suitability for the job. In addition to whether someone would fit with the culture of your organisation, you need to assess their values and whether these align with your brand. 

Research by Weber Shandwick found that only 19% of people strongly agree with their employer’s public persona compared to its reality.

When your people have no trust or faith in what you say as an organisation, you may face a credibility issue.

Creating employee brand ambassadors should be a key part of your talent strategy.

How brand ambassadors can help your organisation

There are many reasons why brand ambassadors are important to the success of your organisation:

• They foster a strong, healthy work culture: If your team is happy, morale is high. Engaged employees will motivate others and foster a stronger, more positive company culture.

• They help build brand awareness: If your people are passionate about your brand, they’re going to tell people about it or post about it on social media. Similarly, they will also tell people if they do not like working at your organisation. Talkability helps to build brand awareness and helps others understand who you are and what you offer.

• They attract new talent: Every employee has their own personal network. If they like where they work, they are more likely to recommend your organisation as a great place to work.

• They help engage new business: If your people champion your brand, they are more likely to refer the business to others, attracting potential clients or customer leads.

• They advertise your products and services: Your people are inadvertently advertising and marketing your organisation, not only by what they say but also through their actions. If an employee is proud of where they work, they are more likely to share your wins, promote new products or services and spread the word about your business.

• They help provide future engagement: Your employees remain advocates of your business long after they leave your organisation. Your brand could benefit from a flattering review, or you may find yourself collaborating with them in a future role as a client of another organisation.

How to attract brand ambassadors

Be a people-first organisation

Employee brand ambassadors will champion your organisation if they have a positive employee experience. By listening to your people and putting them first, you will create a work environment where they can thrive. An employer brand can not be determined in a strategy document. It is developed organically by actions, behaviours and experiences in the everyday. 

Assess the gap

If there is uncertainty about what your organisation offers as a place of work, you need to find out why. Talk to your people. Find out what they think of your organisation and what they expect from it as a place of work. An employee who is heard and understood will be a more productive asset to the team.

Research shows that almost a third of new hires leave voluntarily within the first 6 months. This is not only costly but also leads to low team morale, disrupting business workflow and disengaging new talent through poor company reviews.

Take the time to find the right talent

Finding top talent can be time-consuming and should not be rushed. A quick hire or stop-gap can be a costly exercise for employers if it means you have to rehire and re-train later on. Recruitment is marketing. To find the best talent, you must market your organisation, promote your authentic employer brand and highlight the opportunity for a great employee experience.  

Know who you are hiring

One way recruiters have been known to establish a great talent fit is by researching a candidate’s social presence. Social media accounts give an employer a better insight into the persona they are looking to hire. Words on a CV can be embellished, but social media posts are often less curated.

What next?

Your people are your greatest assets. Take care of them, and they’ll become part of your  positive employer brand and be an organisation where people want to work and that clients want to work with. 

Contact the team at Heart Talent to learn more about how to attract top talent who will be your brand ambassadors.