Interview with smartTrade Technologies: Why Employee Advocacy & Communication Matter

 A true pioneer in financial software, smartTrade Technologies has been at the forefront of electronic trading solutions for almost two decades. And with seven subsidiaries around the world, keeping employees engaged with the latest breaking local and global news can pose a challenge.

In this interview, David Vincent, the CEO of smartTrade Technologies, shares some of his thoughts on why employee advocacy and communication are important, and how they use both to their company’s advantage.

A solution for internal communication and employee advocacy

You use Sociabble for internal communication and for employee advocacy. Can you tell us more about that?

smartTrade is a distributed company, we have seven subsidiaries around the world. We have several hundred employees who are working on a daily basis together. I felt that there was a need for a better way to share information with all our employees.

By using Sociabble, we can publish all the information in one place, and share it. Also, the other very important point is that I wanted us to be able to share the information across all social media by using the network of employees, and Sociabble is made for this. Employee advocacy is extremely well managed with Sociabble.

It’s a way to connect people so that they see there is real life inside smartTrade.David Vincent, CEO of smartTrade Technologies

Inform and engage employee with your company

What kind of information do people find on Sociabble? 

We have several types of information which need to be shared throughout the company.

The first one is regarding the corporate structure of the company itself.

The second one is regarding internal communications relative to life inside the company.

Typically, this includes the events employees have organized, so that way you can share the experience. It’s a way to connect people so that they see there is real life inside smartTrade.

The third one is external communication, as we are organizing a lot of public events, shows, trade shows, etc. It’s important that people are aware of what’s happening within the company—for example, you could have the situation where there is a show in New York, and the employees from the New York office aren’t even aware of it.

Using gamification for employee engagement

What role does gamification play in your projects? Do you find that it works?

One of the values we share at smartTrade is an emphasis on performance, and the spirit of competition. It’s something that is inside the company DNA. And gamification allows people to be in that position, to compete towards the goal of saying, “I’m going to be the best producer or the best content creator.”

By putting in all this gaming, etc., people are going to get a rank. In the end, there may be some gifts or rewards, but I’m pretty sure that’s not really their goal, they actually want to know, “Okay, what’s my rank inside the company?”

For people who are always on the road, like me, it’s a way to stay connected with the company… That was a real plus.

Why choose this employee advocacy platform?

What are the key points that made you choose Sociabble? 

Really, since making the decision, we’ve been very happy with the system itself. The back office is very good, very well structured. The employee communication app also is really a plus, because it’s a real mobile app, it’s not just a web app on your mobile browser.

For people who are always on the road, like me, it’s a way to stay connected with the company, with what’s happening inside the company. That was a real plus.

Beyond that, I personally have a long history with Sociabble. I knew that what they produced has always been very good, in terms of technology. I was pretty sure it was going to work, and it did.

To see more case studies like this one and learn why employee advocacy works, click here. And to receive a free demo of Sociabble, click here.