Written by: Megan McDowell
Efforts are always being made by businesses to connect to clients and customers, but the wave of working from home means that employers need to make efforts to connect to their employees as well. This goes beyond check-in emails and weekly meetings, but means that feedback, connection, and openly accessible channels of communication are important. They are needed for everything to continue to run smoothly, and to reduce feelings of isolation that many people may be feeling since working from home.
Having online discussion groups where employees can collaborate, share ideas and voice their concerns, as well as a platform where employers can gather feedback on the effectiveness of the new normal and see how their staff feels about a variety of issues will help everyone to centralise, organise and connect.
While online communities are often thought of as only being an option for businesses to reach out to their customers, they are also extremely effective when communicating to employees across the company. At Insightrix, we have run employee feedback surveys that provide a ton of insight into the well being, productivity, and opinions surrounding life as we move to working at home. Engaging employees in research activities typically aimed at customers allows everyone to provide input, creates a sense of being part of the group, and allows for informed decisions to be made based on everyone's input.
Connecting with employees is just as important as connecting with customers. Having a healthy and happy staff will benefit everyone, and the effects will shine through in your success as a business.
If you think an online community could help you connect to your staff, contact us and we would be happy to explain your options.