LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for recruiting, networking, and managing employees. With over 722 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. As more and more professionals join LinkedIn, companies are leveraging the platform in creative ways to attract, engage, and manage talent.
One of the most powerful yet underutilized features of LinkedIn is the ability for companies to create private employee groups. These private groups allow organizations to communicate with employees, share knowledge, drive culture, and create connections. Companies like Dell, Starbucks, and Adobe use private LinkedIn groups to great effect for internal communications and engagement.
So can you really manage employees on LinkedIn? While LinkedIn should not replace traditional HR systems and management, creating a private group brings many advantages. Let’s explore how companies can leverage LinkedIn to better manage their people.
Engage and Communicate with Employees
LinkedIn provides a platform for leadership to regularly share company news, strategy, and insights directly with employees. Messages posted in the private group will appear in members’ LinkedIn feeds, allowing for easy consumption of information on desktop and mobile. This gives executives a direct channel to all staff, bridging geographic divides and organizational silos.
According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Workforce Confidence Survey, employees increasingly expect transparency and communication from leadership. Regular LinkedIn updates from the executive team or HR can help demonstrate transparency while cascading key messages across the organization.
Posting in a private LinkedIn group also encourages two-way dialogue between leadership and employees. Employees can react to posts, share feedback, and ask questions directly of executives. This facilitates open communication and discussions at scale.
For example, when Adobe wanted to communicate their new vision and strategy, they posted a video message in their private LinkedIn group. Employees could view the video, react, and leave comments right in their LinkedIn feed. This enabled constructive conversations between corporate leadership and staff across regions and business units.
Promote Employee Advocacy
A private LinkedIn group makes it simple for employees to share company content and advocate for the brand. When employees actively share content on LinkedIn, it extends the company’s reach and enhances its reputation.
By posting articles, images, videos, and other assets into the private group, they can be easily reshared by employees to their own networks. This multiplier effect generates tremendous exposure and goodwill for the employer brand.
For instance, Dell regularly adds new marketing assets and invites employees to share these on their personal LinkedIn profiles. This advocacy directly promotes Dell’s thought leadership to wide networks of potential customers and partners.
With a private group, it’s also easier to identify employee brand ambassadors who are highly active on LinkedIn. Companies can recognize top advocates and even incentivize social media sharing through gamification and rewards programs.
Train and Develop Talent
The private group on LinkedIn presents a perfect platform for delivering training and upskilling employees. Leadership and subject matter experts can share presentations, videos, PDFs, and other learning resources within the group.
Employees can access these training materials on demand from their phone or desktop. This facilitates continuous learning that employees can fit around their schedule. It also enables organizations to distribute training widely across locations and departments at minimal cost.
For example, Starbucks posts video tutorials and best practice guides in their partner network group on LinkedIn. This trains baristas on new products, customer service excellence, and Starbucks standards.
The private group is also useful for mentoring programs. Senior staff can mentor newer employees by answering their questions and providing advice directly within the LinkedIn platform.
Recognize Employees
LinkedIn presents a meaningful way for organizations and peers to recognize team members. When employees receive praise and validation on LinkedIn, it becomes a part of their professional brand and résumé.
Leaders can shout out star performers by posting public messages in the private group acknowledging their achievements. Because this appears in the employee’s activity feed, it creates positive visibility amongst their connections.
Employees can also recommend and endorse coworkers right within LinkedIn. This allows peers to recommend colleagues for their skills and expertise. It provides powerful social proof for each member’s capabilities.
For instance, when employees mark a work anniversary or complete a training program, managers at Dell will leave a congratulatory note on their profile thanking them for their contributions. This recognition means a lot coming from leaders.
Promote Cultural Values
A private LinkedIn group allows organizations to reinforce vision, mission, and cultural values. When executives and HR share content reflecting core values, it reminds employees what the culture stands for.
For example, Adobe uses their private group to promote inclusion, one of their fundamental values. Around Pride Month, they shared stories of LGBTQ+ employees feeling welcomed and empowered at Adobe.
Company leaders can also model values in their interactions within the group. Responding to employees by name and providing compassionate support demonstrates the culture in action.
HR can invite respected external voices into the group as well to reinforce values. For instance, Starbucks brought in a diversity educator to advise employees on building understanding.
Ultimately, showcasing lived values on LinkedIn helps organizations authentically convey their culture to employees and prospective hires.
Drive Social Connections
The LinkedIn group presents opportunities for employees to build community and socialize with colleagues. Especially for remote staff, staying socially connected to coworkers fosters inclusivity, belonging, and retention.
For instance, the group can include dedicated spaces for employees to share hobbies, pet photos, virtual coffee meetups, and casual conversations unrelated to work. These informal interactions allow personalities to shine.
During the challenging times of COVID-19, Adobe also created a space within their private group called #AdobeTogether. This gave employees an outlet to share how they were coping, support each other, and reduce isolation.
HR can also coordinate group learning activities, like a shared book club, group mentoring circles, and mastermind discussions. Social interactions in the group strengthen interpersonal bonds between coworkers.
Promote Company Culture to Prospective Hires
The private LinkedIn group also provides a powerful window for potential recruits to understand the company’s culture and team. HR can showcase the inner social fabric of the organization authentically to candidates.
When prospects view the friendly interactions, values, and camaraderie displayed within the group, it leaves a positive impression. Candidates get a credible preview of the environment and future coworkers.
For example, Whole Foods Market grants potential hires access to their private employee group on LinkedIn. Browsing the genuine conversations and connections allows prospects to see first-hand what the culture is like.
Ultimately, opening the curtains to the internal group persuades great candidates to join the company. It demonstrates a culture of transparency and care for employees.
Collaborate Across the Organization
The LinkedIn group facilitates collaboration between colleagues who don’t always interact. Since every employee is a member, the group provides a vehicle to exchange ideas and work together across functions and locations.
HR can create dedicated spaces for interdepartmental problem solving, innovation, and project management. Employees can post needs and others can offer solutions or assistance.
For example, the Adobe group contains forums for cross-functional teams to collaborate. This allows diverse minds to weigh in on projects and strategy outside of formal meetings.
Informal collaboration on LinkedIn builds relationships beyond an employee’s immediate team. Coordinating on projects and sharing ideas across the group breaks down organizational silos.
Poll Employees for Input
Companies can also use the private LinkedIn group to poll employees on policy, programs, and decisions. HR can post survey questions right within the group to gather quick feedback.
The poll feature makes it easy to ask multiple choice questions and get anonymous input. Employees enjoy being able to provide opinions, and companies benefit from making data-driven choices.
For instance, Starbucks regularly polls their partners on everything from HR policy to new drink options. The company gained valuable insights that informed their extended parental leave and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew launch.
Soliciting quick employee input through polls drives higher participation and more honest feedback than traditional engagement surveys. It shows the organization values employees’ voices.
Share Company News and Milestones
Important company news and milestones deserve to be celebrated internally first. The private group on LinkedIn provides the ideal channel for making announcements to all staff immediately.
When leadership shares news about acquisitions, product launches, awards, financial results, and more via the private group, it makes employees feel informed, involved, and motivated. After the initial internal post, the update can then be shared externally.
Employees also enjoy recognizing coworkers for major accomplishments through the group, like work anniversaries, new promotions, or professional certifications. Celebrating peer success builds morale.
For example, when Adobe achieved record revenue one quarter, executives first announced it in their private LinkedIn group with a message thanking employees for their efforts. This gesture put employees first.
Organize the Onboarding Process
HR can streamline onboarding by creating a dedicated space for new hires within the private LinkedIn group. This provides a one-stop shop for training, resources, introductions, and guidance as employees get started.
By adding new employees to the group immediately upon hiring, they gain access to onboarding resources before their first day. HR can share orientation materials, videos, employee handbooks, and onboarding checklists.
New hires can also introduce themselves and get to know peers in the group. Coworkers can offer warm welcomes and advice to get up to speed. This kickstarts the cultural and social immersion.
For instance, Adobe uses a SWAG (“Stuff We All Get”) section to distribute company branded t-shirts and notebooks to new employees as they join the LinkedIn group. These special touches make new hires feel valued and prepared.
Promote Internal Mobility
The private group expands visibility of job openings, facilitating internal mobility. Employees can discover open positions across departments right in their LinkedIn feed.
HR should share new internal vacancies within the group, along with guidance on applying. Interested employees can then easily submit their credentials for internal transfers or promotions.
Coworkers can support each other’s growth by tagging connections on relevant job posts. For example, when a user sees an opening well-suited to a colleague, they can proactively notify them through a comment or private message.
Publicly celebrating internal promotions also inspires other employees to develop their skills and pursue advancement opportunities.
Conclusion
At its core, managing people is about open communication, engagement, development, and connection. A private LinkedIn group delivers a platform to accomplish all these critical elements of talent management.
While HR software and processes remain essential, the LinkedIn group supplements traditional systems in an innovative way. Features like content sharing, dialogue, learning, and polling generate meaningful employee interactions on a familiar platform.
The result is an organization that is communicative, transparent, collaborative, developmental, and celebratory. A private LinkedIn group can take employee relations, culture, and advancement to the next level.
Just as social media transformed how brands market themselves externally, the private LinkedIn group is revolutionizing how companies manage their internal brand as an employer. Forward-looking and employee-centric organizations should be leveraging this powerful tool on the world’s largest professional network.
LinkedIn may have started as a place to find jobs and network. But today it is so much more. With a private employee group, LinkedIn becomes a hub for companies to attract, engage, develop and retain top talent. The future of work is here – and it’s on LinkedIn.