Communicating for Employee Engagement

"Companies need powerful employee communication now more than ever before. Effective workplace communication is the lifeline that connects employees to the CEO's business agenda, motivates the workforce to give the company 110 percent and drives the organization's financial results."

-International Association of Business Communicators

If you think communication isn't important in engaging your employees, then think again. Effective communication is an international concern. In October, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) held its 2009 Employee Communication Conference, where some of the hot topics included encouraging leaders to engage in meaningful two-way communication with employees and accelerating strategies for employee engagement. Communication plays a key role in the way employees do their jobs.

After 12 major studies on employee engagement, the IABC conference board defined employee engagement as "a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, [and] that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work." At least four of the studies focused on eight key drivers, including the following:

Trust and Integrity - How well managers communicate and "walk the talk"
 

Employee Development - The effort a company makes to develop employee skills
 

Relationship With One's Manager - The level of value an employee has in the relationship with his/her manager
 

All of the studies showed that the direct relationship employees had with their managers was the strongest driver. The study also revealed that engaged employees outperformed their disengaged counterparts by 20 to 28 percentage points.

It stands to reason communication and rapport-building between managers and employees is something organizations should pay attention to. Training managers in the area of communication gives them a powerful tool that can affect the entire organization, and at the same time it helps .engage and retain good managers.

The reality is that good relationships among managers and their employees are often strained. Many managers find communicating with clarity or checking to make sure their messages are understood to be a difficult part of their jobs.

Our services can help your organization's managers communicate with employees effectively, paving the way for employee engagement.

Increasing your managers' communication skills can help engage every employee, increase productivity and help you retain and manage great talent. And isn't that the work environment your organization wants?

Source: Melodae Morris, M.A., APR, SPHR and Vital Learning

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