The Marketing Tactics That Can Improve Your Employee Engagement Efforts

Good morning and happy Monday. It’s John Garrett coming to you with another episode of Green Apple Slices where each week I talk with Rachel Fisch about an article that I’ve seen online about culture, employee engagement. So let me bring Rachel in from Las Vegas.

Rachel, how are you doing?

Rachel: Good. How are you doing, John?

John: You haven’t slept in four days, I’m sure. You’ve got lights and ding-ding-ding going on everywhere.

Rachel: Nobody needs sleep. No, but it’s my first time so it’s kind of fun.

John: Yeah, yeah. Are you a gazillionaire from winning all the money that has ever existed?

Rachel: Not yet. But I’m sure the next one’s the winner.

John: Right, right, right. But yeah, but everything’s good. I just got back from Indianapolis. I spoke at a CliftonLarsonAllen office there and really fun all staff event. So yeah. Found this article on Huffington Post and it was the Marketing Tactics That Can Improve Your Employee Engagement Efforts. It was an article written by Jason Nochlin.

And yeah, I thought it was really interesting because so many firms and so many companies think of their marketing being outward to get more clients and get more business, and yet we forget to market to our own people.

Rachel: Yeah, I thought that was actually really interesting. That level of creativity that you go through and those exercises that you go through to really make sure that you’re either tugging on the heartstrings or creating an emotional connection to your customers. That’s kind of the same principles when it talks about creating an emotional connection with your employees.

So I thought that was really interesting to kind of say, “Okay, now take that same energy and those same things that you do for your customers and now turn it around and make it internal.” So I thought that was a good callout.

John: Yeah. And I think a lot of — especially professional services firms do this with recruiting. But then once you’re in the door, it’s kind of like, “Got you.”

Rachel: And now we’re not going to talk to you for ten years. Oh, unless it’s about a survey. But that’s kind of — like we talked about that too, right. How much more effort firms put into recruiting the talent rather than retaining the talent.

John: Yeah. Right, yeah, no. I thought it was great and you know, just some of the examples that they had were creating things that recognize and reward people for good behavior, for successes, big wins. Sometimes they have newsletters like that or maybe if somebody likes being on video, you can have them doing — their example was like a tip Tuesday sort of a thing. Or just a way to keep everybody involved and excited and also understanding that their little piece fits into the big picture. And that upper management isn’t hiding anything from people and we’re all on the same page.

Rachel: Yeah, no. One of the things that I was thinking about though is how many times do you have an accounting firm or professional services firm that has like a really awesome, creative, innovative marketing team.

John: Right, it’s pretty rare if they do.

Rachel: Right. You just kind of expect that when people need their taxes done that you’re one of the gazillion people out there that they could choose to do that. So I started thinking about if those creative and innovative minds maybe were even in the professional services organizations. So anyway, that was just something that I wonder that what if you have a firm then that doesn’t even do the external piece.

John: Right. Yeah. Because I mean if everybody’s so happy about it and they’re talking about how great their job is and how great their firm is, then that could draw customers straight like that. Because I mean most of the professional services work comes from networking. And so if people are talking positively about that then that’s not a bad idea, not a bad idea at all.

Rachel: For sure.

John: Yeah. And I mean that’s one of the examples too was have an employee advocacy program.

Rachel: Yeah, I really like that one, yeah.

John: Yeah. And there’s a firm actually in Indianapolis called DOZ and they actually — every single person in the firm, it’s about 150 people or so, is on a committee. They have 12 or 13 committees. And every single person is a member of a committee. And so then in the off season, not busy season time, the leaders of the committees meet with their groups and then come to the table with ideas that they have to make the firm better.

Rachel: Cool. I like it.

John: Yeah, but it’s just going out and just showing a genuine interest in the people that are around you. And if people are doing a good job then let them know and let them know that you appreciate it, absolutely.

Rachel: Yeah, for sure.

John: So I think the best way to wrap up this episode is to be just like, “Rachel, you’re doing a great job.”

Rachel: You too, John. Keep at it.

John: Right. So there you go, everybody. Have a good rest of your week. If you want to check out the article, go to greenapplepodcast.com. There’s a link there. You can read it. And check us out on Twitter @GreenApplePod or Rachel’s @FischBooks and on that RecoveringCPA. And everybody, have a great rest of the week. Enjoy your time, Rachel.

Rachel: Yeah, you too, John. Talk to you later.