By Susan Josephson
I was talking to a friend of mine recently who is the CEO of a non-profit healthcare organization. Over the past year, she has faced many challenges. Staff turnover. A refocus of priorities and strategies. And an evolving creative expression of the brand. As she was describing what was going on within her organization, she casually said that she’ll need to educate her team on branding to which I enthusiastically responded – absolutely. Anytime an organization undergoes a business change-those life cycles events common to all organizations such as a redefined strategic direction, a new brand positioning, a merger or acquisition, or downsizing-you have to get in front of your associates and help them understand where you are going and why and what this change means for them. I heard the CEO of a Research Triangle Park-based software company once say that it was his job to give employees a reason to come back the next day. Who is taking responsibility for each employee’s return within your organization and what does it look like?
The Towers Perrin 2007-2008 Global Workforce Study cited that “the more engaged the workforce, the greater the percent of employees intending to remain with their current employer.” Clearly decreased turnover is a significant contributor to a healthy bottom line.
I just read an interesting excerpt on The Employee Engagement Blog where author Brad Federman made a stunning statement as he discussed the implications of employee engagement to business success: “You may have the bodies, but how many souls have left the building? Without spirit they don’t have a business.”
So what’s the engagement pulse of your employee base? Here are a few questions to ponder.
- What are you measuring on your employee surveys? Where are the gaps in knowledge and perceptions, and how are you addressing them?
- Is your team in tune with your organization’s top priorities and do they understand how their jobs help fulfill the company’s business goals?
- Is there consistent communication over time about what matters most to your company?
- What’s your communication approach – a monologue or dialogue?
- Is senior management not only tasked with but enthusiastically embracing their role as an internal brand ambassador?
Your most important audience is your workforce. Take care of them. Talk to them about what you do, how you do it better than your competition and how they can contribute to the organization’s success. Give them a reason to care. Then take your message externally and deliver a brand experience that is authentic and consistently positive.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.