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For many organizations, the onset of autumn means the onset of budgeting and planning for the following year. Whether you are responsible for employee engagement or employee communication, you may be wrestling with the challenge of how to develop a strategy for 2012 that will deliver maximum results for your organization. We find it useful during this process to first take a step back and consider not only what your plan will include, but more fundamentally how you’re approaching it.

We see two primary philosophies to approaching employee engagement or communication.  In the first approach, the leaders of the organization, supported by staff functions such as Human Resources and Communication, spend a great deal of time and effort developing messages and programs to create a great workplace, but often asking for no reciprocal commitment from employees or clearly spelling out the role employees play in creating an engaged workforce and contributing to business results.  As a result, these strategies can amount to little more than a multitude of programs put into place to make employees “happy,” and end up creating an environment of entitlement.

We believe employee engagement is about motivating and inspiring employees to deliver on the organization’s business strategy.  This involves identifying what the organization needs employees to do to deliver on the business strategy and then determining the drivers and tactics that will inspire and motivate employees to make those contributions. This type of engagement occurs when employees:

• Understand the business strategy and their role in its success
• Trust leaders and believe they are making decisions with the organization’s and its people’s best interests in mind
• Are engaged in growing personally and making a difference in their jobs every day
• Feel valued and appreciated

While there are no magic solutions, and your communication or engagement strategy should be customized to your organization’s unique needs and culture, the following steps provide a framework for developing a focused, comprehensive strategy that delivers business results:

• Assess the landscape – Seek information from variety of internal and external sources to understand the business environment, the organization’s strategy and the current state.  It’s critical that you start with data that gives you a clear understanding of the ever-changing internal and external environment. Start with existing research and data and then determine what additional information you need to create a sound strategy.
• Set objectives – Establish and prioritize measurable objectives, and identify the tactics, timing and resources required to achieve them.
• Create the plan – Consider the overall organizational calendar, then identify milestones and build a comprehensive plan that takes into account the needs of each stakeholder group and work environment within your organization.
• Align leaders – Define the leader’s role in engagement and ensure that the tools, skills and accountability required are in place for leaders to deliver on that role.
• Engage employees – Develop simple, compelling messages that clearly state what employees can expect from the organization and what the organization needs from them.  Then identify the vehicles, tools, and creative tactics that will achieve the stated objectives.  Use creative and inspiring methods to engage the hearts, minds and hands of employees.
• Measure – Identify ways to accurately assess and prove the effectiveness and business impact of your engagement efforts.

When effectively coordinated and executed, these steps can produce a powerful strategy that has positive impact. For example, for the last two years, we used this process to help a global hospitality organization with 190,000+ employees develop a communication and engagement strategy. This involved carefully reviewing the business strategy and considering the many brands and cultures in the 100 countries where the company operates. With those and other inputs, we then set clear objectives, messages, tactics and measures. Much of this work was done during a full-day session, and upon its completion the organization had a comprehensive communication and engagement strategy for the year.