Moving From Internal Communications to Employee Engagement

I started my marketing communications career handling internal communications for an international hotel company. Although my position was part of the Marketing Division’s Communications department, I often worked closely with the company’s Human Resources personnel when communicating organizational changes and other related news. And while of course it’s critical for a company to keep its employees apprised of news and take the temperature of employee satisfaction, this is a static, one-way process. Creating a two-way conversation offers an opportunity to more actively engage employees in your company’s business goals so they become your brand ambassadors.

In Reasons Why Internal Communications Is More Important Than Ever, author Sina Kaye Lockley says,

“Workforce demographics are changing. As baby boomers retire, millennials now make up the biggest part of the workforce and are moving into management positions. At the same time, members of Generation Z are starting to come out of college and move into their first full-time jobs.

While generational categories might often seem too simplistic, there’s no escaping from one underlying truth that they reveal: Each successive generation from millennials onward has been more and more demanding, especially concerning the ways their employers talk and listen to them. They expect fewer office politics and increased collaboration, transparency, and feedback.

Companies spend large amounts of money and resources on their external relations and communication but often neglect internal marketing and communications to their employees.”

And in Why Poor Employee Engagement Will Kill Your Business, Sami Akseli says, “In order to maintain and grow your business, you need employees who work hard, deliver results, bring in new ideas to help grow your business and stay in the company. Also, it doesn’t hurt if your employees spread a good word about the company and help you recruit the best talent to work there. If they don’t, it will hurt your business – a lot. Disengaged employees put in less hours, struggle to get things done, don’t take initiative and are more likely to leave the company.”

According to a report by Gallup, only 13% of employees worldwide are engaged and it’s costing in productivity. In the U.S., the cost of low engagement is between $450 and $550 billion each year.

Akseli cites programs by companies including Supercell, Yousician, Drift, Gryphon Secure, L’Oreal, Virgin, and Glassdoor as examples of how engagement is impacting their bottom line.

How are they doing it? By following the following seven steps:

• They understand what employees are thinking.
• They create an intentional culture.
• They demonstrate appreciation for contributions great and small.
• They commit to open, honest communication.
• They support career path development.
• They engage in social interactions outside work.
• They know how to communicate the organization’s stories.

But this type of cultural shift must come from the top. Aneeta Madhok said it well in her article, Employee Engagement: The Role of Leadership,

Ultimately the vehicle for all employee engagement initiatives is, communication, dialogue, inclusive values, commonly held vision. Regardless of the diversity within, the differences in culture, the gulf in technology, the geographic divides, and other such oceans of differences, bridges need to be built through care, attention, inclusion and a listening healing ear and the kind of communication that listens and responds. And that flows from leadership.

Not the kind of leadership that awes and inspires, but the kind that connects and builds. The kind of leadership that equalizes and legitimizes differences not creates hierarchical spans of control and command. It’s a natural chemistry of leaders who carry empathy, respond with responsibility to be an anchor in the world of an employee, find all that is common and universal in worlds of different people from different contexts.

Instead of a hierarchical culture where information is pushed out (and down) on a need-to-know basis, companies that trust their employees and openly share company values, show sincere appreciation and encourage questions, feedback, and ideas, are the ones who will enjoy the greatest success.