Meet young brand ambassadors of India Inc who keep their companies cool

MUMBAI: Ankita Sarawagi, senior consultant with the tax division at EY-India, a large professional services company, looks on confidently as the camera rolls. Asked how she relates to the highly rated tax practice at her employer-company, she replies: "Being number one signifies to me that you get to work on the best clients and also know that what we are doing is right." She describes her day at work as "everyday learning". She wasn't coached for the session nor was she provided with the questions beforehand.

"Initially, the objective of this video was to enable the management group to understand what the younger generation of employees (the future leaders) think about the tax practice. Given the massive positive response received, EY-India then took it public via YouTube," says Ajit Krishnan, people leader, tax practice. The video has been shared by excited employees on their own social media network, thus multiplying the outreach.

Like Sarawagi, several young brand ambassadors of India Inc, especially in the consultancy and service sector, are visible on social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Being an employer of choice is critical for companies in these sectors, to attract and retain talent. Says Irfan Abdulla, director, talent solutions, LinkedIn India: "Employees are the best brand ambassadors for their company and they are already active on social platforms. This becomes a powerful combination to showcase culture and value."

"Socially-engaged companies are 58% more likely to attract top talent," says Irfan Abdulla, director of talent solutions at LinkedIn India.

A recent survey by Edelman, a public relations agency covering 33,000 respondents from 28 countries, shows that an average employee is far more trusted than a CEO. “Trust in employees as a credible spokesperson for their employer is on the rise, with 52% of the survey respondents holding this view," states its Trust Barometer report.

ZS Associates (ZS), a consultancy firm, has in place a `Campus Beats' programme. Current employees who hail from select colleges are chosen as the company's brand ambassadors to engage with graduating students at their alma mater, through both onand offcampus avenues. “Social media presence is a vital part of this program and the `campus beaters' leverage it to the best possible extent to share our value proposition through their own impactful stories. We also ensure that our own social media positioning reflects our workplace culture," says Sanjay Joshi, Asia business head at ZS.

Thus, Deepali Kansal, business operations associate who joined ZS a year ago, after a meaningful interaction at Delhi Technological University, shared key highlights on Twitter. “ZS is unique because of its culture, professionalism and focus on quality," she tweeted.

When employees at LinkedIn India, recently moved into a 2,22,000-squarefoot state-of-the-art office, which is replete with facilities such as a gym, yoga room, music room, chilling out zones and free food, they were ushered into the premises, in true Bollywood style, by a `bandmaster'.

As transformation, humour and collaboration are the key values and culture at LinkedIn India, most of the `shares' by its employees are featured around these. “It could be announcement of a promotion, snapshots of the monthly `In-day' (a day dedicated to employees built around varied themes such as giving back to society or simple plain fun at the workplace), or even interesting projects,“ says Deepa Sapatnekar, head, communications.

Other than encouraging employees to engage in meaningful outreach, companies also use their own social media accounts to spread the cool quotient message. “A large number of our employees share their experience of working with us, which includes anecdotes and fun facts on our Facebook page. We have more than 1.60 lakh followers and our reach via FB has increased by 100% in the last one year," says Sandeep Kohili, national director, HR, at EY-India.

The outcome of employees acting as brand ambassadors has been very encouraging especially on the recruitment front. Chaitrali Singh, director, HR, at ZS-India, said, “On the recruiting front, we have seen a tremendous increase in the overall number of joiners against the offers made, it is currently 85% plus.“