Top brands are at the top for a reason—they understand their stakeholders and know exactly how to connect with them.
From Twitter’s #FlockTalk to HP’s game changing school investments, leading brands excel at keeping their communities happy
And it all comes down to showing they care.
But it’s not easy to be everything for everyone, especially with the extra challenges schools face in the post-pandemic world.
Which is why now is the time to look to the companies at the top.
As parents, families and entire communities stumble their way through current events, some brands are rewriting the rulebook on how to demonstrate resourcefulness and resilience in the face of extreme obstacles.
In this crucial employee and family engagement ebook, we dive into how some of the world’s best-loved brands have engaged and supported their communities throughout the pandemic, and share top insights on how to lead your customers and communities through unprecedented times.
Let’s get started.
These days, computers are the bedrock of learning—and HP knows the impact their products have on schools and communities around the world.
That’s why they’ve donated a whopping $8M in products and grants for schools. (Yep, you read that right 😲).
But HP’s dedication to employee and family engagement isn’t just about dollar signs.
The computer manufacturing giant has also joined forces with TIME for Kids, Britannica and NASA to deliver a new education program, HP Turn to Learn, which will focus on closing the homework and digital access gap and provide critical resources to 100M people by 2025.
It’s pretty cool what you can achieve when you join forces, right?
💞 How your ECE brand can do it too: Connect with your wider network to find opportunities to support your communities together as a partnership.
Employees are the nuts-and-bolts of an organization—that’s why it’s SO important for leaders to do everything they can to strengthen their work-family.
In 2020, Twitter took this idea to the next level, with a shiny new support policy for their employees (or Tweeps as Twitter team members are affectionately known).
The social network giant supported all employees with extra financial aid to help them set up remote workstations and cover additional child care expenses throughout the Covid pandemic.
And that’s not all.
Twitter’s Inclusion and Diversity team also set up an employee community hashtag, #FlockTalk, to help Tweeps who “want to come together during difficult times to share what’s going on with them, find community, and be heard by our leaders”.
Now we know not all businesses can afford to offer extra financial support to their employees, but the lesson here is to go the extra mile, show employees you care, and find simple, relevant ways to bring your community together to support each other.
💞 How your ECE brand can do it too: Use whatever resources you have to go above and beyond for your employees and families. Remember, even simply bringing them together for a virtual meetup can be a great morale booster.
The great thing about innovation is it can come from anywhere.
Online clothing retailer, Zappos, realized they could boost their internal ideas-base by opening up the floor to their employees at all levels through a holacratic system—and the outcome led to a groundbreaking new way to connect with customers throughout the Covid pandemic.
The ‘Customer Service for Anything’ hotline opened Zappos phone lines up to anyone who had a question about anything—from Netflix recommendations to local delivery services—or just wanted to chat. The service even caught the notice of a medical pro who managed to procure dwindling medical supplies via the hotline.
Talk about throwing your community a lifeline. 🙏
The hotline is now closed, but not before causing a global buzz that upped Zappos’ brand engagement and gave them a human-centric reputation for life.
💞 How your ECE brand can do it too: Each employee has a unique perspective on your ECE business, so enable and empower them to offer innovative family engagement ideas by setting up employee focus groups or asking for survey feedback.
If 2020’s shown us anything, it’s that relaxation goes a long way. 💆🏻👍
Leading mental health startup Meditopia realized straight away that pandemic + modern living = bags of stress for most people.
After seeing a dip in sales, they decided to go with their hunch and launch a new wellbeing-focused initiative centered on compassion.
Their quick work paid off, with almost 100K users meditating in just day one of the campaign.
It goes to show that knowing your customers’ needs is all it really takes to boost engagement.
💞 How your ECE brand can do it too: Wellbeing is the name of the game in life after 2020, so build a community care campaign to show you have your community’s back.
2020 has been a tough year for all businesses, no matter their size—but peeling back the curtain and sharing your struggles with stakeholders is the key to building a stronger community.
In fact, 85% of consumers are more likely to support a business through difficult times if it has a history of being transparent.
And one international hotel giant Marriott is one company who used transparency to boost customer loyalty during the Covid pandemic.
CEO Arne Sorenson openly shared the struggles they’ve encountered in a frank ‘face-to-face’ video to Marriott stakeholders. In his message he shared stats, announced pay cuts for himself and the executive team, and shared his optimistic view of the future.
In an era of fake-news and general distrust of big names, it’s no surprise demand for openness and honesty is growing—and your ECE community wants what everyone wants: an honest partner they can trust.
💞 How your ECE brand can do it too: Be open about the challenges you face and your plans to overcome them, and don’t be afraid to let your community see that behind the brand are great employees doing great work.
The post-pandemic world is all about offering an empathetic hand—which is why these household brands have managed to become even stronger in the face of adversity.
From giving disenchanted employees a platform, to working with partners to create a bigger reach, the one thing these companies have in common is they look for the opportunity to reach out and connect with employees and families even during the toughest times, when the temptation to pull back is at its highest.
And above all, these awesomely customer and team-focused brands have shown that there is always room to think outside the box to make someone else’s day a little better, no matter what challenges come your way.
We’ve got the latest data, tips, and tricks to make your early ed organization a great place to work and the top pick for families looking for exceptional early learning experience.
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