Many organisations assume that keeping their employees happy and engaged means offering more perks, social events, and flexible work options.
Although all of those things can help, they do not address the core issue; real internal engagement goes much deeper.
On that note, below is what you need to know to measure and improve internal engagement levels within your company properly.
What is Internal Engagement?
Internal engagement refers to how well your employees are connected to your organisation’s mission, communication channels, and each other.
It encompasses the answers to questions like, “Do people know what’s happening in the business?” “Is their experience positive?” and “Are you gathering and listening to their feedback via surveys or personalised communications?”
When internal engagement is strong, employees feel informed, valued, and as though they are part of something bigger than themselves.
When it’s weak, team members experience confusion, frustration, and a strong disconnect between themselves and their work.
Internal vs. External Engagement
Where external engagement focuses on how customers or the public perceive and interact with your brand, internal engagement looks inward to determine how your workers do the same.
Prioritising both forms of engagement is key to achieving sustainable success and remaining competitive.
Why Internal Engagement Matters
When your people are engaged and connected, everything around them improves. In particular, key reasons to invest in internal engagement include the following:
- Boosting Performance: Engaged employees are more likely to go the extra mile, and teams become more collaborative
- Improving Retention: People are less likely to leave when they feel connected
- Driving Alignment: Everyone understands the overarching mission and how they contribute to it
- Strengthening Culture: Transparent communication helps build trust and community, even during times of change
In short, high internal engagement levels help you create a workplace that people genuinely want to be a part of.
Key Drivers of Internal Engagement
Factors that shape engagement levels within your organisation — and that you must evaluate and improve — include the following:
Communication and Transparency
How you communicate with your team members will majorly impact their engagement levels. Employees need regular updates about company news, achievements, and other happenings.
Being transparent is particularly important when engaging in change management; share your changes and explain why and how those updates will make life easier for your workforce.
Leadership and Management Style
You may have heard some version of the saying, “People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” Indeed, the way leadership communicates, listens, and leads sets the tone for the entire organisation.
Take some time to evaluate your leadership style and that of your management team. Doing so isn’t meant to beat yourself up or become overly critical of your managers; instead, it’s an exercise in identifying opportunities to improve and use your existing strengths to promote stronger internal engagement.
Recognition and Purpose
Employee recognition programs help people feel appreciated and know that their work matters. These do not necessarily need to be flashy or involve expensive gifts; they just need to be sincere and able to convey how your employees’ roles contribute to the company’s broader goals. That sense of purpose is what drives long-term engagement.
Opportunities for Growth and Development
Stagnation can crush morale and engagement levels. On the other hand, offering employee development pathways helps people see the opportunities associated with staying a part of your company long-term.
Employees who see a future with you are more likely to stay and contribute.
Inclusion and Belonging
Above all other aspects, people want to feel like they belong. A truly inclusive workplace values diverse perspectives and ensures everyone has a voice.
Creating a place where people feel encouraged to share their ideas can promote innovation as well.
How to Measure Internal Engagement
If you want to improve internal engagement, you must first gauge how your employees currently feel through the following steps:
Engagement Surveys and Pulse Checks
Surveys are essential to gathering direct feedback from employees. Longer annual surveys provide big-picture insights while shorter, “pulse” surveys allow you to track sentiment trends in real-time.
A mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions will help you understand your employees’ feelings and sentiments.
KPIs and Behavioural Indicators
You can also measure engagement by tracking the following behavioural metrics:
- Turnover rates
- Participation
- Internal mobility
- Training program completion rates
These measurements will show whether people are actively engaged or quietly checking out.
Listening Channels and Feedback Loops
Open lines of communication help surface insights early. Anonymous suggestion boxes and team check-ins demonstrate that you want honest feedback and care about employees’ feelings.
Strategies to Improve Internal Engagement
Once you assess your organisation’s current state of engagement, it’s time to improve it. These tactics will help get you on the right path:
Building a Strong Internal Communication Plan
Assertive communication provides clear expectations for your employees while also offering transparency. However, good communication doesn’t happen by accident; you need a structured plan that includes the following:
- Regular updates from leadership
- Team-specific news
- Easy-to-access channels
- Visual formats to keep things engaging
Make sure your messages are clear and relevant. The process can take trial and error, so gather feedback from your team to ensure your communication strategy aligns with their needs and expectations.
Aligning Values and Vision
Your company’s values should guide daily decision-making and behaviour. That starts at the top: Make sure you and the rest of the leadership team adhere to what the company stands for.
Empowering Managers and Teams
Managers are key to engagement. You’ll want to give them the tools and support they need to lead effectively. Still, you’ll also want to encourage team autonomy and allow people to make decisions (within reasonable guardrails).
Fostering Collaboration and Involvement
Allowing team members to help plan events, provide input about a policy, or redesign a workspace creates a sense of ownership, so it’s best to invite employees into decision-making efforts wherever possible.
If you need further inspiration to promote better internal engagement within your organisation, consider exploring more employee engagement ideas to improve morale.
Examples of Internal Engagement in Action
Here are some examples of internal engagement being used to its fullest potential:
Company Initiatives That Work
Lush is an excellent example of a company that can engage its employees more in the brand mission. The company has used employee activism to accelerate changes designed to make itself more environmentally friendly.
The brand also uses employee activism to source talented workers and promote its climate justice goals.
Real-World Internal Engagement Campaigns
Unilever’s Flex Experiences campaign is an example of getting workers engaged with career advancement opportunities.
The program created an internal talent marketplace, which Unilever’s roughly 65,000 global employees now use to collaborate, share their skills, and pursue their professional goals.
Learn More About Internal Engagement
Examining internal engagement is a great place to start if you want to create a more connected and motivated workforce.
Once you’ve identified your priorities, you’ll need tools to help get everyone more involved and engaged. And Klara is the perfect fit.
Klara is a human-centric skills management solution that empowers your team members to own their professional development journeys.
Managers can also use the platform to support their teams and effectively unlock everyone’s full potential.
Get in touch with Klara today to learn more.
Internal Engagement FAQs
Is Internal Engagement the Same as Employee Engagement?
Not quite. Internal engagement is a subcategory of employee engagement that focuses on communication, alignment between the workforce and leadership, and the sense of connection team members have to the organisation.
What Are the Signs of Strong Internal Engagement?
Some signs of good internal engagement include higher participation in internal initiatives and positive survey results. Low turnover and better cross-team collaboration are also significant indicators.
Who Owns Internal Engagement in a Company?
Maintaining internal engagement is a shared responsibility. Communications teams, HR, and leadership all play key roles, but every manager and employee contributes to the culture and communication in a company.