Page 371 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

Employees always compete with each other for promotions, bonuses, and better
career opportunities. That will never change, and it will always affect their will-
ingness to collaborate and work with each other. As you encourage employees to
socially influence each other, be aware of any insecurities they have.

Rewarding teams

Most companies are organized to reward individual performance and promote the
rising stars more quickly than other employees. If you want to foster a collaborative
environment in which employees learn from each other, share their knowledge
generously, and participate in social platforms geared toward harnessing the
collective intelligence, think carefully about how you reward performance. You
might be well-served by putting more emphasis on team versus individual per-
formance. Bear in mind, though, that you can’t just focus on team performance,
because in any team dynamic, a few employees do the most while others do less.
Those who are performing the best still need to be rewarded uniquely for their
efforts.

Treating everyone equally

Employees usually thrive on competition. That’s a good thing. But employees who
feel left out of the loop or feel that they aren’t seen as critical to the organization
are less likely to give their time and brain power to the community. Be sure that
you treat every employee equally if you truly want to foster collaboration and the
free exchange of information among your employees. Employees speak only if you
give them ample opportunities and encouragement to do so. You need to let them
speak on their own terms, too, whether through the technologies that they prefer,
the locations of their choice (team meetings, suggestion boxes, or one-on-one
meetings), or with the mentors whom they seek out.

Trusting your employees

Just as it’s imperative for you to trust consumers and let them share ownership of
your brand, so, too, must you trust your employees to converse, communicate,
and collaborate with each other respectfully and productively. If you don’t trust
your employees, they won’t trust you, and they definitely won’t want to give their
time to furthering the objectives of the organization. This issue of trust matters
most when you’re trying to energize employees for social influence: It requires a
commitment and not just a job description to accomplish.

CHAPTER 24 Encouraging Employees to Advocate for Your Brand on Social Media 355