Communication Builds Valuable Employee Engagement
There's been a lot of talk in the past few years about employee engagement and why it matters to companies like yours. Most companies believe that employees who are engaged – that is, who support and understand the company's goals and their role in reaching them – improve productivity, quality, and customer engagement. And now there's growing proof, including information from Gallup that is based on more than 30 years of research with more than 17 million employees.
A recent report by Gallup Consulting (Employee Engagement – What's Your Engagement Ratio?) tells us that companies with the best employee engagement have 3.9 times the growth rate in Earnings Per Share as those in the same field with lower engagement. What's more, employees who don't feel engaged can cause real problems. Gallup estimates their cost to be more than $300 billion in lost productivity alone.
What is employee engagement?
In the most basic terms, engaged employees feel they are a part of their companies. They enjoy their jobs and get satisfaction from them. They clearly understand the role their work plays in helping the company succeed and, as a result, give their jobs their best effort.
The Conference Board is a respected non-profit group that provides its business members with the latest business news and best practices. It defines employee engagement as "a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort on his or her work."
A report by BlessingWhite, The State of Employee Engagement 2008, describes it as "an alignment of maximum job satisfaction ('I like my work and do it well') and maximum job contribution ('I help achieve the goals of my organization')."
Communication plays a key role.
Gallup has noted that some of the world's top companies make employee engagement a priority. One element that plays a key role in engagement is communication.
The best-performing organizations use communication tools to help employees understand the company's culture and mission so employees can see how their work helps the company. This allows employees to feel more connected.
Here are a few of the many ways in which good communication with employees can benefit your business:
- Communication leads to better customer service. An informed staff will be able to give accurate information to your customers.
- Communication helps employees answer the question, "Why am I here?" Every company faces change. A company's ability to handle change well is linked to employees who know what is expected of them and who feel connected to the company and its goals.
- Communication helps make employees want to do their best. If you can show your staff that you depend on their input, they will take ownership of the company's goals and long-term success.
- Communication is a two-way street. Your employees are likely to have a lot of information you are not collecting. Any bit of feedback from them has the potential to make a big difference in your bottom line.
Tips for building better communication at your company.
Here are some best-practice suggestions that could work for your company:
- Hold regular staff meetings to keep employees involved and informed. Staff meetings can provide a forum for discussion and are a great way to keep everyone on track. Make sure you hold them regularly, have an agenda and make them worthwhile for you and your employees.
- Publish newsletters for your employees. Employee newsletters can be used to explain benefits, enhance knowledge, report on organizational changes, and get employee feedback. Robert F. Abbott, author of A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, provides guidance for using employee newsletters in "25 Ways to Use Employee Newsletters". http://managersguide.com/
- Think about using blogs or tweets. Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, finds Twitter to be valuable. More than 440 Zappos employees, including the CEO and COO, use it. In an interview with Stephan Spencer for Multichannel Merchant, Hsieh said, "Our #1 priority as a company is our company culture. We believe that if we get the culture right, most of the other stuff, including great customer service, will fall into place on its own. ... Initially, we started getting the entire company more involved with Twitter because we saw it as a great way to help build our company culture. ... The primary focus was to get employees to connect with each other."
- Ask your broker or Humana representative for communication tools such as Wellness Calendars, mobile updates or health reminders via e-mail that can keep your employees engaged and up-to-date. Employees can sign up for reminders on MyHumana, their personal page on Humana.com.
In summary ...
As the BlessingWhite report sums it up, "Hiring and retaining talented people isn't enough these days. If your skilled resources aren't focused on the right things and motivated to give 110 percent, you may end up like a sports team with a big payroll, a bench of sidelined stars and a losing season. ... Your business depends on your employees being committed and focusing their unique talents on what matters most to your business."
Since good communication supports that kind of engagement, it is well worth your company's effort.
For more information on employee engagement, check out these Web sites.
