What makes someone want to recommend their workplace? It is a question many organisations are asking as employee voices become an increasingly visible part of how people discover – and judge – potential employers.
Yet the most effective employee advocacy rarely begins with a request to post, share or promote. It develops over time, shaped by moments that may never appear in an employer brand campaign. So, what turns a positive employee experience into genuine advocacy, and how can organisations create the conditions for it to grow?
Employee advocacy can take many forms. It can be an employee recommending the organisation to someone in their network, speaking with pride about their work, representing the business at an event or choosing to stay and contribute through a challenging period. Whatever form it takes, credible advocacy begins with the same thing: an employee experience people genuinely value.
That experience is built through everyday interactions. It depends on whether people feel listened to, whether they have what they need to do their jobs and whether the organisation’s stated values are reflected in its decisions. Employees will always understand a workplace through what they experience – not simply through what it promises.
This means organisations cannot begin by asking how to turn employees into advocates. They must first ask whether they have created a culture people would willingly advocate for. The answer is often found in the parts of working life that receive the least external attention – something that came through clearly in the experience shared by FBD Hotels & Resorts.
For the organisation, who has been amongst Ireland's Best Workplaces in Hospitality™ for the last three years, this meant looking beyond the guest-facing environment and improving the everyday experience of its back of house teams. New changing rooms were built, employee areas were refreshed and greater attention was given to whether people knew about the benefits available to them, including complimentary leisure-centre membership. Daily team briefings were also introduced to help information reach employees who might only work one or two shifts each week.
These were practical changes, but together they sent a clear message: the people behind the customer experience deserved the same care and consideration as the people enjoying it.
The particular action will look different in every workplace. What matters is the willingness to consider the experience of every employee, including those working outside head office, across different locations or hours, and in roles that may receive less visibility. An employer brand is only credible when the people furthest from its creation can still recognise the culture it describes.
Listening must lead to action
Asking employees for feedback is only valuable when they can see what happens next. Organisations should share what they heard, identify the issues they will address and explain how progress will be measured. Without that follow-through, repeated requests for feedback can begin to feel performative.
Trying to act on everything at once can also make progress harder to see. A more practical approach is to choose three or four priorities and attach clear actions to each one. If recognition is an issue, for example, the response might include a new recognition programme, regular awards or clearer guidance for managers – not simply a commitment to “do better”.
Not every suggestion needs to become a new initiative. However, employees should understand which issues are being prioritised, what will change and when they can expect an update. Listening builds trust when there is a visible connection between what employees say and what the organisation does.
Senior leaders may set an organisation’s values, but managers shape how employees experience them. They are responsible for turning broad commitments into everyday behaviours: sharing information clearly, recognising good work, responding to concerns and supporting people when challenges arise.
At FBD Hotels & Resorts, developing this layer of leadership became an important part of strengthening the employee experience. Managers received practical training in areas including leadership, communication and conflict management, helping them to handle difficult situations and support their teams more consistently.
The impact was particularly evident in the kitchen department, where employee survey scores increased from the mid-50s in 2022 to 88%. The work remained busy and physically demanding, but the experience around it had changed. Employees felt part of a respectful team, managers were better equipped to support them and people could still find moments of enjoyment in the working day.
The lesson extends well beyond hospitality. Employees are more likely to believe in an organisation’s values when they can see those values reflected in the behaviour of their manager.
Reach beyond the usual channels
Creating a consistent employee experience becomes more difficult when people work across different locations, schedules and roles. Internal communication can naturally centre on those who are easiest to reach, such as employees working typical office hours, checking email regularly or attending company-wide meetings.
Consider the employee working at three o’clock in the morning to keep an essential service running. The organisation’s values should feel as relevant to that person as they do to someone working alongside senior leaders at head office.
The same applies to people working remotely, on the frontline or away from a desk. Do they receive the same information, recognition and support as more visible parts of the workforce? Can they see how their work contributes to the organisation’s wider purpose? Reaching these employees requires more than introducing another communication channel. It means understanding the reality of their work and adapting communication accordingly. Employee advocacy cannot develop consistently if only some people can recognise themselves in the organisation’s story.
Create meaningful opportunities to contribute
Connection can deepen when employees have opportunities to contribute outside the boundaries of their usual responsibilities. Working on a shared initiative can bring together people from different teams and levels, creating relationships that may not develop through their usual roles. This could take the form of volunteering, an employee network, a community partnership or an internal project shaped by employees themselves. The scale of the initiative matters less than the role employees are given within it.
When people can influence decisions, take ownership and contribute their own expertise, participation feels more meaningful. It also allows employees to represent the organisation through something they have genuinely experienced, rather than a message created on their behalf.
Employees are more likely to advocate for something they have helped to shape than something they have simply been asked to promote.
Advocacy is earned
Employee advocacy is not created by a communications plan. It is earned through the experience an organisation creates: listening and responding to feedback, equipping managers to lead well, recognising people across every role and giving employees meaningful opportunities to contribute.
When those foundations are in place, people do not need to be told what to say. They have their own experiences to draw from and their own reasons to speak with pride.
The strongest employer brands are not built by giving employees a script. They are built by giving people an experience worth talking about.
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