With the fourth quarter already here and the new year quickly approaching, many businesses are diving into their planning for 2022. From submitting business cases to securing budgets, internal communications leaders right now are trying to secure approval to improve their corporate communications.
Although these past few years have been challenging, adaptation and innovation proved fundamental to survival and growth, which is why putting together a proactive and well thought-out corporate communications plan is crucial. That’s because smart business leaders know that effective corporate communications can unlock numerous benefits throughout their entire organization.
Before you dive in too deep, however, we wanted to share helpful information on how you can specifically improve communications for both a desk and/or deskless workforce, all while furthering your diversity and inclusion initiatives as well as creating a better employee experience.
Engage your Employees, No Matter Where They Are
One of the biggest challenges facing businesses right now is retaining and engaging their employees. This summer, we saw a huge wave of turnovers that was sparked by a variety of reasons such as seeking a promotion or feeling burnt out. In June alone, 3.9 million people quit their jobs, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. And according to the Achievers Workforce Institute’s 2021 Engagement and Retention Report, out of 2,000 surveyed employed adults in February, 46% of respondents felt less connected to their company and 42% believed company culture has weakened since the start of the pandemic.
Fortunately, this is a huge opportunity for corporate communications to step in and tackle this challenge. With the future of work uncertain, many businesses are still split between having employees return to the office or work remotely. Regardless of where your workforce is located, it’s crucial to keep all of your employees in the know. No one wants to feel kept in the dark, and by keeping your employees informed or even involved with company decisions, they’ll feel a stronger connection to your company.
Engaging your employees shouldn’t stop here though. Employees should feel connected to not only the company at large but also to their individual colleagues. Your corporate communications strategy should encourage employees to communicate and build connections with each other so they can foster a sense of community and company culture. Working towards both of these goals won’t only help your employees stick around—it’ll also drive their performance. According to McKinsey & Company, employee productivity increases by up to 25% in organizations where employees are connected.
Support Your Strategies with the Right Tools
Of course, engaging your employees is easier said than done. But now that you’ve identified employee engagement as a priority, you can set about how to accomplish it. While some organizations might jump into, say, planning weekly email newsletters, your 2022 plan needs to consider an omnichannel approach.
An omnichannel approach is one that simply includes all possible forms of communication. The greatest advantage of this approach is that it empowers your employees to choose the communication channel that works best for them. This is a huge convenience given that so many employees are working from home, the office, coffee shops, the road, and more—which will ultimately increase the reach of your communications as well as create more opportunities for your workforce to connect with each other.
And before any concerns set in about having too much to manage with an omnichannel approach, know that the best tools will make executing your plans a breeze. Automation lets you seamlessly post across channels with cascading notifications, reminders, format content for different devices (mobile phones, tablets, desktops, smartwatches), and much more. The smartest tools should also help your employees keep all of their workplace channels in sync; once an employee reads a post in one channel, the platform should mark it as read for that employee on every channel. This way, you can communicate only what’s relevant to avoid overwhelming employees with too much information, thus preventing communication fatigue, while also demonstrating that the company cares about employee wellness.
Confidently Step into 2022 with the Best Resources from Sparrow
This new year, your business deserves the best communication tools out there so you can engage your employees, boost productivity, and bring value throughout your workforce. At Sparrow, we believe in the power of workforce communications and can help your business stay ahead of the competition. Book a conversation with us today.
