Time was when we used to work in HR, or Internal Communications. Not any longer. Now, the people who make the laws have decreed we’re all Engagement Facilitators.

Type ‘engagement’ into Google and you’ll get nearly a third of a billion results. Them’s a lot of words. Many are pretty good – look at the magisterial CIPD report or this aspirational Harvard Business Review post – but there’s also a lot of flim-flammery written by consultants desperately trying to create their own unique spin in a crowded market.

So here, to put your aching head at rest, is what I consider to be the ten most important points of an engagement strategy. Basic? Maybe. Right? I hope so.

1. Discover the meaning behind the work. People rarely work for shareholders. They work for people (see below) and for a cause. Know what you stand for besides making profit. Foster an understanding of how, even in a small way, you’re making the world a better place.

2. Engage people with strategy. Strategies are best shared. Establish a clear line of sight between all job roles and your  strategic goals. Remember that internal communications primarily exist to explain, explore and update strategy.

3. Lead well. Easier said than done. But every truly engaging workplace has some senior hero or heroes that exemplify all that’s good. Chances are that these leaders utilise the the four key leadership communication techniques of Focus, Articulation, Modelling and Empathy.

4. Give your people a voice. Let them speak their brains. Listen and give timely, respectful feedback. If they’re right, do what they say and give them the credit. As a general rule, talk to your people as peers.

5. Give your people a stake. Whether through share options, shares or performance bonuses, find a way sharing the largesse with those who are actually generating it. It you don’t generate largesse – say, you’re a charity – find another way to drive and celebrate success, such as a phenomenal recognition programme.

6. Recognise personal aspirations. Work is a common way in which individuals seek to achieve self-actualisation. Remember that training and development is about the accomplishment of individual goals as well as organisational ones.

7. Work on the workplace. Invest in it. Make it a place where people want to hang out. Make it safe, warm, pleasant. If you can, make it inspirational in a way that’s right for you. Environment management is not a matter for middle management, but for senior leadership.

8. Ensure the right people are in the right jobs. Change people and jobs as required. Performance reviews, succession plans and good internal career marketplaces all help to ensure person/job matches are sound ones.

9. Be different. You need to stand out to retain key talent. As soon as your people perceive no meaningful difference between you and your competitors, you’re going to have to raise your salaries, and even that may not be enough to keep them.

10. Management matters most. This is the big one. You can get all the rest right and still lose the engagement battle if your managers are poor. Do what you can to only appoint good ones, and once they’re in, spend all the time and money you can on making them even better.

So that’s my big ten. But what have I forgotten? Let’s hear your Eleventh Commandment below.

Like a field crammed to bursting with corn, we’re all ears.