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5 Ways to Boost
Employee
Engagement in Light
of Amazon’s Culture
Controversy
SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
RUSS FRADIN

The New York Times’ front-page exposé of

Amazon’s company culture has stolen America’s
attention, but I think CEO Jeff Bezos’ response to
the situation is the most intriguing part of this
media storm.

In the midst of a potential crisis, Bezos didn’t rely

on high-level PR strategy sessions or leave a void
for his employees to fill with whispers and gossip.
Instead, he spoke candidly to his employees via an
internal memo, trusting that he was speaking with
competent adults who could handle the backlash.

Bezos tackled the situation head-on, and his

decision to directly engage his employees sets an
example that all leaders should follow.

The Role of Engagement

There’s a clear need for leaders to keep in touch
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with their employees and inform them of what’s
COVID-19 (https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/covid-19-resources-for-
happening across the company. In fact,
executives-and-communicators)
businesses with engaged employees are up to 202
Social Justice (https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/social-justice-resources-for-
percentmore successful than ones with
executives-and-communicators)
disengaged workers.

Proper employee engagement includes

responding to breaking news (such as a negative
The New York Times article), revealing cultural
initiatives such as events and outings, announcing
product launches, and shedding light on new
companywide strategies.

This information is vital to spread, but the tools

and methods being used to circulate it often come
up short.

Our Broken Communication Methods

Most companies typically use the following three

methods to keep their employees informed. While
each may have been more than efficient at one
point in time, the workplace — and world — has
evolved to make engaging though these mediums
a much more difficult task.

Email: Employees’ inboxes are cluttered and full

of to-dos. Any effort to communicate through

email can quickly get buried and go unread

altogether among other responsibilities. There’s

a reasonable chance that Bezos’ email was

immediately read by his team — but less

pressing, lower-profile messages can easily fall

by the wayside.
 Intranet: Companywide
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intranet
Industry
was once the
Content Type

bigCOVID-19
communication solution. But with so many
(https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/covid-19-resources-for-

executives-and-communicators)
employees on the go and working remotely, few
Social Justice (https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/social-justice-resources-for-
areexecutives-and-communicators)
able to access it on a regular basis. These
systems are often clunky and only available on-

site, making them impractical for the modern

employee.

Social media: Employees’ social media feeds

are packed with thousands of real-time posts

from friends, other companies, and celebrities.

It’s naive to think they’ll see your

announcements just because they’re following

your company’s official Twitter handle.

These three methods shouldn’t be thrown away.

They’re still perfectly viable options — but only if
they’re used properly. Our cluttered digital world
makes it especially difficult for leaders to be heard
nowadays, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Boosting Employee Engagement in the 21st

Century

Employees who are informed become more

engaged and, thus, more productive at their
jobs. But given the above challenges, how can
leaders effectively cut through the noise and grab
employees’ attention?

Here are five key strategies that will help you

maximize engagement through your companywide
communication efforts:
Make it convenient.
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Your employees
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are on the
Content Type

go.COVID-19
They (https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/covid-19-resources-for-
don’t have time to shoulder additional
executives-and-communicators)
tasks, so it’s key to make your messages quick
Social Justice (https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/social-justice-resources-for-
and to the point. Deliver your memos to their
executives-and-communicators)

pockets, purses, or even their wrists so they’re

available on demand, and keep them simple

enough to read in one click.

Make it relevant. Not every message you send
will be relevant to every single employee. Just

like an external marketing strategy, be honest,

genuine, and relevant, and keep all

communications organized, targeted, and

personalized. The content you send needs to

directly appeal to the recipients and help them

do their jobs better.

Make it interesting. Don’t just send boring press

releases; even your most enthusiastic
employees will tune out. Inject some personality

and energy to inspire them to become engaged.

Given that 50 percent of the online population
between the ages of 18 and 44 play social
games every day, try gamifying the process by
offering badges and prizes when employees

engage.
Encourage community. Remember: You’re a
team.Demonstrate that your company is open
to new ideas and collaboration, and urge your

employees to discuss things among

 themselves. UseCategories
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your communications
Industry
to instill
Content Type

pride and(https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/covid-19-resources-for-
COVID-19 happiness in your employees. This will
executives-and-communicators)
also bring increased productivity, a stronger
Social Justice (https://resources.dynamicsignal.com/social-justice-resources-for-
sense of teamwork, and a company culture of
executives-and-communicators)

empowerment that will spread to every aspect

of your organization.
Showcase great work. Occasionally, use your

communications to show off. When you

recognize a job well done, you boost morale for
high performers and show your lower
performers what to shoot for. Everyone likes a

pat on the back every now and then; a public

one in a companywide email will provide
great motivation.

Don’t wait for a PR nightmare to hit before you

revamp your communication methods to focus on
employee engagement. If you work hard to meet
your team where they are right now, you’ll discover
the holy grail: engaged, connected employees who
love their company enough to tell the world about
it.

This article originates from CEOWORLD Magazine

(http://ceoworld.biz/2015/09/07/5-ways-to-boost-
employee-engagement-in-light-of-amazons-
culture-controversy)

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