Influencers, or the so-called corporate influencers, are becoming increasingly important for a Company in their communications mix. This also applies to the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS Initiative, within Deutsche Telekom. More and more often, there are requests for journalistic articles and scientific papers about the Telekom Ambassadors, although the actual questions are very often similar. For this reason, we have summarized the ten most important questions and answers in this article. Everything about #LoveMagenta, #WeWontStop and #ProudToBeT on one page.
The main questions on the TELEKOM AMBASSADOR initiative
1. What are the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS?
The Telekom Ambassadors are a self-organized people network of Deutsche Telekom with the following mission: “We as TELEKOM AMBASSADORS inspire our customers and colleagues with our magenta spirit and dedication towards the company”. We help, motivate and give the company a personal face. The community has developed from a grassroots initiative and brings the everyday life at Telekom into the public eyes. The initiative is a well-known and established entity throughout Germany, Europe and worldwide – documented by numerous awards.
2. Who counts himself as a TELEKOM AMBASSADOR?
Potentially every employee is an ambassador for their own company. TELEKOM AMBASSADORS are colleagues who have found each other primarily through the social intranet You and Me and who stand for “I am T, count on me” in a special way. They organize themselves across hierarchical boundaries and company divisions. The aim: to share their curiosity, passion and enthusiasm for their work and their employer in social media, in their private lives and working environment. There are currently around 150 active ambassadors and 15 of them who took special organizational roles in the ambassadors’ core team.
3. Where do the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS influence?
TELEKOM AMBASSADORS are scattered throughout the group. They operate at many locations throughout Germany – and even internationally. The ambassadors exchange information via social media (Social Intranet, LinkedIN, WebEx, WebEx Teams) and thus strengthen their community. They set for example a thematic focus, such as the “Mobility Experts”, to enter the public discourse on sustainable mobility. Or they support events such as DigitalX with personal and accompanying coverage on social media. Other TELEKOM AMBASSADORS have a “helper syndrome” and support “Telekom-Hilft”, a social media help channel, with digital customer service. Still others walk through life with magenta accessories and are thus recognizable and approachable to customers as the personal face of Deutsche Telekom. The stories of success (pdf, 9.4 MB) describe vividly further examples
4. How do TELEKOM AMBASSADORS work?
Every engagement is voluntary and no one actively distributes “Tasks”. Most ambassadors get involved beside their main professional activity, i.e. they look for space or shift their ambassadorial activities to their leisure time. There are now also some departments that offer 80/20, i.e. up to 20 percent of working hours can be used for TELEKOM AMBASSADORS activities and campaigns.
5. Since when have the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS been around – and when are the ambassadors to be seen?
The TELEKOM AMBASSADORS were founded in 2015 and have developed from an individual initiative into a #LOVEMAGENTA movement. The ambassadors’ hashtag #Werkstolz reaches for example more than 20,000,000 impressions a year on Twitter. Ambassadors can be found at any time on social media, can be seen at relevant conferences and are available live and in color for all corporate issues – usually recognizable by their magenta shoes or other accessories.
The TELEKOM AMBASSADORS work self-motivated, voluntarily and self-organized. Thus, the ambassadors have set themselves the following strategic goal:
The TELEKOM AMBASSADOR initiative organization
6. How to become a TELEKOM AMBASSADOR?
Any Telekom employee can become a TELEKOM AMBASSADOR! The network organizes regular onboarding sessions. In these calls interested colleagues learn what is behind #ProutToBeT & #Werkstolz, the magenta activities and the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS. A self-presentation in the Social Intranet and the subsequent selection of a mentor are mandatory in order to start the six-month trial period as an “Ambassador beginner”. In consultation with the mentor, a decision will then be made whether to continue the activity as a TELEKOM AMBASSADOR or not. In the meantime, external TELEKOM AMBASSADORS, as fans of the company, have also joined the community.
7. Which elements are used in the Community Building?
The central meeting point is the TELEKOM AMBASSADOR page on the Social Intranet. All information and appointments are shared via this group and articles about actions are posted. There are also weekly WebEx meetings for all TELEKOM AMBASSADORS, for the core team and for special projects. By taking on specific tasks such as education and training, mentoring, minutes or applying for awards, individuals take on specific responsibilities within the Group. The aim is also to organize a personal meeting two to three times a year.
8. How does the core-team work?
The core team deals with all questions of the Ambassador Network that goes beyond the role of the individual ambassador. The core team meets regularly in a WebEx meeting and works on the areas of organization, people, tools and content as well as strategic development. In this way, the core team creates a framework for each individual ambassador to be more effective.
Who are they – the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS?
9. What types are the TELEKOM AMBASSADORS?
The ambassadors are a cross-section of the entire Telekom group – from technical departments, to marketers, to salespeople and service colleagues. There is every age group, every gender and almost every division of the group is represented. In the TELEKOM AMBASSADOR Community you will find people with the same mindset and an environment in which you can live out your enthusiasm for your own employer.
10. What inspires people to become a TELEKOM AMBASSADOR?
Members of TELEKOM AMBASSADORS are often highly motivated in their everyday work and identify strongly with their employer. Getting to know other like-minded people in the Group is an experience that encourages them to get even more involved. It is important that the ambassadors consider their activities to be meaningful and they experience their effectiveness through direct feedback. Being able to make their own contribution to the “big picture” motivates the ambassadors and provides them with many good ideas and magenta activitie.
