Today, business happens at lightning speed. Organizations are building internal social media platforms to encourage knowledge sharing and creative thinking. They are also discovering benefits of internal social media platform in their workplaces – employees can be powerful brand ambassadors, encouraging social media interaction can strengthen engagement between colleagues and when an employee is actively involved they become more invested in the outcomes.
Great-West Life, leading Canadian insurer is utilizing their social media (facebook, twitter, YouTube channel) brilliantly not only with their clients but also employees, introducing various internal communications campaigns.
This year Great-West Life celebrates a 125th anniversary all year long, all employees can join conversations in “share your story” campaign using hashtag #GreatWest125. Stories will be featured on their social media throughout the year.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate our strong roots, and the people who have made a difference in the lives of Canadians over the decades, through the products, services and advice that we provide,” says Dave Johnston, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada.
GWL reached this milestone anniversary in part because of their long history and deep roots within their communities, along with the dedication of employees all over Canada. Employees donate their time and talents to bettering their communities and the world around them. To celebrate that, GWL introduced 125 Community Volunteer Grants of $1,000 each for employees who volunteer in their communities. That’s $125,000 to support the local organizations that matter most to GWL employees.
Employees get to share photos of their volunteer activities on the Great-West Life Facebook page or on Twitter, using hashtag #GreatWest125, tell how they give back, and they’ll be entered to win 1 of 4 $1,250 prizes that they can spend on furthering their volunteer activities.
“So many employees across our organization volunteer in unique and special ways,” says Jan Belanger, Vice-President, Community Relations. “Our 125th anniversary allows us to recognize their efforts, and promote the value of the charities and causes they’re personally committed to.”
As part of Great-West Life’s 125th Anniversary celebrations for 2016, they awarded 125 special Community Volunteer Grants to employees across the country in recognition of their commitment to their communities. People shared how they make a difference in their community, posted photos and videos. Because of Great-West Life employee Karen Squires, Canadian Blood Services received a $1,000 grant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu1I_u79g0o
Lessons for Others
It’s well known that Great-West is a huge supporter of the communities where their employee live, work and play. Celebration continues till the end of the year, #GreatWest125 is a winning hashtag.
Often enough high levels of employee engagement are linked to increased profitability, employee retention and increase in business performance. Maintaining employee engagement is critical to meeting business objectives, social media can provide a voice for employees, opportunity to really engage in conversation. Allows people to discuss topics and issues, share their stories and this can often be a useful tool to generate ideas.
Organization:
greatwestlife.com
Industry:
insurance
Name of Organization Contact:
Jan Belanger, Vice-President, Community Relations.
Authored by: atabor
If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.
References
https://www.facebook.com/GreatWestLife/
http://www.greatwestlife.com/001/Home/index.htm