There’s more to reaching a remote workforce than the latest connected technology or a spanking new intranet. Meaningful engagement will require companies to genuinely listen to what their employees want from their internal channels, and for leaders, middle managers and communication teams to work together to deliver it more effectively

How do you engage a remote worker? That was the central question posed at a recent roundtable discussion of internal comms practitioners, sponsored by specialist comms agency theblueballroom.

In attendance were a rich mix of delegates from both the public and private sectors, including AB Agri, Barclaycard, BHF, Computacenter, East of England Ambulance Service, G4S, Save the Children, Tesco, Unilever and Wilmott Dixon.

The role of technology in linking employees with employers took centre stage. According to Kate Shanks, managing director at theblueballroom, “As technology advances, so have our expectations. It’s an important time for internal communicators to deliver relevant content, at the right time, on a channel that is easy to use and reflects the brand.”

Social media has undoubtedly helped far-flung workers to connect with the wider business, and delegates were keen to share which innovations had, in their opinions, been most effective. One spoke favourably of Facebook’s Workplace, “It’s not just about sending messages, it’s about collaborative working. It’s the instantaneousness of asking questions to five different people and not having that email chain back and forth. This makes people feel comfortable that they can talk to each other, but it also breaks down the silos between leaders and staff.”

New channels can enable companies to communicate different things, in different ways. One delegate talked about the time they’d spent on the ‘life tab’ of the company’s LinkedIn profile. “I was talking to the account manager and they were saying that one of the things they do is live stream town halls for everybody to watch. They happen all over the world and different parts of the business can host them.”

Another adds, “We’ve become quite dependent on sub-team, personal WhatsApp groups. They’re not official comms channels but, in some instances, it’s one of the few ways in which we can reach [remote workers].”

Horses for courses

Technology is an empowering tool for many employees, but not every remote worker will have access to a smartphone. Some simply won’t have any desire to connect. These so-called ‘zombie workers,’ as one delegate put it, are typically based in the head office and have access to intranet and smartphone, but are, for whatever reason, disengaged from them. “You can have a hard to reach worker sat next to you, but they’re so disengaged in what you’re doing, they’re almost as remote from the organisation as someone who’s on the road,” said one delegate.

Channels will need to be carefully considered for each type of remote worker. “If there is a clear understanding of what your employees need and how they best consume content, this knowledge will create a strategy to drive adoption and engagement,” said Shanks. “For example, you would not invest in an employee app if most of the workforce did not have a mobile device or the willingness to use their personal device.”

Sometimes, people just want a good, old-fashioned, printed newsletter. As one delegate revealed, “About a year ago, we were trying to think about how to engage our field staff. We knew they weren’t reading the digital newsletter… so we decided to do a printed newsletter and leave it on their desks. In some cultures, to be able to take home to their families a printed copy of what’s happening in the company they work for, it’s such a big thing.”

And there’s no substitute for face-to-face communication. One delegate spoke about the leader of a public-sector organisation who has seen a 17% increase in staff engagement in the six years since he started going on roadshows. “He spends two days every week on the road, just talking directly with staff, and he expects his leaders and managers to be on that as well. Sometimes, it’s seeing the whites of the eyes that really makes the difference.”

Frontline ambassadors

For most in the group, true engagement takes hold only when middle managers can eloquently cascade messages to every corner of the organisation. As one delegate said, “For us, the challenge is getting people managers engaged in a way that is pro-active, as ambassadors for the frontline.”

Another delegate spoke about how they have recently been drafted in to work on improving a community engagement programme. “Everyone believes in it at that top level, but further down the management chain, they don’t really know what it’s about, while the people [on the front line] simply don’t care – they’re just coming in, picking up a cheque and going home.”

Shanks added, “There is still a big reliance on the cascade of information and the way the messages are communicated. If you have an inspiring management team, fully trained in the art of storytelling and geared with a toolkit to make their job easier, then that’s when the magic can really happen.”

The group agreed that it’s often in moments of crisis – a bomb threat, an unexpected resignation or even a hostile takeover – that the relative success or failure of the internal comms function becomes truly apparent. One delegate admitted: “We find in crisis situations, we’re really good at prioritising the media and not so good as a comms department at prioritising the internal audience.”

Employees will certainly be unforgiving if they hear the truth from external sources before their own company. In some cases, employees find out about corporate news through the media, leading to dissatisfied staff who are not kept apprised of important changes to the business.

Ultimately, organisations need to work harder to understand what makes their employees tick – whether they are remote workers or otherwise. For many in the group, that equated to an internal comms function that is constantly evolving and improving.

This change will require a ‘slow burn,’ as one attendee said, in order to shift from cascade communications to an internal comms function that is integrated into the overall business strategy and in touch with employee voice.

Shanks said, “Two-way communications can be the ultimate goal for many organisations, and it may take a cultural change piece to achieve it. Top down messages will not engage in the long run, and we need to spark innovation and encourage collaborative working to truly measure engagement.”

Image by Rob Taylor