Good news from Punch Taverns last week. The company has managed to improve engagement levels across its staff, even during the darkest times of the economic downturn. You can read the full story through the link below.
I applaud this type of success. Despite a tough economic climate, in which they had to make redundancies and impose a pay freeze, the company managed to keep employees involved, focused and engaged.
But, in view of case studies like this, it’s even more amazing that some organisations don’t recognise the business-critical role that employee engagement can play during difficult times.
It is particularly important in the current climate. Conflicting signs over the state of the economy – whether we’re poised for growth or on the brink of a double-dip recession – can leave employees unsure whether to feel confident or even more worried. Is their employer gearing up for growth, or preparing to retrench once more? Should they re-commit and refocus on their current job or look for greener grass elsewhere?
These are issues that every employer has to address if they are to galvanise their people for the road ahead (whatever their strategy or plan). They have to take steps to re-connect with their people in ways that inspire, challenge and support them to give their best. There are many steps involved, but here are some key issues to consider:
• Know your audience – behind this oft-quoted platitude is a very important truth: you have to understand your audience in order to connect with them. Employees are not a holistic group. You need to identify and analyse the different groups, and how they fit together. You need to harness knowledge (or conduct new research) to understand their various issues, concerns and communication preferences. Laying bare the audience in this way will help you build the type of programme that blends corporate and individual needs, sparking sustained engagement as a result.
• Be creative – you have to make your communication stand out to gain employee attention. But ‘creativity’ doesn’t mean being wild and whacky for the sake of it. You’ve got to focus on ‘relevant creativity’ that helps you really connect with your people, so you have a better chance of securing the response you are seeking. You can have the most exciting creative concept, and the most compelling visual or tactical execution, but if these aren’t wholly aligned with your ‘desired response’ from employees, you won’t achieve your goals.
• Be rigorous – don’t be half-hearted about your activity. Demonstrate a clear desire to connect with your people, both to gain cut-through with creative communication but also to seek ideas, questions and feedback from your people. And be consistent, so that effective engagement of your people is a cornerstone of the way you do things in your company.
Taking these steps will set you on the right road to building more effective engagement with your people, across the organisation, even in tough times. And it’s clearly much more than a ‘nice to have’; the Punch Taverns example shows how more engaged teams garner might higher customer feedback, which of course drives loyalty and repeat purchase. Just think about the productivity that’s draining (and the people who might be leaving) if you aren’t connecting with them.
