Employee engagement is a critical component of running a successful organization. Engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and committed to their work and employer.
One key to moving the needle on employee engagement is action planning. The action plan outlines the steps you need to take at organizational, team, and individual levels to solve issues identified via your employee feedback to boost your overall engagement. This will result in specific interventions that you can implement.
However, communicating the impact of your interventions on employee engagement to senior stakeholders can be challenging. In this third part of our series, we will explore strategies for effectively communicating the impact of your interventions and what you should ask for in return. 
How to Communicate the Impact of Your Interventions
Here are four key actions for attracting the attention of your senior stakeholders:
Establish clear metrics for measuring employee engagement
The first step in communicating the impact of your interventions is to establish clear metrics for measuring employee engagement (as outlined in [link to blog #2]. This might include employee satisfaction survey results, turnover rates, or participation in training and development programs.
Emphasize metrics linked to burning issues in the business, such as frontline worker turnover. Tracking these metrics over time can provide valuable insights into the impact of the interventions and identify improvement areas.
Present data in a clear and concise manner
Once you have established clear metrics for measuring employee engagement, you will need to communicate the impact of your interventions to senior stakeholders. This might involve presenting data in the form of charts, graphs, or other visual aids that help to illustrate the impact of your interventions on employee engagement. Remember your audience: busy leaders who are looking for executive summary type of information.
It is important to be clear and concise when presenting data, focusing on the most critical metrics and highlighting any trends or patterns that are particularly significant. Highlighting key takeaways and recommendations is helpful. Be prepared to answer questions and provide additional context as needed.
Communicate the human impact of your interventions on employees
In addition to presenting data, it is essential to communicate the human impact of your interventions on employees.
Share stories of employees who have benefited from your interventions, and highlight how these interventions have improved their engagement with their work and their employer. Celebrating successes provides recognition of individuals and teams, highlighting their contribution to the goals of the organization. Research shows recognition can directly impact employee engagement.
This will help senior stakeholders understand your interventions' real-world impact and the importance of continuing to support them.
Elicit support and collaboration
When communicating the impact of your interventions to senior stakeholders, it is vital to ask for their support and collaboration.
It might involve asking for additional resources to continue your interventions or requesting senior stakeholders champion the organizational efforts. By involving senior stakeholders in the process, you can create a sense of shared ownership and increase the likelihood of success. When leaders do this, they also model desired behaviors, which makes others feel comfortable behaving in the same way.
What to Ask For in Return
In return for your communication efforts, there are a few things you can ask of senior stakeholders to support your ongoing interventions.
These might include:
- Funding for continuing and/or expanding employee engagement initiatives and the resources needed to design, implement, and communicate about interventions
- Support for training and development programs, including creating and maintaining them
- Creating and expanding recognition programs and incentives to motivate participation
- Collaboration and participation on initiatives that foster a culture of collaboration, recognition and innovation within your organization.
Conclusion
Communicating the impact of your employee engagement action plans and specific interventions to senior stakeholders can be a challenging but crucial task. By establishing clear metrics and approaches for measuring employee engagement and presenting data clearly and concisely, you can help senior stakeholders understand the impact of your interventions on the organization.
Additionally, by asking for support and collaboration, you can continue to improve employee engagement and create a more engaged and productive workforce.
