Connecting with the Employee

Most of public relations talks about connecting with the customer. After all, they are the one driving your business either up or into the ground with their purchase choices. However, another group of people can cause business to go haywire: employees.

In Chapter 10 of "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine, she talks about how to measure effective communication with employees. Her beginning section was especially intriguing to me. She talked about employees being bombarded with messages throughout the day. For a typical employee she describes, this person reads countless blogs, listens to the news,  talks to friends and colleagues and visits with their family. In the process, this employee might also take time to watch a television show and play a game on the Internet. How in the world is an employer supposed to break through to them?

Paine gives a detailed account in her book. However, I've been astounded by how much attention has been given to engaging employees. In every book we've read for Social Media Principles, there's been a chapter on communicating with those who work with you. I had never truly thought about it before, but of course it makes sense. If an employee is unhappy with the way they are treated in a business, they could retaliate and ruin the reputation.

Consider the Domino's scandal a few years ago. The employees posted videos of themselves putting ingredients in pizza no one would ever want in there. They then posted these videos online. When Domino's heard, they fired the employees and sent an apology video out to the public. Great job to Domino's for effectively handling the crisis. But what caused the crisis in the first place? Well, the kids themselves could have been searching for a way to make trouble. But they must have thought they would get away with it. Maybe they wanted to get caught and be fired, but my guess is they just did it thinking the higher chain in Domino's would never find out. That's because the higher chain in Domino's never communicated with the part-time employees making the pizzas.

It's always important to make sure everyone in the business knows they are valued. From part-time employees to the CEO, everyone needs to feel they are part of the fabric that makes the business happen. Otherwise, some people feel they aren't important and don't care about the business. And isn't it better to have someone selling your products that truly believe in it? As opposed to someone just talking to the customer with no real concern of the business as long as they get paid for their hours.