The Fundamentals of Employee Advocacy

The Fundamentals of Employee Advocacy Employee advocacy is a hot topic; its the  form of workforce marketing that really gives the power to the people. Think, straight form the horses mouth as an underlying principle here. Instead of relying solely on official, corporate messages as the means to marketing the business, employee advocacy is all about embracing the individuality of current employees and getting them to promote their company in their own way on social media. Sure, there needs to be guidelines in place, but the idea is to let the people closest to the business sell it passively. To help me delve deeper into the nityy-gritty of the methodology, I’ve spoken to Elizabeth Jurewicz of the the managed cloud computing company that is Rackspace. Have a listen on iTunes, Soundcloud or keep reading for a summary of our  conversation. What is Rackspace and what do you do there? Absolutely, so Rackspace is the number one managed cloud provider and we offer expertise and support across all the worlds leading clouds. Were based on six core values including things like passion for our work and treating others like friends and family.  I always jokingly refer to myself as The Social Enablement Strategist because Im the only one. So I am responsible for our global employee advocacy program. What prompted Rackspace to launch an employee advocacy program and what were the primary goals? There were two initial challenges that we were having on the social team. The first one is that, you know and this is sort of 2013, it was really easy for people to dismiss the social team as just watching Twitter all day. I think there was just a need to sort of educate about the potential and the value that the social team was bringing to the business as a whole. And then the second part of that was as the social team, we were in charge of enforcing social guidelines and policy. And that kind of gave us a bad reputation as the social police. So at the time we did have a social policy but it was a piece of paper that a lot of employees signed on their first day of work, you know, with hundreds of other pieces of paper. And so when it came to actually using social media, there was a lot of, we called them coaching opportunities. So we really thought, gosh, theres an opportunity to really help give some context around the policy and guidelines so that employees not only understand what they mean and why we need to be cautious about them, but also understand what that means when theyre about to hit post or tweet. What problems did you hope employee advocacy would solve for the organisation? What I did is I actually had to take a step back and say, Wait a second. All of our employees really need to have the same foundation before we can kind of get into those specific use cases. One of our challenges that we saw is if I say social media to you and youre thinking about Twitter and somebody else is thinking about LinkedIn, were going be having very different conversations and expectations. And so a lot of what we had to do was just create a baseline of, Hey, the value of social media is the ability to connect, share, get feedback, network in real time. So that was really the strategy that we took and we found it to be working really well as in employees, once they have that foundation, we find them reaching out and making connections across different orgs, you know, thinking more strategically and holistically about social media and really building up into those use cases such as social selling and social recruiting in a much stronger way. What have the benefits of social advocacy been to the company and to employees? One of the interesting pieces that Ive learned from talking with other people that occupy an employee advocacy role in their company is that I actually get to kind of enjoy in the employee engagement piece of this as well because Im not so focused on demand gen or driving content. I think that one of the biggest transformations has been in employees attitudes around social. So, again, the way we built the program out, we were really able to create a positive discussion around how to use social media. Employees really felt that the company supported them in doing this. And so I think that thats one of those unexpected fringe benefits of a program like this is having employees really feel like were helping them put their best foot forward. And I think that its one of those very hard ones to measure and again it wasnt something that we anticipated as part of this program. Do you find that employees in this program are more engaged in their jobs? Yes, absolutely. And Im excited to add an anecdote from this morning. So one of the teams that Im working with right now is one of our technical storage teams, and so intuitively you wouldnt naturally think like, Well, their storage team its very internal, theyre very direct customer focused. You might not instinctively think that social media could have an impact on them but their manager came through training. We had a really fantastic conversation and we started to realize that these storage experts are just a wealth of information that theyre not necessarily documenting and sharing. Whats next for social employee advocacy at Rackspace? Yeah, so I will say that our next step will be to launch an employee advocacy tool. So were already vetting options. And Im honestly really excited at this point because again as I mentioned I think weve really built the foundation and I think its going to be an easier transition. If we had done it the other way, I think it would have been a little bit more challenging, like starting with the tool instead of the training. So Im actually excited to launch this. Then theres  social listening, having those meaningful one-on-one conversations, networking, listening to industry insights, these are all pieces of our social media training that have been there from the beginning. And Im actually starting to hear from other companies that theyre starting to make that shift that as well like they had that initial focus on sharing the content and now they want to kind of expand to a deeper strategy. Follow Elizabeth on Twitter @CreatingLiz. More on this topic at  Employee Advocacy: The Ultimate Handbook.

How to Make Your Business Safer More Sustainable CareerMetis.com

How to Make Your Business Safer More Sustainable â€" CareerMetis.com Safe and sustainable businesses are more ethical, more profitable and more likely to last. Too often in business, safety and sustainability are seen as afterthoughts. Rather than investing money in making their businesses safer or more sustainable, businesses try to cut corners by being wasteful or by pushing the limits of employee safety.Introducing a safer and more sustainable business model could help to greatly increase your profits, as well as make you a better company in other ways.evalLet’s take a look at 4 ways in particular that you can do so.1) Recognize the Benefits of a Safer More Sustainable WorkplaceA safe and sustainable business is not only a good thing from a moral standpoint; it’s good from a business standpoint, too.US businesses lose $225.8 billion due to workplace injury and ill health each year. Recouping the expenses lost by a lack of workplace safety could save businesses billions.As for sustainability, there are countless reports extolling the business b enefits of sustainable water use, sustainable attitudes towards deforestation and countless other sustainable practices.All of this is probably why businesses who are actively reducing their carbon emissions have an 18% higher ROI than businesses who aren’t.Finally, it’s worth remembering that customers care about how and where their products are made or their services are provided. It’s not just price and quality that affect if someone will buy from you. If a business is known to be unsafe or unsustainable, people may choose to go elsewhere â€" even if it costs more.2) Invest in Training to Create a Safer More Sustainable Workplace CultureYour staff is your number one investment. As Richard Branson once put it, “staff comes first”. With that in mind, if you want to create a safer and more sustainable business, you should start with your employee training.evalBy investing in employee training, you are telling your staff two things. Firstly, by paying them to attend a cour se which will make them more employable in the future, you are telling them that they matter. This will make them a lot more receptive to the fact that safety and sustainability are important, which is the second thing you are telling them.3) Get An Outsider’s OpinionHave you ever visited another business and immediately spotted a problem? You sit there looking at lazy staff, bad products, and wasted expenditures, wondering why these things aren’t fixed. All the while, you might be ignorant of all of the issues with your business; issues which, to a disinterested observer, are just as obvious.This is why inspections from a third party are so important. In fact, with regards to safety, it’s often the law. In the UK, the US and many other countries, workplace safety inspections are a legal requirement.Sometimes, the law requires staff-led inspections, sometimes the law requires inspections from a government-approved private organization and, sometimes, the government may perform the inspections themselves.evalWhile an employee or a friend might worry about offending you, a professional stranger will be objective. As such, they can tell you exactly what’s unsafe or wasteful about your current business model. If you’re able to take on board proper criticism, you stand to learn a lot.4) Value Long-term Efficiency Over Short-term ShortcutsAn efficient business is not a synonym for a business that takes shortcuts. If you skip a safety inspection for your warehouse one month or buy plastic cutlery in bulk for your restaurant, this shortcut could save you money and effort in the short term. In the long term, your missed safety inspection could lead to a fine and your plastic cutlery will break or be thrown away.Efficiency means believing that your business will have a future. You make sure that your staff performs the safety inspection your warehouse needs because â€" even if it means paying them to stay later â€" you are thinking of further down the line.You invest in quality, reusable cutlery for your restaurant because â€" even if it means paying more than the price of a pack of plastic forks â€" you are once again thinking of further down the line.

Better Blogging with Tips and Resources from the Pros

Better Blogging with Tips and Resources from the Pros Bloggers usually start because they have something to say! Congrats if you have embarked on this journey! Now, you need tips, ideas and tools to keep your blog fresh and engaging. Tools the Pros Recommend I came across this visual by Pauline Cabrera of Twelveskip. There are 26 tools in all, but you probably wont need them allyet. If you want more detail on how the pros use these tools, just click through to her post. FYI, I wrote my own post of 26 tools my business couldnt do without. Check it out if you are a solopreneur trying to grow your business. Visuals Are Super Important First, note that Paulines post had a visual summary of the blogging tips. This made it even more sharable! Some of the tools mentioned by the pros include free photo editors. Ive been using PicMonkey and Canva to create featured images for my posts. I just wish I were better educated in graphic design principles! Blog Titles and Key Words Are A Big Deal- Choose Wisely This seems obvious, but I didnt figure this rule out early enough, so take time to craft the title of your blog posts. Using key words your audience would search for is really important. Distribute Your Post Across Different Social Media Platforms You want people to know about your blog so you have to share it to places where they can find it. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ are the big ones, right?! Be sure you share your posts on each of them. But be aware, each platform has slightly different best practices, for example you only have 140 characters on Twitter, but Facebook and Google+ give you many characters to introduce your post. Cross sharing the same status update across each platform sounds like the easiest method, but it may not get you the results you are looking for.  If you want to maximize the potential for your post getting read and shared, update your status on each platform and be sure your visual is included. Gary Vaynerchucks book, Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook shows you what works best on each social network. I wrote a brief review here. (The post links to videos and other free resources by Gary) If you are looking for more blogging help, you can find my favorite websites for keeping up with blogging trends here. The fun and excitement of blogging (and social media) is that there is always something new to learn! If this was helpful, please share! Got a blogging question? Ask!

The Importance of Using Science As Part of Your Resume Writing Process

The Importance of Using Science As Part of Your Resume Writing ProcessIn recent years, science has become an important aspect of the entire job search process. Resume writing is becoming a science as researchers create more complex algorithms that will be used to help individuals find the best jobs.Because of this, resume science and writing can take on a whole new meaning. Writing a resume has been around for many years, but now it also takes on a scientific quality as more computer programs are being created to help people find the best jobs in the world. Scientists are even using their knowledge to develop better tools and software that will make finding the right job much easier.Computer technology has changed the way the world works. It has also changed the way people communicate and locate the information they need. As the internet and other forms of communication have evolved, so has the way people approach the entire process of finding employment. Before, everyone still found a job by using personal experience, word of mouth, and referrals.Today, more people rely on the internet and social media to get the job they want. This has created a completely different way of finding work that often times is more scientific. Today, many jobs can be found online because the algorithm being used is designed to help people find the best jobs for them.Resume writing is becoming a science because scientists are taking steps to ensure that their algorithms are used correctly. These algorithms will be used to look at every detail of the applicant's qualifications and then match them up with the right jobs that require those specific skills. Finding a job that has a good quality of work will be much easier for an individual today because these algorithms are being used to help match candidates up.Another aspect of science applies to many other forms of work. Research and development also undergo changes as well. Scientists often use computer programs to test new product s, write papers about different topics, and even to help create new drugs. Since their work is becoming increasingly scientific, there are many ways that a person can research and develop scientific skills in their field of work.The ability to work with human interaction is also an important part of science. The types of conversations that take place in office meetings, in doctor's offices, and in the board room are all affected by what type of science has been used. In other words, if scientists are creating technology that helps to ease the burden of office stress, the scientific aspects of the job will be greatly impacted.Science has played a large role in the world of jobs. Writing a resume can become a science in the eyes of the scientists who developed the program. It is only logical that the next step of the process would be to include science as part of the entire process of finding the best job in the world.

Are You Considering Using Professional Resume Writing Services?

Are You Considering Using Professional Resume Writing Services?If you are trying to get into DC jobs, it can be really difficult to find the best resume writing services. If you have used the services of other resume writers, you will have a general idea about the quality that they deliver. However, there are many companies who make money from clients by charging for their services and they do not actually give very good value for money.This is because their job is to prepare and fill out resumes of job seekers. They do not give any guidance about how to write a cover letter. They are trained professionals and can spend most of their time doing this. It is therefore important that you ask for professional help in this area.If you are finding it difficult to write a cover letter, you should first think about the job and the title that you are applying for. It is best to outline your experience and skills as well as those that you have in order to come up with a cover letter that will show you are capable and are an asset to the company.For example, if you are applying for a position in a particular company, the resume that you are submitting should contain all the information that is required in order to be considered for the position. You should also be honest and tell them about your qualifications and experience.The best resume writing services that provide these services to job seekers should help you structure the content of your resume in such a way that it is attractive and interesting to recruiters. The resume should contain positive keywords in order to attract the attention of recruiters. In this way, you can get hired.Resume writing services have tools that they use to make your resume stand out in the crowd. Some of these include an automated CVchecker and a free version that is basically a template that you can change the contents and structure as you wish. This is because resume writing services are often concerned about the applicants to make sure that they get hired.Professional resume writers charge for their services. However, if you are looking for the best services to help you in getting hired, then you should consider the services offered by resume writing companies.

The Number One Article on Boardroom Resume Writing

The Number One Article on Boardroom Resume Writing The Appeal of Boardroom Resume Writing There are particular abilities and experiences boards start looking for. Writing resumes for friends can let you get to practice. If you would like to get prepared for the boardroom, I ask that you enrol today. If you wish to understand what may occur in an upcoming boardroom, you only need to examine the trends. Preparing a conventional cv or resume is something that we're all pretty acquainted with. Ideally, a resume needs to be one-page long so make sure that the sentences are crisp and well-written. Don't forget, resumes are formal documents that need a formal manner of writing. There are a few routes you may take with resume writing. Finding a resume writing service with enough credible reviews to be sure they are legitimate has come to be a tough and time-consuming endeavor. To be a certified resume writer, you must have good interpersonal abilities, excellent resume writing skills, and excellent small business expertise. It's possible to get the job done for a resume writing service for a freelancer, or you can begin your own resume writing business from home. Naturally, because it's an internet freelance gig, you will also require internet access and an email address. Along with helping your resume get selected, it's also going to help the hiring manager see how your abilities and experiences make you a perfect candidate for the particular job. Recent graduates should consider alternatives. Though some resume writers are generalists and work with anyone, it is far easier and more lucrative to select a particular niche. Finding the finest Houston resume writers is no simple feat. Life, Death, and Boardroom Resume Writing Business experience is just one of the main components of the board resume. A professionally written resume is the very first step to the work search and productive employment. Such a practice is quite a critical part of cor porate fantastic health of a firm. Boardroom Resume Writing - the Story In the sphere of human resources there's a difference in resumes. Nominating committees are interested in finding certain criteria, therefore it's important to ensure your resume focuses on exactly what they require, in a very clear and concise way. Use the checklist to ensure you have included all appropriate data in your resume. Sales resumes have to show what type of salesperson you are and how well you've performed previously.

How Women Learn Differently On-the-Job - Work It Daily

How Women Learn Differently On-the-Job - Work It Daily Recently, I did a webinar on the unique benefits women have right now in the financial industry. In it, I outlined how women learn differently on-the-job and what must be present for them to be successful in a new industry or career path. Watch the three-minute video below to understand what type of training women need to be successful today. Are you a female looking for a career change? The financial education industry is hiring and needs confident, entrepreneurial women... like you! If you're interested in a financial career then speaking with a recruiter needs to be your first step. Let us organize a complimentary meeting between you and a recruiter from a Fortune 500 financial services company. Speak With a Financial Recruiter » J.T. O’Donnell is the founder of CAREEREALISM.com and CEO of CareerHMO.com, a web-based career development company. Smiling woman on laptop image from Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!