[Episode Sixty-One of ‘The Employee Advocacy and Influence Podcast] 🎧
What does it take to turn thousands of employees into authentic advocates? Joe Morris, former Head of Social and Employee Advocacy at Capgemini, joins Lewis and Elliot to unpack the inside story of building one of the largest global employee advocacy programs in the world.
In this conversation, Joe explains how Capgemini’s advocacy strategy matured over time, from simple content sharing to real influence driven by structure, leadership support, and strategic segmentation. From building trust with executives to navigating disengagement cycles, Joe shares what works when running a program at scale.
Whether you’re a seasoned comms leader or just starting your advocacy journey, this episode delivers unmissable lessons on driving real impact, not just impressions.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why advocacy is a channel of trust, not just marketing
- How Capgemini designed a 3-tiered structure for influence
- The power of leadership-led programs and training playbooks
- Why an “impact score” and community model improved engagement
- How to keep momentum and measure success beyond vanity metrics
Start with Willing Advocates, Not Job Titles
In the episode, Joe Morris offers a crucial insight for anyone building an advocacy program: start with those who want to be involved. Too often, organizations default to seniority, assuming the most influential people are the ones with big titles. But as Joe points out, some of the most effective advocates are enthusiastic mid-level employees with strong networks and a natural voice on platforms like LinkedIn. Forcing participation, especially from disengaged leaders, can drain resources and undermine authenticity. If you’re launching or scaling advocacy, Joe’s advice is clear: find your willing champions first and let them lead the charge.
Tailor Content to Drive Relevance and Reach
One of the standout sections of the episode covers how Capgemini moved from generic content pushes to a more thoughtful, segmented strategy. Joe explains that while hyper-personalization may be aspirational at enterprise scale, smart segmentation is both realistic and impactful. His team tailored advocacy content based on region, language, and topical expertise, ensuring advocates had something relevant and valuable to share. The result? Greater engagement, more authentic storytelling, and better resonance with target audiences. A key takeaway is that advocacy content shouldn’t be “one-size-fits-all.”
Keep the Momentum Alive with Community and Competition
A golden insight from Joe’s time at Capgemini was how his team kept their program energized month after month. Beyond tools and training, they rolled out a clever “impact score” that turned performance into a friendly competition. Advocates could see their ranking and strive to level up. As Joe shares in the episode, this combination of micro-community and gamified tracking helped re-engage people, spotlight wins, and avoid burnout. For podcast listeners managing large programs, this segment is packed with practical tactics to turn short-term buzz into sustained advocacy success.
Ready to get started with employee advocacy?
But not sure if you’re ready for a platform?
Schedule a call with one of the team.
Prefer to cut to the chase and explore DSMN8?
Roger that!
Learn More About Building Employee Influence :
Selina Sher Gill
Selina has a Master's Degree in Marketing and Brand Management, and is DSMN8's Digital Marketing Executive. She's a pro at creating and editing video content, using these skills to create short-form social media videos and edit the Employee Advocacy and Influence podcast.
