The Role Communication Plays in Driving Employee Engagement

Feb 13, 2017 | Employee Engagement, Performance Management

Your organization may have all sorts of innovative programs in place to boost employee engagement. But do you capitalize on the simplest yet most effective technique of all – communication?

There’s no doubt that communication is key in terms of employee engagement. Get it right and the results will include improved performance, increased employee engagement, and ultimately organizational growth. When employees are fully engaged they’re much more likely to show the commitment and loyalty that’s needed for a strong, forward-moving business. 

An employee who understands strategic business objectives and goals (not only at a high level, but also where they fit in to the bigger picture), is going to be a much more engaged, motivated, and high-performing one. Here are some of the ways your organization can use communication to boost employee engagement

Ensure the message is clear

Make sure all communication is open and honest, or you risk losing employees’ trust. If the workforce feels that what they’re being told isn’t true, or they sense that a communication isn’t transparent, they’re likely to mistrust every message that’s communicated to them. 

Clarity is also important in terms of making sure everyone fully understands the message. If there’s any confusion at all, they won’t be fully engaged. A strategic communication plan should be very carefully designed, and include frequency, method, and type of communication.

Be careful with what you communicate

While transparency and clarity are obviously very important, there are still always going to be times where certain information is sensitive and can’t be shared with everyone in an organization. Some messages might only suitable for certain levels of the organization, which is where a strategic plan comes into place.

You should also be wary of ‘information overload’. Avoid communicating every single piece of information (no matter how irrelevant) across the board. This type of communication isn’t effective because employees are likely to switch off and pay less attention to the important messages when they’re communicated. 

Encourage two-way communication

It’s human nature for people to want to feel listened to, and feel that their opinions matter. This is why encouraging two-way communication is so important for engaged employees. It may be difficult if the organizational structure has always been very ‘top down’. However, culture changes can and should be made particularly if it’s something that’s going to improve performance and employee satisfaction. Think of it as information being fed down from the top, and feedback making its way back up again.

You can encourage two-way communication by using 1:1 meetings and documenting them properly. Having regular 1:1 meetings between manager and employee is a great way to enhance an overall performance management process. 

Monitor employee engagement regularly

You need to get regular feedback to check the effectiveness of any program or initiative, and a tool like Primalogik 360’s Employee Surveys is ideal. Using surveys to measure employee engagement is a communication itself, and allows you to measure the effectiveness of the methods and the messages you’re communicating.

You can give Primalogik 360 a try with a free trial. There’s no commitment and no financial information required. Just enter your email and name and you’ll be able to see how easy Primalogik 360 is to be able to administer 360-surveys as well as performance appraisals.

Related Articles