Digital employee engagement

Niall Cook, Refocus Associates

#connectIDEA

Refocus

“We help organisations use social technologies to engage staff, collaborate more effectively and improve productivity”

Niall Cook More than 15 years of digital communication experience

Principal of Refocus and Sociagility

Focus on digital internal and corporate communications Pioneer in organisational use of social technologies

Client experience includes Balfour Beatty, Bonhams, Cisco, Groupon, Legal & General, Sheffield University, Thistle Hotels

Services include training, consulting and support to HR, OD, IT, IC and other professionals

Author of Enterprise 2.0: How social software will change the future of work

www.niallcook.comniall@refocuslimited.com

@niallcook07912 437 573

Employee engagementmatters

What is engagement? An “engaged employee” is one who is fully absorbed by and

enthusiastic about their work and take positive action to further the organisation’s reputation and interests

“Engaged employees” contribute discretionary effort for their organisations

“Engaged employees” find meaning in their work

Engagement = productivity Productivity loss due to active disengagement

• $450–550bn per yearUSA• $151–186bn per yearGermany• $83–112bn per yearUK

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2011–2012Based on 230,000 employees in 142 countries

Engagement = performance

State of employee engagement

Communicationmatters

Communication = productivity 40% of an employee’s productivity is directly determined by

the amount of communication with others whilst discovering, gathering and internalising information

Employees with the most extensive digital networks are 7% more productive than their colleagues

Source: Bulleit, B. 2006. Effectively managing team conflict.

Communication = engagement Improved interactions

Greater trust

Better understanding

Improved efficiency

Better performance

Gratification

Companies thatcommunicate effectively

are

4xmore likely to have

high levels of employee engagement

Effective communication matters

Digitalmatters

New opportunities to engage Employees want to engage more with senior teams via social

media channels…

…40% of managers would be happy to reciprocate

A fifth of employees would share company news if they thought friends and family might be interested

But two-thirds have no involvement in their company’s social media activity

And more than 25% are not even allowed to access social networks Source: hyphen workplace solutions

Here come the natives Increasing numbers of digital natives (born after 1982) are entering

the workforce

They will operate best in open, collaborative, socially-mediated environments

They will expect to use their own technology and mobile devices for work and seek out employers that will let them

The majority of content they consume is created by ‘people like them’

Challenges for organisations The types of communication that effectively engage

employees are shifting

More dynamic digital experiences will have a higher impact on employee engagement

Imperative to create real-time, two-way dialogue using social tools – internally and externally

Employee ambassador programmes

Employee ambassadors Actively share news about the organisation

Use social media and word of mouth

Know how and why to share

Recognised and rewarded

Volunteers

Passionate and enthusiastic

Making it happen Find hidden talent

Include senior management

Create policies and guidance

Develop an “ambassador toolkit”

Provide training

Constant communication

Put the intranet at the centre

Support with social media

Sharing the approved stuff

Benefits Employees want to be

passionate and proud

It makes work better

Evangelises the brand

Creates conversation and community

Encourages creativity

In summary Employee engagement can impact on performance and

productivity

Effective communication can impact on employee engagement and productivity

The types of communication that effectively engage employees are shifting

Employee ambassador programmes provide an opportunity to engage a digitally native workforce and benefit the brand

Let’s talk some more

www.niallcook.comniall@refocuslimited.com@niallcook07912 437 573

#connectIDEA