The world is ready to breathe a sigh of relief as the end of the Covid-19 pandemic era nears. However, the year of “unprecedented challenges” is not over for large companies across the United States as they work toward bringing employees back to offices and communicating policy changes shooed in by the pandemic.
Companies have a lot to lose or gain in this process. The ones that communicate clearly, show empathy for their employees, and re-engage employees in their mission stand to gain a stronger, more engaged workforce. Those that don’t, stand to lose ground in the “Turnover Tsunami” predicted by the Achievers Workforce Institute in which over 52 percent of employees reported they will be looking for new jobs in 2021.
Companies simply cannot risk driving employees away with the same chaotic and disjointed processes that marked the beginning of pandemic life. They must plan now to welcome employees back to better.
A strong internal communications plan for bringing employees back can help reinstate a level of stability and comfort that employees are looking to regain post-pandemic.
Clear communication about what employees can expect and what is expected of them upon return, information about major changes and initiatives, and engaging content to reinvigorate enthusiasm for the company’s mission should all be part of the plan. From big decisions to the small details, employees are craving information and guidance from leadership.
While managerial communication, emails, and company intranets are all good ways to provide new information to employees, video can help leadership to remain visible during times of change and reach employees in a more personalized way. Direct communication from the c-suite via video signals the importance of a new policy change or initiative and helps front line workers better connect and re-engage.
Additionally, staff will need new guidance on how to interact with their colleagues whom they haven’t seen in over a year. From mask usage and social distancing to open versus closed amenities, employees essentially need to be re-onboarded to the business and reintroduced to their peers.
When it comes to new processes, video is also a good tool to make sure employees fully understand the direction being provided. As noted in our article How to use video in your internal communication strategy, 67 percent of employees perform better when communicated with visually compared to text alone. Specifically, using video rather than text increased accuracy by 6 percent.
Knowing the integral role that video can play in supporting your internal communications, we have developed a video production package to help you easily include video content as part of your return to office plan. Learn more about our Welcome Back to Better video package here.
