Like anyone involved on the social web in our industry, I read countless blogs, comments and tweets on tips to improve employee engagement. Of the main issues, what's one that re-occurs on countless occasions?
Communication.
You have certain goals for your company and ways for your employees to work to help achieve those overall goals. An incentive program has been set in place to help meet - dare I say....exceed - those set goals. Are your employees aware of those goals? Are they aware of how their job fits into the big picture?
Communication goes beyond just informing. It's obviously important for employees to know what is expected of them for them to rise up to those expectations. Employees will always have a difficult time reaching company goals when they aren't aware of those specific goals and how their work aligns to achieve them. Good communication is a way of showing you care about those who work for you.
It's also a two-way practice. There's more to good employee communication than just giving instructions. Listening is just as important (if not more important) as doing the talking yourself. Find out what motivates your employees or drives them. What are they interested in? What kind of projects drive them? Google allots time to their employees to work on any project they want. From this, morale and engagement have boosted and some of Google's best products have resulted.
The level of communication in an work environment is directly proportional to the level of employee engagement. Good communication also improves the effectiveness of your incentive program, helping your employees become more aware of their contribution toward company goals.
What do you think?
