4 Reasons Employee Advocacy Thrives in a Startup Environment
In today’s business environment, start-up companies are burgeoning all over the place. In fact, more and more millennials are choosing to begin their careers at startups.
We get that working for a startup comes with its own set of pros and cons, but one would have to admit – the work culture and energy in a startup leaves little to be desired from the corporate world!
How do we know that?
Probably because it’s almost always all over the internet and social media!
Here, we’ll break down a few key features in the mentality of a startup, and how it translates to being the perfect place for advocacy marketing. Especially, employee advocacy.
Empowered employees
Unlike the bureaucracy that’s rampant in big multinational companies, startups choose to empower employees with not just the material and physical requirements to get the job done, but they also push the red tape and closed cabins out the window.
No more waiting on approvals from the higher ups, which could put a brilliant idea on hold for weeks or sometimes even months!
The benefits of this are multifold:
- Employees gain visibility and recognition
- Engagement levels rise
- The company profits
- Probability of employee advocacy rises
You might want to consider adopting such a strategy to improve organic employee advocacy.
Embrace Change
The innovative thinking and the fact that they aren’t afraid to push boundaries, allows startups to embrace change wholeheartedly.
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Gone are the days of confinement to cubicles and rigid work hours. Startups are totally on board with being flexible with everything from the office space to work timings – as long as the job is done.
This is one major player in motivating employees to advocate your brand.
Whether it is to get new employees on board, or promote the product you’re selling, the passion and drive that your employees have towards your brand will only be amplified with an improved work culture.
Honesty and Openness
Transparency and honesty in organizational dealings play a pivotal role in job satisfaction. It tells your employees that they are a valued part of your team and not just a cog in the system.
Startups encourage questions. “Why are we doing…?” or “Shouldn’t we consider…?” may not be heard by juniors in a corporate (God-forbid they question their seniors!) but it’s completely normal behavior for a startup.
The team at Buffer took transparency to the next level by incorporating an automatic salary calculator. Doesn’t get more transparent than that!
Such gestures bring a sense of belonging and appreciation. Employee advocacy is more or less a given after that.
Work hard, play hard
If you’ve worked for a startup (and we highly recommend that you do, at least once), you know that it’s more like working in a close knit family. Colleagues look out for each other; they got each other’s backs.
Even though work hours may stretch, and may even seem never ending, there’s a balance of work and play to keep the brilliant minds stress free.
Considering that one of the questions that Gallup asks on their employee engagement survey is “Do you have a best friend at work?” employee engagement is most certainly higher in such environments.
And seeing as the land of employee advocacy and employee engagement overlap, one will improve when the other one does!
This article was first published on Business2Community. Read it here.