7 Tips on How Managers Increase Engagement through Communication

Can Managers Increase Engagement through Communication?
The short answer is yes!  It is important that managers increase engagement through communication.  Why?  Because employee communication can make or break your business success. According to SIS International Research, organizations with roughly 100 employees lose more than $525,000 annually due to ineffective manager-employee communication.

7 Tips How Managers Increase Engagement through Communication
So what can you do to ensure managers increase engagement through communication – not hindering employee engagement? See that you provide new manager training for inexperienced, newly promoted individual contributors and follow these guidelines:

1. Be Personal
   Get to know your employees, interact with them on a personal level, and make them the subject of your communication. When you focus on your employees and show that your investment in them extends beyond the workplace, you’ll spark interest and grasp their attention. To make your communication more personal, share their excitement and concerns and stimulate your connection frequently.
2. Share Your Passion
   Live and breathe the organization’s brand in every form of communication. When employees see, hear, and feel that leaders are dedicated to the organization, committed to its mission, and engaged, they will be too. Let your communication prove that you are passionate about the products, services and solutions you offer, the people you employ, and the customers you serve.
3. Listen and Ask for Feedback
   Top-notch communicators know that great communication is a two-way street. Take your expert listening skills one step further and ask for honest employee feedback to maximize engagement. A good place to start is with an employee engagement survey. When you gather, analyze, and act on relevant employee feedback, you will prove that you care about your employees, their workplace, and the entire organization
4. Recognize
   It’s no secret that recognition (or lack thereof) directly impacts an employee’s level of engagement. In fact, research shows that feeling unrecognized and undervalued is one of the seven hidden reasons why employees leave their organizations. Give employees what they want, and cultivate engagement via communication. Communicate employee value with recognition practices, like praise from senior leadership, increased autonomy, or meaningful rewards.
5. Radiate Positivity
   Employee engagement is emotional, and positive emotions can lead to a more engaged workforce. Be mindful of how your communication makes employees feel. Do they leave a conversation feeling confident and inspired or unappreciated and disheartened? To avoid negativity in the workplace, project a positive manner in all your employee interactions
6. Be Open and Honest
   It’s a simple concept but perhaps one of the hardest aspects of communication in the workplace, especially when conflict arises. However, when you are consistently open and honest with your communication (regardless of the situation), you will gain credibility, respect, and most importantly, employee trust.
7. Act on Your Word
   All modes of communication impact employees, including nonverbal. In order to maintain the credibility, respect, and employee trust you’ve gained through open and honest communication, back up your word with action. If you’ve promised to implement new recognition practices based on your most recent survey results, do it. Then, take it one step further and communicate that action.

The Bottom Line
Managers increase engagement through communication and have an enormous impact on the success of your organization. Effective manager-employee communication can increase employee engagement, boost workplace productivity, and drive business success. Conversely, poor communication can have damaging effects. Implement these seven tips into daily interactions to make sure your communication is fostering an engaged workforce.

To learn more about how top managers increase engagement through communication, download Leading Virtual Teams Challenges and 3 Winning Communication Strategies