How do you engage employees? Do you believe a one-time event or program will help you create the performance, participation, pride and promotion you're looking for that lead to true business success?

When it comes to engagement, organizations need to focus on and invest in systems and cultures to have a real impact. That's where the Inner Strength Communication Engagement System comes in. Here are the four areas of the system that are required for true engagement success.

Build the Foundation - Whether it is engaging employees to deliver a strategy, a brand promise, a change program, or CSR initiative; have you built the plan and foundational elements to help you get there? If you're asking for better business results, is there an operational plan? If you're asking for employees to deliver a change plan, do you know what's happening to whom and when? Without this information, we're creating communication and change programs out of thin air, making up the facts, and often disappointed with the results.

Train your People - Once the plan or program is built, how are we telling, selling and training employees around the plan? It's amazing how many organizations I've worked with where HR has built best-in-class benefits programs that employees simply are not aware of. The same with change programs where we know where we want to go, but have not defined key groups that need targeted communication or training in order to deliver the plan. We need to articulate what employees should be aware of, understand, do and believe in order to drive successful behaviour.

Recognize the Right Behaviour - When employees are delivering the right behaviour that is aligned to our strategy, brand and values, it needs to be reinforced. Formal and informal recognition programs should be put in place to provide recognition in a timely manner. Think about what you're telling your people, and whether your organization's decisions and behaviour are reinforcing the right behaviours or doing the opposite. When an organization and leaders say one thing, but do the opposite, you risk disengagement from employees.

Measure and Share Success - All plans need to have measures of success in order to drive accountability. Success measures should exist at a business/operational level and employee engagement level. Take the time to celebrate and share milestones, successful results and aligned behaviour. The stories that come out of measurement will help you create confidence and clarity around your direction and plan. These stories are also a key opportunity to recognize behaviour in a visible way.

By focusing on your engagement system and culture, Communication and Human Resources professional can truly understand how to create true engagement that is sustainable in their organizations.

Get HR and/or Communications leaders to collaborate together in a workshop to assess your engagement system. Two options available:

Live: Priya Bates will join you onsite to run a full-day workshop (maximum 10 participants per workshop) that helps you assess your organization and build an employee engagement plan.

Online: Join Priya Bates in four one-hour sessions via a pre-recorded webinar delivered by IABC Academy. From the Inside Out - Engaging your employees to deliver your strategy and brand.

If you found this post helpful, you’ll also enjoy our newsletter. It’s a monthly collection of ideas, resources, and inspiration for those passionate about enabling, engaging and empowering employees through strategic internal communication.

Related Posts
When I started my Communication Career, I never realized there would be so many opportunities to use my skills. As Communication Professionals, we have to understand our stakeholders; educate people about programs and processes; ensure diverse viewpoints are heard; and consult with internal and external partners to help them accomplish their goals.
Loading Conversation