The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that there were nearly twice as many job openings as there were available workers in July 2022. On top of this fight for recruitment, companies are being forced to rethink their employee retention strategies with the recent rise of “Quiet Quitting.”
Quiet quitting is a serious trend, meaning remaining in one’s workplace while not actively going above and beyond. One of the reasons why this attitude develops is a consequence of burnout.
Social media analytics company Sprout Social has found that in the month of August alone, over 150,000 unique authors mentioned the topic on social media, generating nearly 2,000,000 total engagements and over 2.1 billion potential impressions.
Conversations spiked towards the month’s end, with topic volume increasing 14,000 percent over the last two weeks of August compared to the previous two.
One solution brands may not be thinking about is a robust employee advocacy program, which can not only combat high turnover, but also be a strong recruiting tool, especially on social media.
Jamie Gilpin, CMO of Sprout Social, tells Digital Journal how a strong employee advocacy program can help combat some of the current U.S. labor market challenges.
Gilpin explains: “The current labor market is presenting companies with a plethora of challenges, and one solution many aren’t thinking about is tapping their employees to be their biggest brand ambassadors.”
As to the best tactics, Gilpin adds: “Employees can be a brand’s best advocate by providing a real, authentic look at a company’s culture and their day-to-day experiences within it. As more people post about their personal and professional lives on social media, these platforms have become the perfect place for advocacy.”
Citing a social media example, Gilpin uses: “Just like we’ve seen with the rise of new social platforms like BeReal, authenticity is key to driving engagement and awareness. Empowering employees to share content about their company and culture can further a brand’s reach and open up new business opportunities such as driving additional revenue.”
In short: “Employee advocacy programs give brands a competitive advantage in attracting top talent, driving employee engagement for better retention and navigating the current labor market without needing to increase budgets or exhaust resources.”
Gilpin points to how brands like Starbucks and Adobe are doing it right, with their employees taking to social media to provide an authentic view of their work experience, which can help with recruitment, demonstrate on-brand thought leadership, and drive additional revenue without increasing advertising budgets.