How many times have you heard “It’s all about relationships”? It’s the building block of society. It’s what makes those connections that bind us and fosters cooperation. It’s what gets things done. When you have a good relationship with others, it makes people interested in what you have to say and vice versa.
If a large part of your job is internal communication, boosting employee engagement is at the top of mind. You want your co-workers to actually read the content you work so hard to create for them! What better way to foster a relationship than by reaching out to them and showing them how much you, and thus the company, value their contributions? Although we are talking about internal communication, the tips below can be adapted to other situations as well.
Start Off on the Right Foot
Start working on that engagement as soon as a new employee walks in the door. Go out of your way to meet and welcome them to the company. A New Employee Kit is a great way to make someone feel like a part of the team. Most companies have branded items like a business casual day shirt, some kind of drinkware that looks nice on their desk, a coaster, mousepad, padfolio, etc. that they can use right away to make them feel part of the team.
Don’t just list new employee names in your newsletter. Gather information from them to write a short introductory article and include their photo. Not only does this make them feel more than just another face in the crowd, it helps other employees recognize them as belonging in the office. That’s a big boon to security in many companies. It also helps other employees recognize common interests and encourages them to seek out the new employee and get to know them.
Publish Photos
It’s human nature to be attracted to images more than just text. Our brains just absorb them better. Moreover, people generally like to see their own faces in those photos. If you include images in all of your communications and especially if you include lots of images of employees in action in your internal newsletter, people will be drawn to your work to see if they are mentioned and others will point it out to them when they are.
Love Thy Co-Worker
Maybe it’s a “mom” thing or maybe my company just has a really good team of employees, but I find that as I work with our employees, I become fonder of them. I see their community involvement, their efforts to do a good job, and their interactions with co-workers and customers. I know their faces up close and personal from editing their photos. It works the same with other employees. The more they see themselves or others in those photos, the stronger the relationships. Even if people don’t often work together, they are more likely to recognize fellow employees and know a little bit about them. That is a big advantage when you need to work with someone for the first time.
Involve Them to Engage Them
As I write public-facing content for social media, I like to involve my subjects. Everyone pretty much knows that when they do something noteworthy there will be a social media post about it. When they are the main subject of a post, I give them a heads up by asking for their approval of the content. That opens the door to asking them to help with a blog post I might have in mind. Showcasing their expertise and their value to the company raises their self-esteem as well as their status in the community. Don’t forget to point people to that blog post through your other channels!
Another way to involve your co-workers is to set up a marketing/communications advisory team. Let them tell you what kinds of articles they’d like to see in the employee newsletter, what topics should be covered in social media, what promotional items they think would go over well, etc. Pick representatives from a cross-section of your departments so that everyone feels represented.
Just Ask
If you have a good relationship with your co-workers, you should feel comfortable just asking them to engage with whatever content you are putting out. Are you sending out an email? Use a “Read More…” link to direct people to your newsletter for the whole story. Do you need to increase engagement in your social media channels? Ask people to help you to get to a benchmark like 1,000 Likes on your Facebook page. Ask them to share posts to help increase your reach.
You thought this article was going to be about trophies or gift cards for performance, didn’t you? Well, those are good, too, but nothing can take the place of good old fashioned relationship-building to increase engagement anywhere you go!
About the Author
Peggy Fleming is Director of Communication and Engagement at West Bank in West Des Moines, Iowa. A member of the Association for Women in Communications, she currently serves as secretary of the AWC National Board of Directors, secretary of the AWC Advancement Fund, and as treasurer of her local chapter. In addition, she serves on the board of directors of Social Media Club Des Moines where she is also treasurer. Peggy is a graduate of Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
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