5 May 2008
Australasian media gets hot on engagement
In-depth coverage demonstrates mainstream awareness.
Two prominent Australasian media outlets have this week published lengthy articles on the important of employee engagement.
Both the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) and New Zealand Herald (NZH) newspapers have focused on the value of employee positivity and discretionary effort, with features entitled, Work on what you've got and CEOs, cash in on your staff by being good to them, the latter written by economic journalist, Ross Gittins.
A comms perspective
Using the internal communicators' preferred definition of engagement – "discretionary effort" – Gittins focuses on a 2007 paper by Joseph Pfeffer, published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, and says many of the elements for engagement "aren't exactly flavor-of-the-month with the present breed of super-macho CEOs."
Many of the elements for engagement 'aren't exactly flavor-of-the-month with the present breed of super-macho CEOs.'
In the New Zealand Herald, the unnamed author writes that employee engagement is of particular importance in a stagnating market place, with consumers tightening their belts and parity between brands – a situation many Australian organizations are facing with employment at record levels.
"Sometimes the only real difference is the staff's ability to deliver to customers, especially in the retail and service industries. With easy access to a host of product information and price comparison from the internet they're informed and dangerous."
This statement is echoed in a recent Hub article written by Kate Feather, whose research firm PeopleMetrics found quantifiable links between happy, satisfied branch employees and high levels of returning customers to that branch.
Comms and HR have limited scope
The NZH article is also dismissive of the capabilities of communication and HR departments to deliver or create a culture of engagement.
"It has previously been the territory of HR or internal comms departments, but they only offer one slice of the pie and neither has quite the complete skill set," it says. The author also suggests a more holistic, companywide approach to engagement.
Have your say
Engagement has long been on the agenda of internal communications, but are you noticing more widespread understanding and discussion of the topic? Have you been asked about it by non-communications professionals and friends in other roles?
Discuss these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
Further links and resources
A cycle of engagement between employees and customers
How to build an emotional connection with employees
New Zealand Police: Doubly disengaged
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