I am sure we all had at least one friend or colleague who, when particular political announcements were made (I’m looking at our Brexit and Trump), stated: “I just didn’t see this coming; everyone I saw was voting the other way”. This has since been pronounced the social media echo chamber, a phenomenon that has been widely reported in publications such as Forbes, The Huffington Post and by numerous news outlets. A social media echo chamber is essentially the practice where we are more likely to engage and follow individuals and media sources who share their political beliefs, which some argue give them a one-sided view of the world.
This got me thinking – could we be at the same risk with engagement within organisations? I know from my time as an engagement manager that whenever there was a call for people to be involved in shaping new initiatives, sharing additional feedback, or being involved in discussions, it was always the same hands going up. At first it’s easy to be thankful that you are getting any volunteers at all; however, this can lead to the same challenges of an echo chamber. Are you potentially at risk of only receiving one view of engagement within your business because – let’s face it – those volunteers are probably already reasonably engaged?
So how can we make sure that we aren’t falling into that trap?
First, when looking at your champion or ambassador networks make sure that the group influencing and supporting engagement decision making is truly diverse and reflective of the organisation. Does it represent all areas of the business, all levels and grades, even geographical locations?
When it comes to action planning and looking at doing more in-depth listening, are you actively going to the teams which are the least positive about that area instead of asking the masses?
When looking at communication, are you thinking about employees who are hard to reach and get involved to have their say? Think of the employees who are in the field, geographically spread, on maternity leave, or on sabbatical – as their experiences will be vastly different, are they given the opportunity, should they wish to be involved, to have their voices heard?
So next time you send that email or ask for volunteers in a meeting, stop and consider if you are creating an echo chamber. Think a bit differently about your approach and you might get a more honest reflection of your employee base.
If you want to learn more amplifying your employee voice to avoid engagement echo chambers, give us a shout at answers@orcinternational.com and see how we can help with your winning workplace!
By Meghan Walsh