In 3 storytelling steps to involved employees

Why employees involved?

Employee satisfaction surveys are used in many organisations, perhaps yours as well. The complicated word alone doesn't make you very happy. Because what you would much rather be involved employees. Right? After all, if you're satisfied, you won't make an extra effort so quickly. Isn't that a good thing? Involved employees, on the other hand, think along with you, come up with solutions, ideas and very important things, are appreciated. The question then is how to create such an inspiring environment. This can be done by applying storytelling techniques.

Tip 1 - Ask employees about their stories

There is still top-down communication in most organisations. Targets, protocols, strategies, they are poured out on the work floor. This is a pity, because it nips an organisation's self-learning capacity in the bud. In addition, talent quickly feels misunderstood in such an environment. Things can also be different. Involved employees can and want to tell about their job. About what they experience in the performance of their job. What can be done better. Smarter. Put your ear to the ground. Or let the employees tell their own story during special sessions and communicate about it. In other words, listen to each other, learn from each other and pass it on. In this way, before you know it, you will create a learning organisation with proud employees who experience that they matter!

Tip 2 - Let employees think along about core values

Almost every organisation uses core values. Unfortunately, these often remain extremely superficial. We are sustainable. We are innovative. The customer is central to us. They are all not very original, not very inspiring. Furthermore, these core values are not convincing at all if they remain just abstract labels. What is interesting then is the question of how to arrive at values that do matter. Values that are remembered and with which employees do have an image, understanding and meaning. Who better to indicate this than they themselves? Here, too, storytelling techniques offer a solution. Of course you can be sustainable and innovative. And of course it is a good thing that you let customers know that their opinions and experiences are important to you. But by loading these values with personal stories and experiences of your employees, they suddenly become a lot more authentic, personal and therefore more credible and convincing. And your employees themselves? They no longer feel like extras, but proud ambassadors who are only too happy to propagate their 'own' core values.

Tip 3 - Learn to tell stories yourself

How do you communicate with your employees? The best thing is of course when storytelling is anchored as a means of communication within the DNA of your organisation. That managers can convincingly tell the story of the organisation. That sales employees can work with customer stories and a customer journey. That employees can tell about the passion in their profession and for the organisation.

Storytelling promotes openness, trust and commitment. Inspiring leadership has everything to do with inspiration. Take a look at yourself, are you able to take your employees with you to an beckoning picture of the future? Before people are willing to listen to you, you will have to tell them what your story is and why it is so important to your employees. Do you find this difficult or do you feel uncomfortable with it? Take a look at our wide range of storytelling workshops and storytelling training courses. Or are you looking for someone else to share an inspiring story? Then take a look at our storytelling keynotes.

Getting Started

Do you want to start storytelling right now? You can start by taking a look at our websites storytellingpeople.nl, storytellingpeople.com or corporatehistory.com.

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For more than 30 years Storytelling People has been recording corporate stories and bringing them to life with storytelling and community building.

Storytelling makes the abstract corporate story accessible in stories by and for people.

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