Strategy #2: Developing and Defining Ambassadors
Your organization benefits from the collective effort of the entire team and all staff members, where everyone is aligned and “rowing” in the same direction toward a common goal with common leadership efforts and direction.
What if your brand, marketing, sales, etc. could likewise benefit from key individuals that have been assigned – and accepted – a role as an internal “ambassador?” Staff who, on a daily basis and across the organization, bring light and focus as well as support to specific roles.
You might have/need ambassadors in the following areas to help bring the activation down to the most common denominator within each area of the bank/CU:
- Sales
- Service
- Brand
- Culture
- Employee wellness
- Retention
- etc.
These ambassadors are key staff, line leaders and executive sponsors that work together to solve problems and bring attention and resources to significant areas of the operation.
The critical aspects of developing and defining an ambassador process are:
Creating Rules of Engagement
- Staff want and need to know the “rules of the road” for their role and the desired outcome
Defining Accountability and Responsibility
- Ensuring all staff recognize the differences and accept their role
Make it Fun
- Staff are not naturally looking for new roles but making this new role fun and rewarding (professionally and organizationally) helps to ensure you have leaders willing to participate and lead
Measuring, Monitoring and Providing Feedback
- An ambassador without coaching may do more harm than good…inspect what you expect
Formal Process of Induction and Transition
- It is important to have a formal process of recruiting, welcoming, and then transitioning your ambassadors; this provides clarity, a time horizon and organizational growth potential
Your ambassador program can/should start in a single area and then grow/expand as the organization has the need, ability and appetite to support it.
Let me know of particular questions and guidance…
Cheers!
