Want your company to succeed? Invest in an effective employee communication strategy.
What is employee communication?
Simply put, employee communication refers to the many ways companies communicate with their employees. It’s a simple concept with a huge impact when done well.
Why employee communication is important
Effective communication:
- Helps employees understand your vision, mission and goals
- Gives them the information they need to do their jobs well
- Drives them to help achieve business results
- Increases employee engagement, morale and satisfaction
- Allows for two-way dialogue
- Boosts productivity
- Improves the employee experience and retention
- Reinforces the company brand and culture
- Builds trust and eliminates rumors
- Prepares your team to serve as brand ambassadors for the company
Good employee communication can even impact your bottom line. Studies show that engaged employees are more productive, making the companies they work for more profitable. The opposite is also true. In one survey, 400 large companies estimated that poor communication cost each of them $62.4 million on average in lost productivity.
How to improve employee communication
Given how important employee communication is, it pays to make sure you’re doing it right. Start with a communication audit—a comprehensive review of what you’ve communicated over the past year. As you do, see how you stack up in the following areas:
- Communication goals. In your communication materials, is it clear what you wanted employees to do, think or feel? Can you connect your communication goals to business needs?
- Audiences. Are your messages reaching the right people? How do your audiences perceive your communication? If you don’t know, consider focus groups or surveys to find out.
- Key messages. Does your communication come across as open, transparent and authentic? Are messages friendly and easy to understand? Or are they weighed down by corporate lingo?
- Communication methods. Are your current employee communication tools effective? Are you following the latest employee communication trends? Would it help to add in new tools like podcasts or texting?
- Design. Are your materials eye-catching and engaging? Does the design support your message? Do you have an identifiable internal brand that reinforces your culture?
- Results*.* Does your communication achieve your desired goals? If not, why not? How can you use any lessons learned to make future communication better?
This review should start to show where your communication is working and where it can be improved. Use your findings to create or refine your overall employee communication plan.
When to ask for help
If you’re not getting the results you want or simply want some cool new ideas, ask an employee communication specialist for help. At PartnerComm, we believe employee communication should be simple, straightforward, easy to understand, effective and anything but boring. We’d love to help you take your employee communication to the next level.