If this blog image reminds you of the ever so popular film Office Space, then perfect. Hold that thought.
The topic of employee engagement is reverberating across corporations as we speak. As one example, employee engagement is costing Canadian businesses $3.8 billion dollars a year. Why the price tag? Well, besides having to replace Xerox copy printers (a la Peter Gribbons), employee disengagement increases lost productivity, lost revenue and reduce employee morale.
Defined as the psychological state where employees feel satisfied, involved, and empowered, employee engagement is about acting with passion, enthusiasm and energy. Direct benefits include enhanced brand recognition, revenue, productivity, loyalty, staff morale and commitment.
If it doesn’t come as a surprise to you, communications is the biggest factor that influences employee engagement. By simply creating the right communication strategy, you will not only be able to enhance employee trust but you will also build connections that enhance employee energy and focus.
Having visible and approachable management doesn’t hurt either – couple this with two-way communications and you will be able to see the difference between engaged and disengaged. Taken further, the difference between employees who give their full discretionary effort and those who are rationally, emotionally and motivationally disconnected from their work.
We understand that having engaged employees offers substantial benefits; having disengaged employees comes at a significant cost. Undoubtedly, an engagement strategy is related to specific needs. However, we want to offer a list of tactics to help you leverage your communicative practices for the purpose of heightening employee feelings of involvement. Integrate these 6 communication tips to establish beneficial connections with your staff.
1) The art of candid conversation: Earlier this year, the CEO of West Jet was rushing through an airport to catch a flight (like the plane wouldn’t wait for him?). He was stopped by a few employees who had some questions. Rather than asking them to send him an email, he stopped and had a conversation with them about the current business focus, areas of priorities while also citing the benefits of their individual contributions. Reinforcing the organization’s mission and focus candidly helped the employees understand the importance of their work. Make sure your leaders are prepared with scripts and pointers at all times for you never know when the opportunity will call for them to fuel open and transparent connections with employees.
2) Social media (that works for you): Gone are the days of a stale intranet site that is updated once a quarter. The latest trend is establishing collaboration models that allow employees to share their feedback. This level of employee input not only collects creative and innovative ideas but also signals a new level of trust. When social media is introduced there is a natural nervousness that negative items will come up. While this could be viewed as the truth, the opportunity for positive comments must be nurtured. Give your employees tools for impromptu dialogue. Sometimes, negative perceptions is really a result of miscommunication. By collecting feedback, you’ll know what type of messaging is needed within your organization.
3) Frequent progress updates: Empower your employees to do more by telling them more information often. The more employee communications are linked back to organizational goals and objectives the more employees will understand their contributions. Email updates, conference calls and ad hoc floor visits will do the trick.
4) Inspirational recognition: Gone are the days of the laser printed signatures on employee recognition communications. Schedule (and commit) time to formally write out thank you cards and congratulatory letters. As decreed by Marshall McLuhan, the medium is the message. Grab your trusted pen and hand-write your message. A hand written note is powerful as it demonstrates you took a break to especially recognize a specific action.
5) Effective visibility: As a leader, make yourself known with your employees. The more they see you the more they will trust you. And where there is trust there is engagement. Trust allows employees to feel that they can communicate without repercussions and reprisals. Organize employee huddles. Ask for employee input as you spend time on the floor. Treat your staff to a special after-work event. Demonstrate your more personal side and you will create enhanced communication opportunities.
6) Train the trainer: Employee engagement is also influenced by employee interaction with coworkers and direct supervisors. Why? Supervisors have frequent and direct interaction with employees. Since communication is a major influencer for engagement, design a train the trainer toolkit that equips managers with the resources they need to adequately and effectively communication with their staff. Templates, reference guides, positioning ad communication training will help do the trick.
Overall, employee engagement is critical to a healthy and viable business. By investing time, energy and budget, you will be able to connect with your employees and enable a more engaged workforce. Effective communication is essential – we get this. What we need to start doing is more of it (and well).
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