The Hellerman team recently sponsored Ragan Communications’ Executive Communications conference, which took place at The National Union Building in Washington, DC on September 14.
The sold out event featured our very own John Hellerman, and experts from Edelman, Muck Rack, Shorty Awards, Microsoft, the American Dental Association, Dynamic Signal, Abt Associates, the Washington Business Journal, NPR, Microsoft’s Yammer and Sway, and Assurance.
The main takeaway? To really move the needle and grow your business by way of communications and public relations (PR), you must establish a high trust culture that encourages employee engagement. It’s these high trust workplaces with engaged employees that are featured in “Top Places to Work” rankings and, in turn, experience an average stock market performance three times higher than those that do not.
So, how do you get engaged employees?
Besides the revenue drive, when communications teams are armed with engaged employees, they are: 1) more capable of capturing the authentic voices of executive leadership, which often drives strategic leadership connections; 2) more aligned with the company’s goals and purposes, and thus more likely to participate in internal communications; and 3) are the ideal brand ambassadors.
So, how do you get engaged employees? By making your company culture one that they actually want to engage with.
Successful company cultures:
- Have clear and defined purposes;
- Trust employees and give them a voice;
- Showcase and champion customers and clients;
- Treat the workplace as a community;
- Recognize all contributions; and
- Give back to employees and the organizations they are passionate about.
In sum, successful company cultures empower employees. By doing so, the company and its business reap the benefits.
Empowered employees are the strongest company representatives. They enhance a company’s digital presence and reputation by being informed spokespeople and trustworthy resources, which are vital to navigating today’s fake news and heated media landscapes. Communications teams can then highlight employees’ media successes, and its direct impact on revenue, to help sell the value of PR to its top executives and hopefully increase their overall PR budget.
For help creating campaigns that engage employees and enhance a company brand, please contact us.