Six ways business leaders are improving their company conversation

Employees increasingly value better communication from their business leadership. And 59% of them say that it's very important for employers to communicate openly and transparently .

It's part of the breakdown of rigid work hierarchies – and a greater emphasis on soft skills – that are combining to transform leadership in the workplace.

But leaders are busy. It's not always easy to find the time to communicate and collaborate with employees. And if you head up a larger organisation with a workforce scattered across locations and geographies, how can you create the collaborative relationships that your people demand?

Collaboration tools for business such as Workplace can provide the answers. Here's how CEOs, CIOs, CHROs and COOs are using Workplace to make their organisations flatter and connect with everyone.

Use live video to unlock top-down comms

Making your announcement to a selected few and expecting it to cascade down your organisation is one way of getting the word out. But it's far from the most effective.

Live video is the ideal way to connect with your organisation and ensure that everyone gets the message. You can broadcast to a particular team, Workplace group or to your entire company and get real-time feedback, questions and reactions from everyone.

And when you're finished, you can post an on-demand version of the video in Workplace so anyone who couldn't watch the broadcast live can catch up later.

How the Telenor leadership team uses Workplace live video to broadcast town hall meetings to everyone.

Use groups to get your important messages across

Internal communications can be tricky. Static and out-of-date intranets discourage knowledge sharing. Email is an increasingly ineffective way to deliver key messages to everyone.

Workplace groups cut through the everyday noise in an organisation and enable business leaders to share and disseminate critical messages to everybody.

And you can use tools such as Mark as important in groups to ensure that everyone receives your important messages. Messages that you mark as important will show at the top of people's News Feed – and you can re-enforce the point with extra notifications via Workplace Chat or email.

How Eimskip uses Workplace to connect people from the dock to the office to the bridge.

Use Workplace to fix two-way communication

Open communication isn't just a good thing for the C-suite. It gives everyone the opportunity to provide their perspective and input into what's happening in your business.

Using Workplace groups and Workplace Chat enables people to take part in collaborative projects, comment and share opinions.

And because the conversation is more open and transparent, you get input from everyone – the board, the factory worker, housekeeping, the sales team. It's a powerful way for business leaders to take the pulse of their entire organisation.

Using groups this way makes organisations flatter and increases leadership visibility. As Steve Clarke, Communications Channels Senior Manager at Virgin Atlantic, says. "People felt more – and were more – connected to the leaders. They had clear and easy ways through Workplace groups to ask questions".

How Virgin Atlantic uses Workplace to connect people with the C-suite.

Use integration requests to learn more about the tools that employees use

Organisations use a lot of different work apps and tools. So many that it can be difficult even for the CIO to keep track. Workplace already integrates with the best SaaS software to help business leaders provide the right tools for their organisation.

And new integration requests give them even more controls. People can now notify Workplace admins about the tools that they'd like to integrate with Workplace. This gives IT leaders instant feedback and greater visibility over the tools that people are using most in their organisation. It also allows them to respond to this feedback and quickly connect business-critical tools with Workplace.

How FamilyMart is using Workplace integrations to enable better productivity across the organisation.

Use Workplace to connect the frontline and reduce staff turnover

It can be tough to continually motivate and engage the frontline worker. Isolated or remote teams can often feel disconnected or ignored which isn't good for morale.

Workplace removes the barriers of location or timezone. It's mobile-first, so there's no need for a desktop, laptop or even a work email address to participate. Access to groups – and the ability to share files, images or video – naturally connects your remote workers to make them feel part of the conversation wherever they are.

Clarins UK recently connected the 90% of its staff that work remotely. In just five months, Clarins UK has seen a drop in staff turnover of 2%.

How Clarins UK is using Workplace to build a community of remote workers and reduce staff turnover by 2%.

Use video chat to have a one-to-one with the whole organisation

You don't have to be in the same room as colleagues or employees to create the feeling of personal communication that face-to-face time provides.

With HD video chat, you can hold conversations with an individual or up to 50 people. It's a great way to build relationships and give people the chance to feel a connection with you.

How the It Gets Better management team uses Workplace to have a better company conversation

The future of work is connected

The pressure on the C-suite to leave their silos is increasing. And that means it's more important than ever for business leaders to find ways not only to connect their organisation, but to connect with their organisation.

Keep reading

• Workplace culture: what it is and how to create a positive culture in your organisation
• What is diversity and inclusion?
• What are organisational values and why are they important?