Why engaging the employees' family is the new normal of internal comms: Egis's Bhaskar Majumdar

During the pandemic time, a lot of brands initiated multiple proactive and engaging processes to connect, engage and nurture the relationship with the employees. In fact, certain brands thought of various innovative ideas to connect with the larger audience which is the family of the employees.

Employee engagement is crucial for every organization that is focused on driving productivity and success. Employee engagement has attained a kind of center-stage, in the COVID-induced 'New Normal' and #WFH era. 

Yet, some fundamentals will never change, no matter how much the world changes. 

Employees are the biggest asset for every organisation and it’s the fundamental responsibility of any organisation to keep their employees motivated and engaged

Employee engagement and acknowledgement were important before the pandemic, they are critical now and they will continue to be of significance in the future. 

Internal communications play a pivotal role in organisations for several compelling reasons. 

First of all, they create a sense of consistency across departments, ensuring that employees are aligned with the organisation's goals and objectives. 

Secondly, By facilitating the seamless flow of information at all levels, internal communications foster a positive and ethical workplace environment.

Some pointers for drafting your internal comms strategy:

• Positive but realistic messages,

• Be Consistent, Be Relevant, and Listen.

• Contribution and purpose, key in post-crisis messages

• Reduce uncertainty with clear and relevant information

• The value of innovation as a tool for improvement

• Clear and transparent messages

Internal Communications: The Egis approach 

During the pandemic time, a lot of brands initiated multiple proactive and engaging processes to connect, engage and nurture the relationship with the employees. In fact, certain brands thought of various innovative ideas to connect with the larger audience which is the family of the employees.

In our organization, we initiated multiple touchpoints during the pandemic and most of them are now part of our regular employee engagement outreach.

Initiating regular yoga classes virtually where not only the employee, but even the family members can participate, regular medical checkup in the office where families are also invited, celebrating various festivities with employees & their families, regular webinar with renowned doctors on various subjects which is also open for everyone, town halls, encouraging employees to participate in marathons, participate in annual sports day, photography contest for promoting climate emergency, creating CSR clubs to encourage them to volunteer for CSR activities and many more.

Good communication facilitates greater engagement, and highly engaged employees communicate more than those who aren't. Internal communication & employee engagement plays a big part in creating an inclusive environment.

Bhaskar Majumdar is head – of marketing communications, CSR and digital, at engineering consulting firm Egis – India and South Asia