IMPROVE
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
Research shows that the largest driver of
employee engagement is effective com-
munication between employers and their
supervisors. Employees must feel a sense
of connection to your company’s vision
and purpose, they must feel like their
efforts mean something, and they must feel
like they have a voice.
Unfortunately, about 25 percent of the rev-
enue you’re working so hard to capture
could be slipping right through your fingers
– a loss that could be easily prevented if
you were to make an effort to engage in di-
rect, open, consistent and intentional com-
munication with your team.
Rea’s Communication Journey
In Rea’s 2016 Employee Satisfaction
Survey, the firm asked employees to point
out what was working and areas for
improvement. The results indicated that
in the area of internal communications, we
could do better. So a NextGen leadership
team set to work to develop a well-
researched solution. Their findings revealed
that internal communication is directly
to
related to employee engagement, which
is directly tied to customer satisfaction
and profitability.
After presenting the case, NextGen re-
ceived a green light to hire an internal
communications specialist. Soon thereaf-
ter, I was hired to fill this role and to fa-
cilitate communication from the top-down,
bottom-up and across different groups in
the firm.
Improving communication is essential to
unite the firm’s offices and regions, ensure
we are all rowing in the same direction, give
everyone a voice and ultimately develop
better leaders and communicators. To build
our internal communications program from
scratch, I focused on areas that would make
an immediate impact, including:
• Eliminating random firm-wide emails
and replacing them with “weekly roundup”
emails that go out every Friday. Employ-
ees know to pay attention to these emails
for important updates and action items.
• Starting a monthly video series with
our CEO to help team members get to
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS WHY EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MATTERS
7/10
87%
68%
8
FACT: 7 out of 10 employees are disengaged
WHAT IT COSTS: Disengaged employees cost companies 20-25% of revenue each year
FACT: Disengaged employees are 87% more likely to leave an organization than those who are engaged
WHAT IT COSTS: When someone leaves, the cost to replace them is 1.5 to 2 times their salary
FACT: 68 percent of employees experience difficulty communicating between team members
WHAT IT COSTS: 40 percent of the work week is lost to communication inefficiencies