Employee Engagement – Talk Your Way Into Their Hearts
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We hope you enjoy this article by Barb Sawyers on strengthening relationships with your employees.
Strategies to strengthen employee engagement have to be as individual and varied as the people in the organization. And they have to penetrate deep into the heart.
Research from respected consulting firms such as Gallup and Towers Perrin agrees that engaged employees want to do their best, not because of the financial rewards, but because their job is who they are.
Employee engagement communication has to be accompanied by actions to fix problems and create a culture of engagement, where people feel valued and comfortable in speaking out.
Unlike traditional top-down employee communication, it also has to offer channels for feedback, input and user content. Many organizations are accomplishing this through social media tools, like blogs and Facebook groups.
But what about the hospitals, factories, farms and other workplaces where employees aren’t tied to computers?
People talk. In person. One-on-one or in small groups.
Study after study has shown that talking with supervisors and managers is the preferred way to communicate, even for people who spend their days at the keyboard. Talking also solves the problem of communicating with employees who work different shifts.
Sure, global organizations have to rely on virtual communication. But even the most tech-savvy companies are trying to personalize their online employee communication through videos, web cams and other means.
It’s ironic that there’s so much emphasis on measuring levels of employee engagement and the results on organizational performance. Yes, there’s lots to measure.
But the true measure of engagement can be seen only in real life. The nurse listening with compassion to the patient’s complaints… the electrical worker caring enough to make sure the job is done safely… the call center employee who actually talks to a customer instead of reading a script.
Social media gurus talk a lot about conversations, though the conversations on Facebook and Twitter tend to be pretty superficial.
Let’s not forget that the best conversations take place in person, between people who already know and respect each other. Open, caring and purposeful conversations between managers, supervisors and team members are the heart and soul of employee engagement.
http://www.stickycommunication.ca
http://barbsawyers.wordpress.com
Barb Sawyers writes articles, newsletters, announcements, scripts and other communication that are read and remembered. With a masters in journalism and more than 25 years’ experience, Barb has enabled many corporations, small businesses, government agencies and nonprofits to communicate more effectively.
She’s working on an e-book called The First 25 Words.
A member of IABC/Toronto, Barb is past chair of the Alliance of Independent Practitioners, a large group of independent communicators.
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