Employee advocates evangelize your brand. Employees that are advocates for their company re-post news on social media, share stories on industry blogs, speak at conferences, drive attendance at company socials and refer quality new hires. They are CEOs, VPs and entry-level employees who are invested in the growth of the company as they scale with it. Employee Advocates are huge indicators of a company’s corporate health and one of the leading drivers of inbound and outbound marketing success in talent attraction. Does your company have employee advocates? Here’s how to get your employees sharing and posting:

1. Distribute articles to your employees that are easy to repost. These can come in the form of an emailed weekly newsletter with social share buttons or in shared online social streams.
2. Upskill your staff and let their gratitude do the talking. Learning programs and training seminars are becoming the key to retention and hiring.
3. Lead by example. Leaders who are active online with not just company articles but also “likes, posts, shares and comments” on employee news and posts, in turn, endorse and encourage employee advocacy behavior.
4. Make a positive impact on the community through speaking at live events! Leaders who speak at conferences give their staff an opportunity to feel like they are also part of that stage. As the speaker is announced, the employees in the audience or hosting your booth, have a sense of pride that “their own” is sought out for expertise. They are then empowered throughout the event to carryout that brand message, answer questions, capture leads and recruit potential new hires.
5. Apply to all the “best of” surveys and get featured in the “Best Places to Work” edition of your favorite industry blog. Afterall, it is your employees who fill them out!

Employee advocates speak volumes of how well a company treats its employees. Having employee advocates not only bolsters your brand but helps companies recruit quality candidates for key roles.

Look forward to seeing all those advocates who will speaking at TechRecruit – the Talent Acquisition Tech, Recruitment Marketing, Employer Branding, People Analytics and Hiring Strategies Conference.

About the Author: Stacey Broadwell is a past sponsored snowboarder and CEO of IT Talent Search, a tech staffing agency in Los Angeles, CA. Stacey hosts the monthly CTO Roundtable events and TechRecruit Conferences throughout the country. When she is not working, you can find her snowboarding, surfing, mtn. biking or cycling. She is a mother to her two sweet boys and wife to their adoring father.