You already know that a robust employee advocacy initiative can directly influence business success. It’s the secret sauce of successful organizations. From recruiting and retaining top talent to marketing your brand more effectively, leveraging your employees has proven to generate significant ROI. But there’s another reason for embracing this powerful tactic — enhancing your internal security. New technologies put data at risk, and outside malicious actors look for weaknesses in our networks; organizations must remain vigilant about security protocols if they protect sensitive information. Employee advocacy can play an integral role in building a culture of security by helping create an environment where everyone benefits from well-informed decisions regarding security protocol and strategy. Here’s how.

How Does Employee Advocacy Tie Into Cyber Security? 

While security measures and protocols can help protect organizations from cyber threats, they still need to be adopted by your team. Employee advocacy can be critical in cultivating a security-conscious work environment. 

This can be achieved by providing regular training sessions, making security protocols easily accessible, and investing in technology to mitigate risks. When employees feel that their knowledge and actions are valued and they are part of a team that is taking the same actions, they become more invested in the company’s overall success. Ultimately, employee advocacy helps to foster a stronger security culture that benefits everyone.

The Power of Employee Engagement in Creating A Culture of Security

Employee engagement can have a profound impact on shaping a secure workplace environment. This is more than just a happy coincidence – studies have shown that engaged employees are far more likely to be productive and perform at a higher level. 

When employees feel connected to their work, their colleagues, and their organization, they are more likely to care about the well-being of their colleagues and take ownership of their own security. This leads to a work environment where people are looking out for each other and working together towards a common goal. 

The unfortunate truth is that security breaches are becoming increasingly common. With employee engagement at the forefront, creating a secure workplace environment becomes less of a task and more of a natural byproduct of a united team.

How To Use Employee Advocacy to Develop a Culture of Security 

Create Security Focused Content

Make sure your employees are aware of the security procedures and policies that you have in place. Don’t be afraid to brag about these policies in social media and blog posts. Show the greater market that you’re committed to fostering a culture of security and practicing what you preach. 

You should also create content that educates employees ON your security policies. Written policies in your employee handbook are a good start, but videos, shorts, and audio files can help ensure your team practices policy.  

By encouraging employees to be vigilant and taking necessary security precautions, companies can prevent costly data breaches, cyber-attacks, and negative market reactions. 

Empower Your Employees to Share Your Content Through Your Employee Advocacy Program

Employee advocacy continues to build on its reputation as a critical component of a company’s marketing strategy. Employee advocacy programs leverage the collective reach of a company’s workforce to amplify brand messaging on social media platforms.

 But how can you ensure that your employee advocacy program is effective? 

First and foremost, it is essential to have a clearly defined set of guidelines and best practices to govern how employees share content. Identifying and incentivizing your most reliable and engaged brand advocates is vital. 

You also need to measure the success of your advocacy program. By tracking engagement levels and setting achievable metrics, your company can continue to refine and optimize your advocacy program for maximum impact. 

Highlight Successful Examples of Employees that Practice Proper Security Procedures

The simplest way to begin building a culture of security is to highlight individuals in your company that are already practicing proper security procedures. Create content that highlights who they are and their choices/actions. Then have that content distributed through your employee advocacy program. 

As with your training materials, don’t just stick to a single type of content to relay your messages. Use images, infographics, and videos to encourage engagement. 

It’s also common for companies to create awards around following security procedures. If you’re one of these companies, be sure to highlight your award winners as part of your employee advocacy program. 

The importance of employee advocacy in any organization cannot be understated. When individuals feel empowered and aware of security practices, it creates an environment of trust, which is the foundation for a secure work environment.

Organizations that excel at cultivating this kind of security culture benefit from improved employee engagement, reduced security incidents, and cost savings from preventing significant data breaches.

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits employee advocacy and engagement can bring to your company – including bottom-line impact, we can help. Our enterprise employee advocacy platform was built to empower employees with the tools they need to share content and earn rewards easily.