No, it’s not a proposal, but have you noticed how ‘employee engagement’ is all the rage? Internal communications? Deary me, how very last season…

It might be a little ‘jargony’ but the sentiment behind it is good. Internal communications is all about getting your employees ‘engaged’ with the business; understanding the strategy; supporting the brand; helping them to do their job and generally getting everyone pulling together, in the right direction and with no little enthusiasm.

Simples
And the modern day communications professional has all sorts of shiny tools at their disposal to help communication throughout the business whether it’s that spanking new intranet, video conferencing, online newsletters, or the CEO’s blog. These are all great and have their place, but have we lost sight of some of the simplest (and most cost effective) ways of promoting employee engagement?

Top five ‘old school’ internal communications tips
So, without further ado, here are my top five ‘old school’ additions to any employee engagement plan:

• The CEO walkabout: it’s amazing how inspiring it can be if the CEO leaves his/her executive bunker for a regular, unscheduled walkabout and casual chat with the ‘workers’. How often does it happen in your business?
• Team hug: hold weekly team meetings, make sure you stick to them and hold them away from your immediate office environment if possible – good excuse for a Starbucks
• Post it: got an important message for the business? Think of the most regular physical ‘touch’ points around the office(s) such as the lifts, stairwells, reception, even the loos, and grab that captive audience with inventive poster campaigns
• Talk is cheap: so why not have an email free day and encourage your business to ban all internal emailing for a day. People might actually need to speak to each other…there’s a thought
• And your name is: funny how the practice of having your name on your desk seems to have disappeared. Why not reintroduce it?