As a leadership coach who works with teams large and small, I have come to recognize more and more the value of an engaged workforce.
A quick Google search for “employee engagement” yields over 3.2 million hits and this eye-opening statistic:
Organizations with highly engaged employees had an average 3-year revenue growth 2.3 times greater than companies whose employees were only engaged at an average level. Increasing employee engagement investments by 10% can increase profits by $2,400 per employee per year.
(Source: UNC Kenanflager Business School, April 2017)
Are you focusing on the well-being of your employees? The proof will be in the numbers in terms of turnover, productivity and profitability.
Playing a large part in the engagement is how leadership communicates with employees. Do your employees feel valued? Are they leaving because a lack of communications or the wrong communications?
Debbie Albert, of Albert Communications, assesses how companies communicate with both their internal and external audiences, with qualitative and quantitative research. Individual interviews yield candid feedback and often result in identifying employees playing out of position, flight risks, or those ready for a move. Often, they uncover organizational hits and misses resulting in suggested modifications which can enhance employee satisfaction and engagement. She calls it her Clarity Playbook.
In one instance, Albert Communications was retained to do an initial assessment of the communications channels for a large franchised organization with 200 full-time employees. Twenty-four individual interviews were held followed by a comprehensive employee survey. Senior leadership was presented with the findings and recommendations. To date, a new role was added, with additional structural changes being considered. Click here for the in-depth case study of the work they did.
Following that successful assessment, Albert Communications was asked to do the same with the company’s franchisees to determine the effectiveness of the communications between the franchisor and the 400 franchisees. With a report full of robust recommendations for enhancing communications – most of which came from its own employees and its franchisees – the company further retained Albert Communications to work with its own employees on the implementation.
What’s the impact? When leadership understands the connection between communication and employee engagement, it’s a win-win, both for morale and the bottom line.