The Shift | September 5, 2024

Hello and welcome to The Shift, Blink’s bi-monthly newsletter for frontline champions. Coming up in this issue:

• Why employees are your best storytellers
• How to create a frontline-friendly intranet
• The state of labor in healthcare
• Doomscrolling — and how internal comms can help

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Building an organization of storytellers

Your company’s best storytellers are your employees.

A recent episode of McKinsey’s CEO Insights podcast delved into the art and science of storytelling, fostering an inclusive, collaborative culture through communication, and leading with humility. The podcast features insightful tips for leaders looking to cultivate community:

• The best stories are told together: Good leaders don’t just develop one big idea or goal — they rally the whole organization around it. By involving the top team, or even the whole company, you can build a more cohesive and successful story.
• Follow the 4-5-6 rule of storytelling: High-performing organizations are 4 times more likely to invest in communication, 5 times more successful if their employees provide input, and 6 times more successful if they reach all employees.
• Humility plays a big role: 9 in 10 CEOs believe they serve as role models for inclusivity — but just half of their direct reports agree. Good leaders bridge this gap by encouraging the whole organization to own — and tell — the company story.

Want to transform the way you engage with your workforce? Discover 7 storytelling tips to leverage the power of internal communications.

FRONTLINE ENGAGEMENT

Creating an intranet your frontline workforce will love

Is your intranet connecting your entire workforce — or is it leaving your frontline employees behind?

The employee intranet is a critical piece of the employee engagement puzzle. But it’s historically been developed with a desk-based workforce in mind, often best viewed on a desktop computer and accessible only through a corporate email address — two things that many frontline workers don’t have or use on a regular basis.

This has created a gap in the workforce tech experience for frontline employees, and they’re keenly aware of it: Just 10% of frontline workers say they have enough access to the tools, tech, and opportunities they need to connect and advance in their workplace.

Frontline leaders, discover how you can close the employee experience gap and design an intranet that supports your entire workforce .

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Our healthcare workforce is shrinking

New research published by Becker’s reveals that while the U.S. healthcare workforce is projected to increase to 18.6 million by 2028, demand is expected to grow to 18.7 million — leaving a deficit of more than 100,000 workers in the next 4 years.

The states that are expected to be hardest hit? New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Georgia.

More than ever, healthcare leaders must identify opportunities to engage and retain the workforce they have — and create an exceptional culture where new and incoming providers, nurses, and staff want to work.

Read about Elara Caring , one of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S., and how an employee super-app helped them boost caregiver engagement and retention.

EMPLOYEE HAPPINESS

The power of uplifting employee communications

Do you ever find yourself endlessly scrolling through increasingly negative news articles and social media feeds?

You might be doomscrolling — just like most of your workforce.

This cycle of stress doesn't just stay online. It seeps into the workplace, fueling anxiety and pessimism that can negatively impact job satisfaction, focus, and productivity.

Don’t think your workforce is impacted by the doomscrolling dilemma? You may be surprised: 1 in 3 U.S. adults who use social media — and, generationally, half of Gen Z adults (53%) and millennials (46%) — said they occasionally or frequently doomscroll.

But employers can help break the cycle and boost employee morale and well-being. Learn how uplifting your workforce starts with engaging and inclusive internal comms.

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