Would you like to hear a story? I bet that a “yes” instantly popped into your mind. People are inquisitive beings, and stories promise an engaging experience. With that in mind, you can use storytelling to boost your remote workers’ motivation and productivity.
Storytelling can bring your remote employees closer to understanding their purpose in your company. You can use storytelling to overcome the physical distance and build trust and connection with remote workers. Well-told stories can help remote workers see your company in a different light and cherish the work they do for your brand.
So, would you like to give storytelling a try? Open the doors to the magic world of dedicated and productive remote employees. Discover the benefits of storytelling and increase employee engagement.
Why Employee Engagement Matters
Boosting employee engagement in your team can help you strengthen your remote employees’ connection with your company. The psychical distance can create a mental and emotional distance as well. However, storytelling can bring you closer.
Remote employees shouldn’t log in “just to get the job done.” They should be invested and interested in the company’s growth.
Increasing employee engagement can lead to:
- Employees embracing and supporting your vision and mission
- Increased enthusiasm
- Healthier company culture
- Loyal and devoted employees
- Increased effort into bringing in new clients or making more sales
- Turning your remote employees into brand ambassadors
- Better relationships among employees
Engaged employees who understand your vision, respect their colleagues, and are proud to work for your company will be happier.
What that happiness can do for your company, you ask? Well, research has proven that happy employees are more productive, make more calls per hour, and achieve 13% higher sales. Should I say more?
The Power of Storytelling
Our brains love stories. But don’t trust me. Trust the facts. According to research, character-driven stories trigger the release of oxytocin in the blood, a so-called “empathy” hormone that motivates people to bond.
“Stories are the way we understand and make sense of the world we find ourselves in,” shared Clare Patey, Director of the Empathy Museum.
What this means is that storytelling is your opportunity to help your remote employees make sense of their place in your organization. It can also help them understand why their work matters.
A bullet-point list of requirements for the week can’t create a bond between the company and employees. A well-told story about your brand’s mission can.
“Creating stories that resonate with your remote employees is a big step toward building a strong company. Don’t underestimate the power of dedicated employees,” advised Angela Baker, a contributor writer and a business owner.
5 Tips for Applying Corporate Storytelling
Now that we have established the value of employee engagement and storytelling let’s get to the most anticipated part of this post – practical tips for corporate storytelling.
Sharing “some story” won’t get you the desired increase in engagement. You need to approach storytelling strategically. With that in mind, consider these tips before you embrace your role as a narrator.
1. Trigger the emotions
It’s all about the emotions, folks. If you manage to strike the right cord, you’ll boost that engagement faster than you could launch a rocket.
To achieve that, you need to write your stories with emotions in mind. Pinpoint the emotion you want to trigger. It can be love, empathy, motivation, excitement, or whatever you want at the moment. What can help you with that is the following tips:
- Set the character – Having the main character of the story (the founder, employees, company) gives the readers someone to attach to.
- Write in the first person – Telling a story from your point of view will add that personal touch. It will also make your writing more friendly and relatable.
- Use “we,” “us” – Presenting your company as a unified community will help with evoking that emotional bond.
- Be descriptive – Bring your story to life with details, for example, “the day we formed this team is the day we all gained a new family.”
2. Share your experience
Real stories are always more intriguing. Move away from hypothetical situations and give employees a glimpse into your experiences. If you manage to gain their respect, they’ll be more motivated not to let you down.
You can tell the story of your humble beginnings, your challenges, and your wins. This isn’t your chance to brag. This is your chance to spread inspiration.
Getting to know the founder will bring remote employees closer to the company’s history. They might not be able to walk through the corridors of your first brick-and-mortar business, but they can hear all about it. You can tell the whole story or surface a situation that corresponds to what you want to achieve.
3. Add some visuals
There’s nothing like some pop of color to enhance your great stories. I don’t know about you, but I’m always more drawn to stories that are accompanied by attractive visuals.
Adding an image or two or presenting your story in the form of a video will really make that story stick. People simply remember visuals more easily than plain text.
Don’t think that you need to spend money or lots of time to make the visuals. There are many free and easy-to-use tools for this purpose. You can use online free design tools like Canva to create visually appealing and effective stories.
Not to mention that visuals will make your stories more suitable for sharing on social media. Encourage your remote employees to share the stories and, thus, build brand awareness.
4. Intertwine your employees in the stories
Whether we want to admit it or not, but people are mostly self-oriented. If you want to ensure that you’ll boost your employee engagement, you should make them the heroes of some of the stories.
For example, you can introduce birthday storytelling when you dedicate a story to a birthday boy/girl. You can share their journey in your company, what makes them unique and great, and why they are valuable to your brand. Share this with the whole remote team so that they can get to know each other better and learn how to appreciate each other.
5. Keep it concise
Lastly, don’t forget that you are sending these stories to employees. You aren’t writing a book. Make the stories short and sweet. Bear in mind that employees aren’t that up to reading long stories after they’ve been reading tons of emails.
And They Lived Happily Ever After…
Put storytelling in motion, and your company can have a happy ending. If you use storytelling wisely, you can create a trustworthy remote team who will put their heart and soul into your company. Show your appreciation for remote employees, introduce them to your mission, and get closer with personal stories. Build a strong and successful company one story at a time.
Author: Erica Sunarjo – Content Writer.
