Initially termed Decoration Day, what we now know as Memorial Day emerged after the Civil War in the late 1860s and became recognized as an official United States federal holiday in 1971. Historians surmise that the original name referred to the ritual of adorning the graves of those lost to battle and celebrating their contributions with parades and other civic ceremonies.
Observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day is a day to commemorate the military service of American citizens, and a reminder of the importance and power of recognition. In this spirit, it offers an opportunity for reflection on our work environments. In today’s busy workplaces, ensuring workforce connection with a modern, digital internal communication strategy is essential. Here are ways to refresh and re-energize workforce morale while reinforcing company core values.
Key Ingredients for Workforce Success
In addition to shaping workforce morale, internal communication and employee engagement affect the following key aspects of your business:
- Company culture. This reflects everyday dynamics present in the workplace, a key component of which is how your workforce engages and communicates with one another. Healthy company culture relies on sustained, workforce-wide internal communications that drive business revenue and encourage employee engagement.
- Brand reputation. With the near-instantaneous ability to research and review online, your product and your workplace reputation are being measured via multiple review sites.
- Workforce retention. Similar to brand reputation, which also plays a pivotal role in workforce recruitment, workforce retention relies heavily on how well your employees are communicating and working together towards a shared purpose. A mobile internal communication tool, like a group messaging app, is an effective way to keep everyone on the same page.
Better Internal Communication Builds Workforce Morale
Recognizing that employee engagement is a crucial part of your workforce internal communication strategy, what do your employees need to be best engaged?
- Adequate resources to empower employees to deliver meaningful, quality work.
- An internal communications solution that allows your workforce to contribute their voice to the company conversation.
- Leadership buy-in and subsequent modeling of your internal communication tools and best practices.
Maintaining an inspiring workplace can be easier said than done at times. Intentional, leadership-led efforts to connect employees with company priorities and goals builds trust, comradery, and perhaps most importantly, provides an opportunity to actively demonstrate how and why their contribution matters.
Group Messaging Apps for Employee Engagement
Incorporating a group messaging app is a customizable method of both stimulating employee engagement and conducting consistent workforce recognition.
Some ways to show employee recognition with a group messaging app include:
- Creating dedicated communication streams by department so employees can see what colleagues are working on no matter where they work in the company.
- Initiating gamification challenges that let your employees share their strengths while reinforcing core values, such as workplace-related trivia.
- Recording and posting short videos to commemorate employee birthdays, work anniversaries, and professional milestones.
The bottom line? Companies without adequate internal communication solutions will see business revenue affected, particularly in the areas of absenteeism and turnover. Enterprise vision can’t be fully realized without workforce buy-in–and this makes the difference between an employee just showing up and choosing to give their best every day.
