Use Of Content In Boosting Employee Engagement

Welcome to the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast. This podcast is sponsored by Vantage Circle, the leading employee benefits and engagement platform.

Susmita Sarma: Hi everyone, this is Susmita from Vantage HR Influencer Podcast. Well, today we are going to start with a very interesting topic on employee engagement, because we have with us a very experienced learning facilitator, a motivational speaker, and a digital learning content creator. Dipika Singh, welcome to the show Dipika.

Dipika Singh: Thank you so much, Susmita. I'm so glad to be on the show. I've heard your earlier podcast has been very, very interesting.

Susmita Sarma: Thank you so much. Yeah, so before we start, let us know a little more about you and your journey as a content creator.

Dipika Singh: So, I have been working as an experiential learning facilitator for quite a few years now. I was in marketing earlier. And for the last about seven, eight years, this is what I've been doing. And somewhere along the way, I also started creating content around this subject. So while I do a lot of work, a lot of motivational speaking at corporates, I also realized that I like creating content, and content, especially video content, is the future. So around two years back, I started creating content around the same subjects that I work in, which is experiential learning and motivation. And now I also create content around those same subjects.

Susmita Sarma: So the topic that we're going to discuss today is how to boost employee engagement through content. So what according to you is meant by content when it comes to employee engagement?

Dipika Singh: So, you know how you engage with your employees through text or through apps or through videos or any kind of challenges, for example. So everything which is not offline, but is actually virtual. In the form of text or in the form of video or in the form of challenges, in the form of audio perhaps, that is what I would call content. And it doesn't necessarily have to be only one way communication. It can also be two way communication. For example, let's say in your own case, you have Vantage Fit, right? You can actually run challenges through an app. Posting videos about fitness, etc. So any content that you can use to get your employees to learn something new, or interact with each other, interact with peers, interact with seniors, get to know more about the processes of the organization, or just simply have fun, that I would include as engagement content.

Susmita Sarma: So according to you, what are the most popular types or forms of content for employee engagement?

Dipika Singh: So, if for some time we remove ourselves from the whole corporate and employee engagement structure and we just look at content per se, you will see that most people prefer video form of content nowadays. And people also prefer content which is short form. Look outside and look at your employees just as people, that's the kind of content they like. Content which is also fun, puzzles, challenges. So if I were to apply that within corporates, then yes, it would be video, it would be short form write-ups and text as well, but I think video, just simple forwards, interesting videos, that would be the content that would also apply to employee engagement. So any kind of content that is interesting outside is the same content that people will like when it comes to employee engagement. So I would say video, and I would say very short form text.

Susmita Sarma: So what are the best ways to disseminate this content? We're seeing various forms of dissemination of content nowadays.

Dipika Singh: So for example, a lot of organizations now have internal portals, and you can make internal websites or internal portals very interesting. Of course, newsletters and emails are a great way of disseminating information. Nowadays, every organization also has WhatsApp groups, teams have WhatsApp groups, so that's another great way of disseminating content. There are internal apps, internal community platforms. I know a lot of organizations using internal social channels for employee engagement. So a lot of people are using various channels now to engage with their reports.

Susmita Sarma: As you already know that we have our own product named Vantage Fit. So our team members would like to know how content can be used around fitness.

Dipika Singh: Oh, you can do so much around fitness. For example, challenges getting people to post videos of the exercises they're doing. Maybe a little home workout challenge, since we've all been in lockdown for so long now. You can also track how many calories burned, or come up with creative ways of staying fit at home. I also feel that fitness is very big right now and a lot of people take up fitness on their own. I think organizations can also do a lot to ensure that their employees stay fit. And when you have team challenges and competitions, people feel more inclined to participate, especially around fitness. You can do a lot with fitness, and disseminate a lot of information around it too, because in spite of so much information being available, there is still a lot of confusion in people's minds around workouts and fitness. You can send out a daily workout of the day, just fifteen or twenty minutes, and you can send photographs too. So there's a lot you can do around fitness.

Susmita Sarma: So considering the current situation, a lot of people are working from home. How can HR make use of content to keep remote workers engaged?

Dipika Singh: It's a tricky situation now, because earlier people were meeting each other and there was so much interaction. But now your workers are remote, so you really don't know. It's a great thing, and I think all of us are coping really well, but it's still important to have a certain sense of engagement and bonding, because there's a lot of anxiety right now. Some people are going through anxiety, so I think this is a great time to really think out of the box. For a client of ours, we suggested doing short interviews with senior management about their journey, because it's a great way to get to know people right now, but in a very different manner. So it doesn't necessarily have to be just a team bonding exercise. It can be so many interesting things. A lot of new people are also joining organizations during this period, so what do you do to ensure they know about your organization, its culture, and its processes? You can do it through interesting content. You can send out a daily newsletter or mail with something interesting about your culture, or introduce people through a short video, or introduce senior management through a two minute video that goes out to all new joiners. You just have to think out of the box about the content you use to engage people right now.

Susmita Sarma: So I guess videos can really motivate people. Like in case of fitness too, many employees don't take up the challenges. So motivating them through some creative videos can be really a good option.

Dipika Singh: Absolutely.

Susmita Sarma: So we can understand that content creates a mutual sense of belongingness. So is it only HRs and team leaders who are responsible for bringing this feeling?

Dipika Singh: No, I think it's a great time to think out of the box, so anyone can come up with ideas. I think, for example, marketing, because marketing is equal to interacting with remote customers. If you look at marketing's job, and I was also reading a brilliant article on LinkedIn the other day, marketing's job is to reach out and engage with people who could be anywhere. Customers can be anywhere, customers are remote. So marketing has always been thinking about how to reach out to people who are somewhere else. Similarly, because of their experience, marketing would know how to reach out to employees who are no longer in front of you. So the same principles of marketing can be used to reach out to employees as well. But having said that, anyone can drive this right now. It's such a new normal that anything can be tried. It's not just the duty of HR. Team leaders will also have to drive it, because it's their team, and they have to ensure people stay constantly in touch with each other with a lot of empathy. But anyone can drive content projects or employee engagement projects right now.

Susmita Sarma: So how can one measure the effectiveness of this content, or what are its tracking metrics?

Dipika Singh: So I would divide content into two types. One is content that you disseminate just to stay in touch with employees. The other is learning content, for example. You can go weekly, where you talk about all the learning content that has been disseminated. But at the same time, if you look at courses outside, they have quizzes at the end, or ask what you have learned. So there is a way of tracking what a person has done. If I take fitness challenges, for example, there are ways of tracking what people have done with that content, whether they've achieved a challenge by the end of the week, or posted proof. There are many ways of actually tracking this content.

Susmita Sarma: But in case of newsletters or emails that we send to our employees, employees who receive them don't even feel the need to reply back or engage. So in that case, how can the effectiveness be measured? Has the message of the email actually reached the employee in the correct sense?

Dipika Singh: So I would look at more new age distribution systems. Especially for employee engagement, I would have to make it more relevant and more interesting. Like I said, when we first started this conversation, you have to look outside. Emails intrinsically mean work, that's a forced thing. I would look at very different distribution channels for employee engagement content. The minute it is an email, my mind will shut off, and I imagine a core employee feels the same way. You will have to think out of the box about how you engage this person. Like I said, you will have to use new age distribution systems, whether it's a portal or even WhatsApp, and you will have to make it shorter and sharper. Every piece of content will have to be shorter, because just like outside, people scroll past content that isn't interesting within three, four, five seconds. Your employees apply the same principle to content coming from within the organization. So you will now have to start thinking like a marketing person, even in internal HR, that this is my customer. You have to ask how you capture their interest. Is email the right way? Perhaps not. Are apps the right way? Maybe. Is WhatsApp the right way? There's a lot of thought that has to go into what the right distribution channel is for this person.

Susmita Sarma: So, as I can see, you have created a lot of content for a variety of professionals. So what are the basic things you keep in mind while creating this?

Dipika Singh: So relevance, obviously, how relevant it is to the people. We work in two ways. We work on briefs, where a client comes back and tells us their brief, for example, new joiners, and we want to create a daily, short, interesting video around certain subjects, whether it's a process or something else. So we create a little animated video about the processes of the organization, who the functional heads and department heads are, things like that, almost like a chart. The other case is when we create content that's going to be, let's say, a newsletter. We get enquiries for a monthly newsletter that's interesting and goes out to all employees, and we create sections like fitness, cooking, children and families, and a little game at the bottom. Sometimes we also do motivational videos. Right now we've got a lot of requests for short, two to three minute motivational videos that can go out on WhatsApp to organizations and entire teams. So what we try to do is keep it very relevant to the brief. We also try to understand the culture of the organization, because the tone and kind of content will depend on that culture. And then we keep in mind the attention span of people, so content can't be lengthy. It also depends on the subject: if it's learning based content, it has to be a certain way, and if it's just engagement content, it has to be a certain way. But broadly, those are the things you keep in mind.

Susmita Sarma: So what tips would you like to share to boost employee engagement through content for our listeners?

Dipika Singh: Oh yes. Right now there's a lot of digital interaction in any case. People are stuck with their screens, and the only way people are interacting with each other is digitally. But you have to create a sense of belonging right now, because a lot of people may be missing that whole sense of belonging they have with each other. So you can create content that is slightly more motivational, but at the same time interesting. I would stay away from too many webinars, but a lot of short life skills content can be taught. I would also create content for children, because you have to think out of the box about what your employees at home need right now. Children are also going into summer holidays, so employee engagement content that reaches out to families right now matters. You could create a daily puzzle for the children at home, or a coloring activity, so children stay busy too. There's a whole lot of content you can create right now, because it's a very different time. For example, a talent contest using video, where everybody sends in their singing or whatever they want to participate in, and a video is put together from all the entries, that's the kind of thing that continues that feeling of belonging to the organization.

Susmita Sarma: So there's so much more to learn and understand when it comes to creating content for businesses and their people. Many of our listeners would like to reach out to you for more. So please share the best way that they can reach out to you.

Dipika Singh: So I forgot to mention this earlier, but our brand is actually called She Means Business. I started this many years ago. The company is called Life Is More, but She Means Business is the name I go by, because I started this a couple of years ago with women, focused on real, relatable role models. The best way to reach out to me is through my website, She Means Business, or by email. I also have a social media following and channels on Facebook, where I do lives, including motivational lives, every day, which have been received very well. But if you need content or want to discuss content for implementation, the best way is to reach out to me by email.

Susmita Sarma: Great. Well, Dipika, it was really great having you on our show. Thanks for connecting.

Dipika Singh: Thank you so much. I wish you all the best. I think you have a great app, and fitness is very big right now, and it's a great way to get teams to do interesting challenges. So I wish you all the best as well.

Susmita Sarma: Thank you so much.

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