Yesterday (Wednesday 5 November 2025), we had the privilege of hosting Linda Moir for a fireside chat about a topic crucial for any business: employee advocacy. Hand-picked by Sir Richard Branson to transform Virgin Atlantic's in-flight experience, and later the head of customer experience for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Linda shared invaluable insights on how a positive internal culture directly translates to business success.
Every employee’s contribution matters, and when you foster a team of advocates, it can be a powerful catalyst for change, influencing everything from talent retention to customer loyalty.
This article unpacks Linda's key tips and powerful anecdotes to help you build a culture where your employees are your greatest ambassadors.
The foundation: why employee advocacy matters
Linda began by introducing a powerful model that has guided her career: the service-profit chain. Developed by Harvard Business School, this model illustrates a clear link between leadership, employee satisfaction, and organisational success.
The chain works like this:
Leadership directly impacts the employee experience
A positive employee experience improves employee behaviour and engagement
Engaged employees deliver better customer experience
A superior customer experience drives customer satisfaction and loyalty
Loyal customers lead to profitability and growth
Linda emphasised that this isn't just about making people happy at work; it's a strategic approach to building a successful, sustainable business. She pointed out that in today's "talent war”, a strong reputation as an employer is vital. Your current employees are your most important ambassadors, and what they say about your company in their daily lives shapes your brand's reputation more than any marketing campaign.
Leadership as a verb, not a noun
A core theme of Linda's philosophy is her view of leadership. "For me, leadership is a verb, not a noun," she explained. It's not about the job title or position in the hierarchy - it's about the style of management and interaction that permeates the entire organisation.
This is particularly relevant for businesses where managers wear multiple hats. If a supervisor or office manager doesn’t embody the company's values, any high-level messaging about culture becomes inauthentic. True advocacy is built from the ground up, through the daily actions of frontline leaders who are collaborative, supportive, and focused on their teams.
Linda's experience at Virgin Atlantic proved this. By investing in the relationship between cabin crew and their managers, pride in working for Virgin soared from an already high 90% to an incredible 95%. This internal improvement directly correlated with a noticeable increase in customer satisfaction scores. The lesson is clear; you cannot be something on the outside if you don't reflect it on the inside.
In her words, “Leadership has a direct impact on the experience that employees have... If you want to have great communication with your customers, you’ve got to create a culture of employee advocacy and collaboration inside your organisation, or else the relationship with your customers won’t be authentic.” This insight underlines the importance of living your values and ensuring leadership is practiced at every level.
The ripple effect of small gestures
One of Linda’s lasting messages is that advocacy is built on the seemingly small, everyday gestures that make employees feel valued and trusted. She recounted a touching story from Virgin Atlantic: there was a time when, faced with a product disadvantage compared to competitors, her team turned not to big-budget solutions, but to employee-driven creativity. The now-famous teddy bear placed on a passenger’s pillow in business class wasn’t a grand campaign - it was a small, thoughtful detail dreamed up by frontline crew, purchased at very little cost, and executed with genuine care.
It’s these small gestures - a personalised thank you, a thoughtful act in a difficult moment, or a supportive word - that build the foundation for a culture where employees go the extra mile. Linda saw firsthand the value of this approach at both Virgin and the Olympics, describing how engaging volunteers and staff with honest recognition and authentic appreciation fostered deep pride that lasted beyond any singular event.
Authentic communication builds trust
Linda was clear that advocacy isn’t something that can be mandated through a campaign or a single training session. She stressed the importance of honest, two-way communication, backed by everyday management behaviours and authentic relationships. She cautioned against what she called the “sheep-dip approach” - giving everyone the same surface-level messaging without real cultural change or follow-up.
Anecdotes from her time at both Virgin and the Olympics revealed that being visible, listening to team members, and soliciting their input led to genuine engagement. For example, she described how crew managers at Virgin Atlantic would be present in crew rest areas every day, having real conversations and picking up on concerns before they escalated. Similarly, Olympic team leaders would start each day sharing positive stories and celebrating small wins.
HR: the backbone of advocacy
Another of Linda’s key messages was around the vital role HR plays in creating an advocacy-rich workplace. “HR is a vital partner in creating a collaborative culture,” she said, pointing out that processes managed by HR - recruitment, promotion, performance management - are all opportunities to foster advocacy.
One memorable analogy was Linda’s description of the “polluted pond.” Even if you recruit highly motivated people, if the organisational culture is negative, new hires quickly absorb what’s around them, and initial enthusiasm can fade. HR, she notes, should not only be focused on attracting talent but on helping managers become better people leaders, building advocacy from within and sustaining it over time.
The role of recognition and empowerment
Recognition was a key theme in many of Linda’s anecdotes - always attached to sincerity, not superficiality. At the Olympics, volunteers received bronze, silver, and gold pin badges as tokens of appreciation. What mattered wasn’t the item itself, but the heartfelt acknowledgment and public affirmation that came with it. “Try to catch people doing it right, rather than catching them making mistakes,” one of Linda’s own mentors advised, a mantra she found invaluable in making recognition part of the everyday culture.
Similarly, Linda underlined the importance of empowering employees to bring their own ideas to the table. Whether it’s a better way to serve cabin passengers or a fresh approach to guiding Olympic crowds, the best solutions often come from those closest to daily operations. She was quick to remind us that authentic advocacy cannot be scripted - it arises when people feel heard, respected, and equipped to act.
Challenges of maintaining advocacy during cost-cutting
Linda acknowledged the reality many businesses face: during tough times or budget cuts, investment in people may seem less urgent. But she was emphatic that this is when advocacy matters most. Instead of focusing exclusively on customer acquisition, which can be costly and short-term, she encouraged leaders to double down on their existing workforce. Quoting Sir Richard Branson, she noted: “If you look after your people, they will look after your customers.”
As a case in point, Linda described how Virgin Atlantic found itself at a competitive disadvantage when Singapore Airlines launched a superior business class suite. Virgin’s response - leaning into a culture of collaboration and creative service, even with limited resources - ultimately won it the title of ‘Business Airline of the Year’. Cost-conscious initiatives, when co-created with employees and genuinely designed to add value, can make a bigger impact than expensive campaigns.
She also discussed the need for balance when implementing budget cuts, advising leaders to engage employees transparently about challenges. Sharing context, inviting ideas for efficiency, and demonstrating that cost-saving measures are being applied fairly and thoughtfully all help sustain morale and avoid breeding cynicism.
Linda’s top actionable strategies for fostering advocacy
Develop frontline leaders: Go beyond traditional management training by equipping supervisors with coaching, active listening, and communication skills. Encourage leaders to be present, visible, and approachable.
Encourage storytelling: Share positive stories, both big and small, during team meetings and internal communications. Stories reinforce values and remind everyone of their collective purpose.
Empower peer recognition: Create simple ways for employees to recognise each other’s efforts, such as nomination systems, shout-outs during meetings, or shared online platforms.
Solicit regular feedback: Use short, focused surveys or informal staff huddles to check in on morale, gather suggestions, and identify minor issues early.
Celebrate team milestones: Mark the completion of projects, successful sprints, or notable client wins with small celebrations or personal notes, reinforcing a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie.
Lead by example: Make sure senior leaders model the behaviour you want to see throughout the business - open communication, kindness, and respect.
Linda Moir’s experiences at the highest level of service organisations remind us that employee advocacy is a long-term investment, with the power to elevate both workplace culture and customer experience. Especially in challenging times, the greatest asset any business can nurture is a team of people who feel valued, empowered, and genuinely connected to the company’s mission.
You can watch the webinar, ‘Employee advocacy: your biggest asset or biggest risk’, with Linda below.
