Employees Rising: Seizing the Opportunity in Employee Activism

1

employees rising: seizing the opportunity in employee activism

2

Employee activists make their

engagement visible, defend their

employers from criticism and act as

advocates, online and off

defining employee activists…

3

01 unrest in the workforce

4

01 unrest in the workforce

Recently

experienced an

employer change

Defended their

employer from

criticism

Can describe

what their

employer does

Are deeply

engaged with

their employer

5

02 the big bang

6

post messages, pictures or videos in

social media about their employer

have shared praise or positive

comments online about their employer

have shared criticism or negative

comments online about their employer

posted something about their employer

in social media they regret

02 the big bang

7

Employers encourage use of social

media to share company news and info

Employees have taken these actions: YES NO

Encouraged others to buy company’s products

or services 72% 48%

Recommended employer as place to work 68% 54%

Made positive comments about employer publicly 63% 32%

Defended employer to friends and family 60% 44%

Done volunteer work for a cause employer supports 55% 30%

02 the big bang

33%

56%

11% Yes

No

DK Employer

encourages

use of social

media

8

03 the employee activist is now amongst us

Two in 10 employees are all taking

positive actions to support their employers

21%

9

03 weber shandwick workforce activism spectrum

10

04 the playbook for activating employees

11

– Provide readily accessible tools

– Provide messages

– Provide social media access at work

Top 3 ways to further

encourage Activists

Employer communications to

Activists

– Hungry for all means of internal

communications

– Email is most preferred way to get

internal communications

– Index much higher for preferring text

messages, social media and Skype

04 the playbook for activating employees

12

1 Embrace the new

reality of employee

activism. Leverage

the new reality.

5 step activation guide

Identify your

workforce

segments.

One size does

not fit all.

2 3 Activate from

the top.

Leadership

matters.

5 Encourage

social. Have a

clear plan and

policy. 4 Flip the right

activism

switches.

Attend to your

igniters.

13 13

Moderated by

Nikki Waller

Management and

Careers Group Editor

The Wall Street Journal

Your panel today

REBECCA FELDMAN

Solutions Consultant

LinkedIn

STEVEN BAUTISTA Karma Kommando

Zappos

JIM LARRISON GM & Co-Founder

Dynamic Signal

KATE BULLINGER Global Co-Lead

Employee Engagement

& Change Management

Weber Shandwick

ERIC NYSTROM

Director, Social Media

and Community

Dell

Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross

Chief Reputation Strategist

Weber Shandwick

EMPLOYEES RISING

Research discussion by