As a social good brand or certified B Corporation, how you communicate your mission is just as important as how you execute it. Of course your marketing team knows this well, as consumers increasingly expect brands to have not just functional benefits but a social purpose.
But, as more brands integrate social purpose into their business models, taking employees along on the journey is an important step. In fact, according to Sustainable Brands, your employees are your best purpose ambassadors. So, how do you incorporate purpose into employee engagement? And how can you make your internal comms strategy more effective?
Studies show that when people believe that their work matters, they’re four times more likely to be engaged, are more motivated, learn faster, and are more fulfilled.
As a creative agency, we’ve found this to be true. During our rebrand a few years ago, we made a decision to specialise in social good campaigns for charities and brands. This wasn’t just a strategically competitive move – it came from years of experience working in the third sector. As a team, we knew we wanted to work with larger, more consumer-facing brands – but we couldn’t turn our back on the humanitarian and environmental causes we’d worked hard to support.
However not all businesses are born with purpose at the heart. This is where good communication comes in.
For many companies, significant change is needed to shift and update their business models – and their employees will need to change too. This transformation from old to new ways of working can inevitably create tension in the workplace, so good communication is key.
Bonusly has some great tips:
One of the ways to improve employee engagement is with interesting content. Whether you’re communicating via a network portal, in a newsletter or at events, video proves time and time again to be one of the most effective forms of engagement. In fact, users spend 88% more time on a website that has video, and retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video.
Interviews with CEOs and key stakeholders are a great place to start. They’re simply and quick to create, and can help communicate your mission consistently in recruitment. But how else could you bring the ideas to life? You could consider:
If you have any questions or want to chat through your next project, get in touch.
