[Episode Eighty-Six of ‘The Employee Advocacy and Influence Podcast] 🎧
Global employee advocacy is when a company activates employees across multiple countries to share content and tell stories that align with a shared global brand narrative. Instead of relying on a single corporate voice, it empowers people across regions to represent the brand in ways that feel locally relevant and culturally authentic. The benefit? You scale reach, trust, and employer brand visibility across markets at the same time, accelerating growth, recruitment, and credibility through real employee voices rather than corporate messaging alone.
In this episode, Lewis Gray and Elliot Elsley are joined by Holly Kerr, Global Social Media Lead at AtkinsRéalis, to discuss the transition from campaign-led social media to a unified centralized employee advocacy strategy. Holly shares her journey of managing 500 advocates within a 40,000-person global workforce and her roadmap for expansion in 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- Moving away from “ebbs and flows” of campaigns to a stable, central content location to maintain employee sharing habits.
- Understanding regional barriers and providing localized content to help onboard employees and build posting habits.
- Using internal competition and gamification to encourage executives to model social behavior.
- Leveraging AI for data analysis and ideation rather than just generating “content slop”.
Employees' Posts Vs Corporate Page Reach
Holly noted that only about 2% of the LinkedIn feed consists of company page posts, and brands often end up competing with their own content if they post more than once daily. AtkinsRéalis uses employee advocacy to allow their brand to reach audiences that do not follow the corporate page but are connected to individual employees. This shift acknowledges that the modern feed is dominated by individuals rather than logos. For social media professionals, this underscores the need to diversify reach through employee-led content.
Navigating Regional Employee Advocacy
A global employee advocacy program must adapt to regional differences towards self-promotion and social media. Holly observed that US-based employees often buy into self-promotional content more quickly because they feel more closely aligned with the brand. In contrast, colleagues in Asia may show hesitancy due to cultural concerns about appearing to take credit for collective work. Meanwhile, UK employees often prefer a more technical, matter-of-fact approach to their posts. Understanding these differences allows AtkinsRéalis to balance a global strategy with localized communication styles and language requirements.
AI for Ideation Fuel
Holly highlights that artificial intelligence should be viewed as a tool for scaling and analysis rather than a replacement for authentic writing. Holly shares how she plans to use AI to analyze large datasets and identify patterns when it comes to employee content. She also mentions how AI serves as an excellent source of ideas for content generation. However, the goal remains to have employees eventually write their own posts to ensure genuine connections and authenticity.
Ready to start your own employee advocacy program?
Whether you’re exploring employee advocacy or considering DSMN8 as your platform, we can help you get started with confidence.
Learn More About Employee Advocacy:
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.
