I don’t know about you, but during this latest holiday shopping season I was struck by how few people were in the stores. I went out with a friend the Saturday before Christmas to take advantage of all the 50-60% discount sales. Last year it was a zoo out there, but this year there were no lines and no waits. And we weren’t in obscure little shops; we were doing the Kittery Outlet Malls (where in the past people would routinely get into fist fights over parking spaces).

I loved the great discounts, spending far more than I’ve spent on clothes in a long time. The dearth of other customers meant that I received a lot of personal attention that day. There was something about the ease of the shopping experience that made me rethink my attitude about in-person shopping.

Last week my faith in shopping was renewed yet again. I was looking for a new terrycloth bathrobe, and had checked Amazon, Overstock, and a dozen other sites. But I realized that I really needed to feel the robe before I bought it. So I ventured out to Macy’s, a store I hadn’t been to in years — because last time it took me 20 minutes to find anyone to take my money.

Like the Outlet Malls, the place was relatively deserted, despite the fact that almost everything appeared to be 70% off. Within about five minutes I found a nice Ralph Lauren robe that would do. Better yet, it was on sale. Perfect, I thought, except that it was the wrong size, and one that was in my size wasn’t on the sale rack.

So I took both robes to the customer service desk, where I found a smiling woman in her 20s. I asked her the price of the one I wanted, pointing out that it wasn’t on the sale rack.

“Oh, we can give you the sale price, I’m sure,” she said. “Do you have a Macy’s card?” she asked. “If you do I can give you an extra $10 off.”

I handed over my Macy’s card, but it had expired from lack of use. “No worries,” she said, “we can reactivate it. That will qualify you for another $20 off — and I’ll give you a 10% off coupon for the next time you shop!”

“Sounds good to me,” I responded, amazed by all the discounts. While she was ringing it up, I told her the story of my search for a replacement for my mother’s antique robe. She responded with one of her own about a favorite piece of clothing. By the time I was done, I’d gotten way more than just the perfect bathrobe for a fraction of what I thought it would cost. I’d made a new friend who had restored my relationship with her employer, and thus turned a lapsed customer into a repeat customer. I’m headed back tonight.

Those happy stories of customer satisfaction introduce an important topic: why Employee Communications is so important right now.

4 Reasons Why Employee Communications is 2016’s Secret Sauce

1. Risk avoidance

Bad employees or poor employee communications is blamed for probably 50% of all crises faced by a communicator in the last decade, from Domino’s Pizza to Best Buy. With everyone checking social media before doing business these days, good customer service is essential. And good customer service starts with effective employee communications.

2. Forgiveness

Who among us hasn’t had a bad airline experience in the last few years? I’m am a very frequent traveler, and there are some airlines and rental car companies that I just won’t use, no matter how inexpensive they are. And yet there are others that can lose my bag or make me late, but I’ll chalk it up to, “What do you expect, given how often you travel?”

The difference is the employees. Southwest is my superhero of customer relationships. No other airline can make me laugh while being tired, cranky, and several hours late getting home. They hire the right people, instill them with the right values, and empower them to make grumpy road warriors like me laugh. So I fly with those airlines whenever I can — even when they’re not the cheapest.

3. Customer retention

Whoever or whatever it was that empowered that young woman at Macy’s to work so hard on my behalf deserves a big bonus. Repairing relationships these days is very hard to do, and any employee who can do it is a keeper. God knows the airlines can use a few more of them…

4. Price premium

For years, I worked with clients who wanted to “be like Apple.” They wanted to able to charge a huge price premium because their products were so cool and innovative. But today, being cool and innovative isn’t enough to warrant a price premium.

Why are more and more people “shopping local?” Certainly not because it’s cheaper. It’s because they have a relationship with the people they buy from and want to support them.

How Can You Measure the Health of Your Employee Communications?

Step 1. Check Glassdoor

Glassdoor is where employees routinely go to review their employers. If you are consistently getting slammed on Glassdoor, then you need to fix the problem(s). Partly because you need to keep your existing employees (and thus your customers) happy. Also because if you don’t, then you will have a major problem recruiting people.

Step 2. Ask them

You should be doing pulse checks of employee attitude at least once a quarter. Read this article to learn why those annual audits are waste of time.

Step 3. Test their knowledge of your messages

Let’s face it, surveys are boring. You’ll get a better understanding of who actually has heard and understood the messages you’ve been communicating by using a quiz. Do it live at your next employee meeting, and run it like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” I guarantee that more people will participate than if you just send them a survey.

Step 4. Read The Measurement Advisor articles on internal measurement

Including:

• Why You Need to Integrate Internal Communications Into Your Measurement Dashboard Now
• The Essential Toolkit for Internal Communications Measurement
• Using Google Glass to Measure Internal Communications: Measurement in the Age of Context, Part 2
• Internal Communications and Managing Millennials: Research from IPRRC on What Works

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