Find your passion and purpose, not just your next job

G Adventures is a tour operator providing small-group tours, safaris and expeditions all over the world. “G Nation” as employees proudly refer to themselves, is a global family of more than 2000 employees in 25 offices worldwide.

 

I spoke with Kristen Coutts, Manager Culture & Engagement, to learn more about how G Adventures uses social media to encourage employee engagement. As Kristen explained, they use the online platform Salesforce for both customer relationship management and to support internal employee engagement. Every employee has a unique profile page from which they can send messages, share photos, tag one another and use hashtags to add/search relevant content. They also have Badges which can be posted to recognize and thank co-workers for contributions that align with key competencies and core values.

Lessons for Others

However it takes more than a functional platform to motivate employees to participate; especially when teams are so geographically dispersed. To promote continued employee involvement, G Adventures has implemented the following best practices:

• Instagram and video pages for employees where they can share experiences and provide updates on fundraising efforts supporting Planeterra (not-for-profit commitment) reinforcing their culture
• Summits and leadership camps in various locations where G Adventures operates to meaningfully connect digital experiences with real life
• Digital challenges and contests to get employees involved and have fun
• Ambassadors (influencers within the businesses) share information and tag multiple employees to spark further collaboration
• System analytics help to identify and recognize employees who are active contributors

Perhaps most important is the active participation of senior leaders who will share information and provide input. The interactions employees have with managers and senior leaders helps build trust and can dramatically impact engagement and performance, particularly with remote employees.

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.

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