Let’s assume your employees know what to do when they show up at work. But do they know why they do it? For many workers, understanding how their jobs contribute to the success of their company or make a difference to the world at large is an afterthought. That’s one likely reason why employee engagement numbers hover at around 35% — and that’s on a good day. But might all of this be the result of poor internal communication?
Internal communication that misses its target is a waste of time and money.
For many employees, keeping up with company news is often a job that winds up on the bottom of their already full to-do lists. After all, who wants to waste their time reading work-related information that isn’t really related to his or her actual job?
Truly relevant internal communication, on the other hand, with practical relevance and real meaning for your people, is certain to contribute to a positive corporate culture and sustainably enhance employee engagement.
And fortunately, making this kind of information available to your people has become far easier in recent years with the rise of mobile devices like smartphones and communications channels like an employee app.
These types of tools are far more capable than previous methods of communication. They allow companies greater reach to all of their employees, no matter where they sit, and target them with engaging, practical, and highly relevant content.
The cornerstone of this type of content gives employees a sense of purpose and motivates them to be their best in service to a goal that’s greater than their individual satisfaction.
By the way, if the benefits of an employee app sound like something your company would be interested in exploring, we totally encourage you to schedule a demo. It’s one thing for us to write about the advantages of an employee app, but seeing is believing, as the saying goes.
So what things do my employees need to know most?
Communication can be either positive or negative. Messages that constantly serve to badger your employees with corporate rules and regulations will naturally cause less than positive reactions. Frequent complaints, more sick days, increased turnover, and lower employee performance are just some of the unwanted consequences.
On the other hand, communicating with purposeful messages contributes to greater employee confidence. And when employee engagement increases, so does productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
There is certain information that every employee wants and needs to know in order to feel a real sense of inclusion and purpose. This includes the values and the vision of the company.
For employees to be truly engaged, they should understand certain fundamental things about the work they do and the organization for whom they do it.
Any message to your workforce that can answer the following questions will have a beneficial effect on just how connected its members feel to the role they play in helping to achieve an organization’s main objectives.
10 Questions Your Employees Should Be Able to Answer
- What products and services does my company offer and what problem does it solve for the customer? How is the customer’s life positively influenced by what my company offers?
- How can the vision of my company be summarised in a few words?
- What is the stated mission of my organization? What’s the plan for implementing this vision?
- Who are my company’s main competitors and how is my company different from them?
- How does my job specifically contribute to the success of the whole company?
- Who is the boss of my boss and what exactly are the tasks and responsibilities of both?
- Who is my contact in HR and how do I make sure I’m getting all the information that’s important to me and my work?
- What growth and training opportunities does my company offer?
- Which techniques and tools are available to make my work more effective?
- What big company events or initiatives should I know about or be participating?
Ensuring that employees can align their efforts behind shared business objectives means that communicators must do their best to provide content that addresses these essential concerns.
Internal communication that can help to answer these ten questions are a great way to get your employees started on the road to true fulfillment and satisfaction in their working lives.