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Canada Association of Tourism Employees

Flip Workers Into Peer Help On-line Coaches

How to turn your social media savvy employees into peer support online coaches

Most people are already partially familiar with social media. Perhaps they occasionally watch YouTube videos or update friends on their Facebook page. But there are others who only have a knack for social networks. You understand the many nuances and use social media as a tool for further development. However, they are not the only ones who can benefit from their technical know-how and skills on social networks. Below are 7 tips on how to turn social media savvy employees into peer support online coaches who can impart wisdom to your entire team.

7 tips for starting peer coaching with internal talent

1. Give them their own topic-centered group

Start topic-centered social media groups on Facebook and let in-house experts take the reins. It should be something they are particularly good at. For example, a skill or a common training challenge that they can handle with tact. You can upload helpful online training resources and address comments from other members of the group. For example, your customer service professional asks questions about the company’s return policy. Or online peer support coaches help coworkers appease regular customers who are prone to complain.

2. Invite them to live online training events

Encourage your social media savvy employees to host live events on their preferred platform. Facebook and YouTube are often the go-to places for video-based events. Staff can choose the topic and set the main discussion points. Don’t just provide students with additional online training resources to help them improve their understanding. You can also record the online training event and post it to the appropriate group, or even add it to your online micro-learning training library for viewing later.

3. Schedule questions and answers about social media

Give your employees the opportunity to have Q&A sessions on social media where they can demonstrate their expertise. Not only do they help their co-workers address common problems and clear up confusion. However, they can also be recognized for their in-depth knowledge on the subject. You can either host live Q&A forums where they interact in real time. Or choose an ongoing format where employees answer questions whenever they have free time. The list will keep growing and eventually becomes a comprehensive guide to the training topic or assignment.

4. Turn employees into training vloggers

More outgoing employees could take the chance to host their own training vlogs known as peer support online coaches. This includes a more casual format than live events. Social media savvy employees start their own YouTube channel or post on the community channel. Vlogs can cover everything from what they do on a typical work day to troubleshooting tips. However, things shouldn’t get too casual. For example, they need to avoid providing too much personal information or using language that could offend employees. There’s also the little thing about not disclosing company information or other sensitive information like trade secrets. Note that you can also make the video “unlisted” so that it will only be available to those with the link.

5. Encourage employees to create their own Instagram page of tips

Instagram is often overlooked when it comes time to choose online training platforms. After all, it mainly focuses on images. So it’s not the best for skill building or teaching related assignments. However, you can encourage employees to create their own Instagram pages with quick tips and tricks. For example, they publish an eLearning infographic that has a brief text explanation on how to overcome customer reluctance during a sale. Or a short video of them showing a new product on the floor and introducing it to potential customers. Another great way to use Instagram in online training is to spark online discussions. For example, an employee publishes a photo of defective equipment and asks his colleagues to diagnose the problem and outline the repair process.

6. Start employee blogs

Instead of vloggers, some employees may feel more comfortable taking on the role of bloggers. They can start their own blog site for free and post weekly or monthly as peer support online coaches. Even more regularly when they feel so inclined. The blog should focus on skills or tasks that they have improved. This prevents misinformation and ensures that everyone benefits from the blogs. You should also make a master list that has links to individual websites for quick reference. Break it down into categories so employees can find the topic or challenge on the spot. Finally, encourage reps / bloggers to include meta tags in their posts so that they can be more easily found in the archives.

7. Assign hashtags to facilitate feedback and knowledge sharing

Employees who are social media experts can create their own hashtag and give it to members of their peer coaching group. Anyone can use the day to ask questions, provide feedback and share ideas. All tweets are in one place, making it easy to communicate and collaborate remotely. You should include the hashtag on other social media posts and promote it at live online training events. This way the group knows where to find additional information and can make its own contribution. This is also a great way to host weekly Q&A events. # JustAskā€¦ gives employees the ability to quickly add their question to the list. And the social media expert can react whenever it is most convenient.

Conclusion

Social media doesn’t have to be a distraction that gets your employees out of the online training experience. Encourage savvy employees to use their expertise to steer their employees in the right direction and provide ongoing eLearning feedback. Keep in mind that you may need to establish some ground rules to keep the conversation on track. You don’t just provide them with their own support resources so that they can be the best peer support online coaches they can be.

Experience is one of your company’s most valuable assets and it is in the hands of executives. But how can they share the wealth to increase your company’s productivity? Read article 8 Ways To Use An Audio Conferencing System You Can Never Imagine To learn how to use audio conferencing in your peer coaching program.

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