Nearly 70% of the U.S. workforce is disengaged, according to Gallup’s ongoing study of the American workplace. Leading organizations across the country are taking notice and investing more resources into attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent in order to drive bottom line business results.
Accelerating employee engagement and building an inspiring company culture is a big job that most often lands in the jurisdiction of internal communications and HR professionals. Recently, industry leaders have seen a strategic trend emerging in the internal communications space: becoming more human.
By becoming more human in their approach to internal communications, organizations can see higher productivity and retention rates.
Connect the workforce with their leaders
Humanizing the senior leadership within your organization is important because employees want to feel connected to the bigger picture. This can be done in many ways, including: hosting a monthly Q&A with leadership, creating a video series showing the person behind the corner-office door, or even featuring face-to-face employee appreciation events hosted by leadership. The main objective of connecting the workforce with their leaders is to break down barriers to communications and bridge the gap between management levels.
Listen with the intention of understanding, not simply to reply
Employees want to be heard. And, the workforce is one of your most invaluable sources of insight. As managers, communicators, and HR professionals, it’s crucial to employee engagement and retention to hear and understand your workforce. When you open up two-way dialogue with your employees, be sure you are listening with the intention of understanding and not just formulating a reply.
Clearly and consistently communicate the company’s mission, vision, and values
Make sure your workforce knows your organization’s mission (what you’re trying to accomplish) and vision (how you’re going to accomplish it). And, just as importantly, make sure the values of the organization are clear as well. When an employee can align themselves with the values of the company and have a true understanding of why their job is important to the mission of the organization, that leads to employee engagement and job satisfaction.
Tell us in the comments section below: how are you becoming more human at work?