A solid vision stemming from a sincere commitment is important in generating and sustaining employee engagement — but in my experience, the unsung hero in the operation is usually consistent communication founded upon strong writing.

Employee engagement is more important today than ever: with economic uncertainty shaking confidence at every turn, businesses need the best efforts of every employee all the time in order to compete effectively. While most businesses have always had a contingent of unmotivated employees, studies show that as many as 46% of global businesses experienced a decline in employee engagement last year (Hewitt Associates, July 29/10); other studies have indicated a high percentage of employees are planning to leave their current place of employment as soon as job prospects brighten.

In the meantime, chances are good that all those unhappy campers are not giving their all to their current workplace and the bottom line is that their employers are not deriving full competitive advantage from their staff. This has a negative impact on morale as well, and the eventual departure of key people means more expenses will be incurred to replace them. It’s a no-win situation and smart companies today are highly focused on improving the situation.

Fundamental issues like trust, training, line of sight between employee performance and company performance and relationships with management all play into employee engagement; substantial efforts are often devoted to tweaking programs that will generate improvement.

But making these changes is not enough to create employee commitment: organizations need to communicate their efforts with energy and integrity. Traditional channels like newsletters, magazines and reports are still tried and true methods of supporting inter-company bonds but businesses are increasingly venturing into the world of blogs, videos, podcasts and intranet programming as well. The goal isn’t just to stop the exodus of key employees – it’s also to create some excitement around the concept of being part of a great team – one that employees view with pride.

Writing to support this goal involves a careful balance between genuine enthusiasm for the great work that’s being done and professional reporting of what’s really going on. Too much rah-rah and employees roll their eyes and lose a little faith. Too little excitement and no-one will bother reading past the first line.

As a writer engaged in the corporate communications process, I find my role is not just to find that balance but also to function as an ambassador for the communications department that has hired me to do the job. Good relationships in all areas of the company are key to ensuring information and cooperation on future projects will be forthcoming. While good writing is important, trust is a key part of the package.

Many organizations hire freelancers to extend existing resources on an as-needed basis – it’s economical and — with the right writer — an efficient way to support the drive to keep employees engaged in their work and focused on corporate goals.

How can I help? If you’d like more information on how I can support your organization’s corporate communications goals, please contact me directly at susan@crossmancommunications.com or take a tour around my services page.