The Unspoken Key to Engagement - Corporate vs. Employee Communication
If you have been listening (or reading) along, depending on how you like to consume the information we discuss on a weekly basis, you will have likely caught on to the stark point that communication within our lives, and particularly within our organizations, has changed dramatically. And the speed and form in which we are accustomed, and now expect, to receive information and updates has completely altered how we communicate with our employees and how our employees should be communicating with each other. And that is what we are going to breakdown today. What is the difference between corporate communication and employee communication? Both of which are crucial for organizational success.
We'll start with corporate communication. This is the type of communication that, while employees can get company information from it, is primarily directed toward external stakeholders. It gerenates a positive image of the organization and is used to influence or control the external messaging and public perception. This, in return, attempts to build relationships with customers, albiet not authentic ones. And lastly, corporate communication disseminates all pertinent stakeholder information such as ongoing organizational direction and relevant financial information.
All of this is important for an organization to project, but it is only part of the communication that should be produced within an organization. Does any of what was described scream 'engaged employees'? Not really. And that's where employee communication comes in. As mentioned above and in our previous updates, employees have become accustomed to and expect more frequent communication from throughout an organization and in different formats than are typically used to communicate with employees.
Employee communication is created and directed specifically for internal employees. This type of communication connects employees to the organizational vision, values and mission and is meant to motivate and engage employees through that connection. Employee communciation is also used to disseminate organizational information to both educate and inform. Lastly, and this one might possibly seem foreign to many organizations, but employee communication is used to enable a culture of both top-down and bottom-up employee interactions.
Again, both of these organization communication types are important for various reasons, and should certainly be clear and aligned with each other and supported by each other, but only one of them truly generates employee engagement throughout an organization by directly connecting the employees to it.
To discover more about employee communication and what Cornerstone Learning can do for you, visit our communication page at www.cornerstonelearning.com/engagement-communication.
