Alexis Kiesel
According to the Gallup Research Report of 2013, U.S. businesses lose between $270 and $343 billion a year from actively disengaged employees (Kariuki, 2015). Many organizations attempt to combat that problem using various innovative internal communication methods. Those in favor of innovative internal communication practices believe they are vital to create a culture of transparency, trust, and commitment throughout the organization to help engage employees (Mishra, Boynton, & Mishra, 2014). However, as organizations move toward allowing employees to work digitally, they must explore what methods of internal communication improve employee engagement. The main goal of this project is to form a better understanding of what successful internal communication practices in digital environments can do to engage employees.
"Applying design thinking to employee engagement in digital environments represents a unique approach to include human factors at the center of discovering what strategies can further engage employees."
The business world has experienced a recent increase in demand for visibility and openness that requires organizations to create strategic communications systems that support symmetry, transparency, and trust (Men & Stacks, 2014). Symmetrical communication is two-way communication in which an organization listens and responds to its stakeholders. Although communicating too little information can make employees feel as though the organization lacks transparency and later leads to distrust, too much information can result in information overload (White, Vanc, & Stafford, 2010). Employee preference for message medium, content, and detail requires further research to meet employee needs. There exists a lack of research on transparent communication and authenticity in the public relations field (Men & Stacks, 2014). Research exists examining self-efficacy and the way working digitally impacts employee engagement, but no existing research examines the impact of written, face-to-face, digital face-to-face, and digital audial methods of communication in digital work environments.
Although researchers have studied organizational communication, little academic work attempts to design a framework for an effective internal communication strategy when leaders and employees do not meet in person. There also exists a lack of exploration into how employee’s personal and/or professional characteristics influence their perceptions about the quality of communication in their organizations (“The Predictive Relationship between Organizational…,” n.d.). The exploration of these perceptions would lead to insights regarding the effects of internal communication on employee engagement in a digital environment.
Applying design thinking to employee engagement in digital environments represents a unique approach to include human factors at the center of discovering what strategies can further engage employees. Design thinking provides solutions that evolve around the needs of the humans involved. The process includes empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, testing, implementing, and evaluating. Observing and gathering data and perspectives from those who work in a digital environment will support the need for investigating internal communication practices to further the commitment of employees. This research involved ethnographic observation methods as well as empathy research which included surveys and interviews. The aims of this project were twofold: 1.) to investigate employee perspectives on internal communications in digital work environments; and 2.) to identify ways organizations may improve employee engagement using internal communications in digital environments.
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