Millennials are making their mark in the workforce, and, along with their enthusiasm and expertise, they are bringing a new set of challenges for employers.
These changing demands of the workforce have given rise to the relatively new concept of ‘employee experience’. This is all about investing time, money, and resources to strengthen employee relationships and building loyalty within an organization.
The Impact of Employee Experience on Your Bottom Line
Don’t for a moment think that employee experience is just about creating good vibes in the office. It actually has a big impact on profit – which should have every business owner taking an interest. In fact, one disengaged employee can cost their company around $10,000 EACH YEAR in lost revenue, according to a study from AON. Multiply that amount across your entire workforce and you can start to see how much is at stake.
Company revenue aside, research suggests that you’ll attract better talent to your company if your mission and values align with those of your employees – creating a greater sense of belonging and purpose. It’s not just about collecting a paycheck; workers want to feel their efforts are making a positive contribution to the world.
In response to this, companies should be constantly listening to employees and innovating with new, robust employee experiences.
But what role does internal comms have to play in all of this? Well, you might be surprised at the number of ways in which internal comms can impact employee experience – for better or for worse.
Until recently, the focus was mainly on the customer experience. This meant big budgets for external comms and marketing while internal relations and communications were largely overlooked.
As the workforce continues to demand greater engagement, there is a far greater focus on the organization’s internal communicators. Many have found themselves tasked with the new responsibility of creating a cohesive and engaging communication strategy for the company.
Let’s take a look at why internal comms should be regarded as a key business function and how your communications can impact employee experience.
Creating an Engaged Workplace with Employee Experience
In today’s workplace, people come to work not just for the sake of earning an income or to do a “job”. They are coming into work with a sense of purpose, to do something meaningful for self-fulfilment and recognition.
They want to make a difference in the company they work in and want a sense of belonging.
It’s important for employees to understand their goals, how to achieve them, and ensure that their contributions are being valued.
Yet, many organizations are still behind.
It’s not so much that Millennials and Gen Z want different things from their jobs; they want the same things as previous generations. They still need to have clear goals and a route for achieving them, but they want to know what value those goals are contributing. They want to feel part of a team, listened to and valued, but this need is amplified because they have grown up with a constant flow of messages, comments and likes on social media.
When it comes to internal comms, employees appreciate a steady flow of information which tells them how their team and the wider company is progressing towards various goals. But within this, they want to know that their own job matters. A recent LinkedIn survey found that 73% of the 26,000 people surveyed globally wanted a career where they felt they were making a difference.
An effective internal communications system should provide motivation for employees to keep working towards a shared goal. By seeing what they are working towards, they become more committed to doing their part.
Getting the Process Right
Want to know how to make employees feel like they don’t matter? Let them learn about important company news from an external source before it’s officially announced internally. Not just in terms of crises, but also announcements, significant appointments, etc.
This is a big challenge in the fast-moving world of social media and news accessible on our smartphones any time, but having a smooth internal comms process can help. There are two main factors to ensuring all employees hear information from the right source at the right time.
First of all, don’t let internal comms get held up by a lengthy editing and approval process. A few years ago we faced a similar challenged when it came to responding to critical social media posts – and we had to develop processes that allowed us to respond in minutes rather than days.
Secondly, organizations need channels to allow fast, reliable and interactive communication streams with all employees. Which today basically means mobile. This will probably require some investment in new technology and training, but it’s worth it if it means staff can trust the company to give them the news that matters, when it matters.
Time to Take Internal Communications Seriously
Companies need to wake up to the fact that internal communications can no longer be treated as an afterthought; it’s an important business function that, done well, helps keep employees engaged and loyal to the organization. If neglected, it’s likely to have the opposite effect.
Fortunately, it seems that many companies are already aware of the need to invest in this area. A 2016 Internal Communication Survey revealed that internal comms budgets are on the rise, with 87% of respondents saying their budget would either stay the same or increase in the coming years.
However, if you feel like your organization is moving too slowly on improving communications with employees, now is the time to speak up and get the issue in the minds of decision makers. Failure to prioritize it now could leave your company struggling with staff retention for years to come.
Want to learn more about employee experiences? Here’s a great infographic that shows why 2018 is the year for Employee Experiences!