7 ways to use digital and social media to increase workforce engagement
One of the biggest challenges CEOs and other business leaders tell me is that their workforce is not as engaged as they would like them to be.
Research by Gallup suggests a staggering 87% of employees are not engaged at work. Why is this important? Well, mainly because companies with highly engaged workforces outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share.
The reasons are for this lack of engagement are many, and include:
it’s the first week back after Christmas (yeah, OK, so this is why it’s taken me HOURS to write 30 words of this blog post…)
boredom
feedback is limited (or mostly negative)
they feel like no one cares about the work they do
there is a negative culture with no supportive framework
your organisation has been slow to adapt to change, especially when it comes to updating technology, using digital and social media, adapting to the expectations of younger workers, and acknowledging the gig economy
your people don’t understand the organisational purpose and/or how their role fits.
I could go on.
So what can we do to increase engagement?
Let’s start by encouraging CEOs and leadership teams to use digital and social media to engage with their workforce.
Research by Hootsuite and LinkedIn found that when CEOs and senior executives use social media, there is a 40% increase in employee engagement. This research also found that when sales teams are engaged on social media, they are 50% more likely to achieve their sales quota.
There are many ways CEOs and other leaders can use digital and social media without opening your personal Facebook account up to your employees.
7 ways to use digital and social media to engage your workforce
If you have an intranet or use Facebook Workplace or Yammer, USE IT. A few years ago I was brought into a large company to improve their internal communication. A key part of my role was to drive engagement of an existing Yammer account. I quickly realised it was doomed to fail because the CEO and most other leaders refused to use it – apparently, they were “too busy”…
Pick an external social media platform where your people hang out, and USE IT. Connect with them, have conversations with them, share company updates, your thoughts on your industry and your community. This will also have the added benefit of letting your customers and investors know what you’re up to both as an individual and as an organisation.
Have conversations with the people in your online communities – internal and external. Listen to what other people are saying and comment on their posts. Don’t just wait for people to comment on yours.
Ask questions. When David Thodey was CEO of Telstra, he used Yammer to ask his workforce “What processes and technologies should we eliminate?”. He received more than 830 responses, which were then reviewed by his team.
TELL PEOPLE what is happening in your organisation and tell them why they are doing what they are doing. Make sure everyone knows and understands your core purpose.
Show your human side and tell stories.
Use video – video is an excellent way to reach a lot of people quickly, especially if you have a geographically dispersed workforce. It’s also a great way to show your true and authentic self, as they are hard to hide behind. Share regular selfie videos with your teams, letting them know what you’re doing, who you’re meeting. Share updates from meetings, stories, how boring it can be hanging around the airport…
How are you using digital and social media to engage your people?
Want more? Download Mel’s FREE WHITEPAPER, The Social CEO, NOW.
If you – or your CEO – needs some support, I’m now running mentoring programs to help CEOs and leaders become more socially savvy. Please get in touch if you want more info.
