4 steps to increase workforce engagement in 2021: Step 2 good communication with leadership
“Communication between senior leaders and employees is good in my organisation? …
How would your workforce rate your company on this question?
Employee engagement is high when leaders communicate effectively with employees.
A SurveyMonkey Global Benchmark surveyed 2146 organisations and asked the participants to rate the statement ?Communication between senior leaders and employees is good in my organisation?. 39% of respondents disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. That is alarming.
Poor communication can impact engagement levels as it undermines the two-way relationship between leaders and employees. Lack of clear communication and lack of information can create stress, fear, mistrust and anxiety. When that happens, individuals fill in the blanks by picking up half-truths, rumours and their own background story. With the high degree of virtual teams and remote work, these issues are further exacerbated. Further adding to the complexity, the leaders are engaging across a range of communication mediums.
The Coronavirus pandemic, has resulted in further disconnect as employees are working from home, without any access to normal social communication channels that we find in the office environment. Organisations need to work even harder at ensuring that they have additional effective communication channels. So, what can you do to improve communication between leaders and employees within your organisation?
Develop communication plans and processes
In particular when organisations are going through change, they need to ensure that they maintain an open and transparent communication culture. Create communication plans and strategies that consider:
The messaging
What is being said and how it should be said. Ensure that everyone is saying the same thing and that there is a high degree of consistency in the messaging.
The platforms
How will you communicate your message? Consider the different communication platforms you have available. Thus, you could inform employees of important organisational changes by first debriefing the executive leaders and then announcing it at townhall meeting; write a statement/create a video and put if up on the intranet site; and send email and text messages linking to the statement.
Feedback / Q&A
Ensure that there are channels where individuals are able to ask questions and give feedback. If feasible, create an open-door policy, where anyone can go to the office of an executive and ask questions.By creating effective communication processes, you are able to effectively manage the narrative.
The deliberate steps to increase engagement in your organisation should start with communication. Your impact as a business is important to the people that work for you and directly impacts their level of engagement. By communicating this effectively across the business you can build engagement, build pride and help integrate your company’s mission and purpose with sustainable values.
How can we help you?
Peopleconnexion can facilitate an Employee Engagement Survey, which can help you collect insights as well as you give your employees a voice. This actionable feedback will help you implement deliberate steps to increase engagement and drive performance. Book your free 1×1 conversation with our engagement survey expert, Jean Kilner to find out more.