The customer may be king, but the employee is more than a court jester.
In an era where many companies have developed incredible data-informed CRM and customer-engagement strategies, it’s sometimes easy to get wrapped up solely in consumer needs. However, an often-neglected viewpoint is the fact that fantastic customer engagement stems from happy and engaged employees. Research from Gallup has shown that a mere 13% of employees are truly engaged by organizations worldwide. While this is an alarming number, what does it mean for employees to truly be “engaged”? Employers: If you like it, you should put a ring on it (OK – maybe not that “engaged”).
A recent report from Altimeter has helped shed light on this seemingly elusive issue of employee engagement. The publication, Strengthening Employee Relationships in the Digital Era: How Digital 
Employee Engagement Advocacy Transforms Organizations, takes a holistic snapshot of the topic, and divides digital employee engagement into three categories:
- Internal Collaboration
- Digital/Social Empowerment
- Employee Advocacy
The first type – and perhaps the most important – is Internal Collaboration. When this is optimized, employees can connect and collaborate with higher tier executives, developing relationships that can diminish the perceived “power distance.” Next, Digital/Social Empowerment involves using the latest technologies to provide support from numerous touch points, empowering employees with flexibility and ease. Finally, employee engagement is heightened with Employee Advocacy on social media accounts, endorsing and advocating for the culture and virtues of a workplace.
When it comes to proper housing for employee-engagement initiatives, organizations are wildly differing in their approaches. 41% of companies delegate employee engagement to HR, 17% hand it to Employee/Corporate Communications, and 11% give it to Marketing. This lack of agreement reflects a lack of clarity in definition, as well as dedication: Only 43% of respondents said their organizations have cultures of trust and empowerment supporting employee engagement.
In light of this, Altimeter proposes a solution – Three Pillars of Digital Employee Engagement Strategy:
- Creating a culture where employee and customer relationships intersect
- Mapping the employee journey
- Measuring and developing employee relationships
When employees and customer relationships are viewed through a similar lens, companies can effectively leverage all three kinds of employee engagement. Additionally, many companies who have mastered customer journey mapping strategies are now utilizing employee journey mapping, which takes a look at building an employee relationship in stages through specific programs and digital touch points. Through digital markers, companies can actively measure employee engagement in real time through network quality, and craft an “engagement plan” tailored to employee needs.