Organization: Mountain Equipment Co-op
Industry: Retail
Web References:
Mountain Equipment Co-op Website
About MEC:
Mountain Equipment Co-op, or MEC, is a Canadian outdoor equipment retailer. They are designed as a co-op, in-which you must be a member of the co-op to purchase anything at the store. The customers are part owners in the company. Being a co-op by design, gives Mountain Equipment Co-op a unique set up for employee engagement. With one of the fundamental cornerstones of a co-op is multiple people with a common mindset working together, having engaged employees is not a stretch. The MEC employee is of the same mindset of their employers. Not only do they sell you a sleeping bag for your next great outdoor adventure, they used the same one on their last adventure, and have instagram-ed it as well.
Met some Nova Scotians, representing with some @mec gear in Italy! #mecstaffer
A photo posted by Kevin Li (@nokero) on Oct 5, 2015 at 4:18am PDT
Employee Engagement on Social Media:
Social media is a space where people can have shared connections and ideas. MEC has a core value of sharing connections to inspire people. One of the things MEC wishes to inspire people to do it get outdoors and be active. They sell the equipment to do this, but also host the marathon you can wear the new equipment in. Not only are their customers participating in these events, but so are their employees. Just search the hashtag #mecstaffer on Instagram or twitter and you will see not only amazing shots of our beautiful land, but also many very proud MEC employees.
Scroll through that result page and you will also see comments on online marketing and customer engagement discussions between employees stuck between Canadian landscapes and smiling faces.
Last year MEC did a self report card on various aspect of their company. In this report they boasted a 63% employee engagement, with the comment: “With every conversation, every piece of advice, every transaction, bike fitting, clinic or event – we bring it.” Even with this low level of engagement, MEC did achieve many of their goals on their self report card.
Lessons to learn:
Creating a clearly defined corporate mentality, such as of inspiring others and environmental conscientiousness, allows for easy buy-in from employees. Giving employees the space to explore these ideas such as encouraging them to show their MEC pride on Social Media can pay back large dividends. These employees are more invested in the company and share an excitement for what they do.
Submitted by: Chelsea Norris
If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Programme Director, Social Media for Business Performance.