At the Heart of Engagement Ver2
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Transcript of At the Heart of Engagement Ver2
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7/30/2019 At the Heart of Engagement Ver2
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white paper | 2008
At the Heartof Engagement
Building common purpose, understandingand commitment through events.
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2008 Carlson Marketing. All rights protected and reserved. 1
At the Heart of EngagementBuilding common purpose, understanding and commitmentthrough events
What is engagement? Its all the new buzz in the Events space and were not talkingabout bridal showers or grooms dinners. Instead, its the understanding that the very best
business-sponsored meetings and events are about more than the menu items or the
decor. Theyre about creating experiences that connect with people on an emotional level,
deepen organizational and brand relationships and potentially prompt positive actions.
Incorporating the concept of engagement helps shift the focus to where it needs to be
away from just tactics and more toward building a relationship strategy thats directly
linked to business outcomes.
But engagement can feel elusive and hard to pin down, especially as the emotional
aspects are considered. For instance, what emotions might be most desirable as an event
outcome? How do you encourage and manage these emotions? And how do you
measure their impact both during and after a meeting?
Several key concepts have emerged from social science in recent years:
Emotions drive actions.
We like to think of ourselves as rational human beings, making thoughtful, pragmatic
decisions to guide our lives and our businesses. But think again. According to recent
findings, our emotions are critical influencers of our behaviors. In research done by the
Gallup Organization in 2004, they found that decision-making is 70% emotional and 30%
rational. So while we may prefer to think of the workplace in pragmatic terms, the reality
is that emotions prevail.
Emotions in the workplace hold a great deal of power.Like the squeaky wheel, it is often the negative that gets the most attention.
For example, many companies offer conflict resolution workshops. That isnt
surprising. Negative emotions tend to foster attitudes and actions that require
immediate attention. Damage control becomes a necessary, if unfortunate,
priority. But that kind of short-term focus on the problems that negative
emotions can breed tends to overshadow the long-term potential that positive
emotions can offer. And that potential is unlikely to be realized without having
the plans and practices in place to ensure positive emotions get at least as
much attention as the consequences of negative emotions. For instance, it
takes courage to make difficult decisions how is courage nurtured?
Creativity is the essence of innovation is there a strategy for developing it?
Focusing on positive emotions can yield competitive business benefits.
Engagement, when it is positive, produces results. Numerous research projects have
demonstrated its impact on the bottom line. One study in particular, done by ISR, found
that companies with high levels of employee engagement improved their operating
income by 19.2 percent over 12 months, while in companies with low levels of
engagement it declined by 32.7 percent.
Clearly, engagement pays off.
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Meetings and incentive eventsare a particularly good methodfor building engagement. Whenthey are carefully planned, theaudience becomes activeparticipants rather than justspectators, broadening boththe value and the relevance ofthe overall event.
Events are a Key Resource
To provide a frame for insight, Carlson Marketing has researched and developed the Positive
Engagement ModelTM. The model defines what is required to create a healthy culture which
promotes active engagement.
Meetings and incentive events are a particularly good method for
building engagement. They offer the opportunity (often too rare)
to meet with critical audiences face-to-face. When they are
carefully planned, the audience becomes active participants
rather than just spectators, broadening both the value and the
relevance of the overall event. Meetings andevents may be the
single most effective way of building common purpose,
understanding, and commitment. As we look across the Positive
Engagement Model, we can see many additional applications:
Connection Every meeting has elements
of Connection and an interest in building
relationships between attendees, while
simultaneously strengthening affiliation with
the host organization. How can the program
be designed to maximize networking while still
allowing for delivery of content?
Achievement and Appreciat ion
Many corporate events are for the purpose of
recognizing the accomplishments of the
participants. What aspects of the experience
will contribute most to feelings of significance
and confidence? What features can help
ensure continued contributions?
Innovation Teams have proven to be apowerful means for generating creative
solutions to challenging business problems.
Why leave these moments to chance when
you can organize a thoughtful brainstorming
event that brings focus and energy to your
organizations goals?
Mastery Many events include
components of training, education, best
practices, and information sharing. How do
you make sure that the event elements are
tied carefully and thoughtfully to your long-
term skills and performance initiatives? While
incorporating positive engagement into
meeting and event planning is clearly an
important step, the path doesnt necessarily
end there. Some of the most exciting
strategies businesses are using to generate
positive engagement are through new views
and actions that embrace corporate social
responsibility.
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From an engagementperspective, employees(as well as customers)can embrace feelings ofpride and inclusion whenthe organization they areassociated with is willingto recognize and act on its
responsibilities to thecommunity at large.
Its More Than Philanthropy
Business has served as the heart blood of
democracy, pumping jobs into communities
and maintaining the flow of free trade. But it is
also increasingly being tied to social change.
While business has traditionally
offered aid through support of
non-profit foundations, there is
increasing interest in evolving to
a blended approach in which
business aims at doing well by
doing good. This strategy is
often called Corporate Social
Responsibility.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers
to the methods a business employs to
consciously find ways to retain profitability
while contributing to our social infrastructure
and embracing environmentalism. And it isnt
just edgy entrepreneurs who are pushing the
envelope.
Starbucks is known for only purchasing free
trade coffee, which fosters economic growth in
small farming communities. General Electric is
actively designing energy efficient goods and
developing new products such as
environmentally- friendly wind turbines. Wal-
Mart made waves when it insisted it would
only source concentrated laundry soap, thus
saving 400 million gallons of water. These are
just a few examples of a growing movement.
CSR initiatives are more than just the right
social thing to do. In many cases they also
have legitimate corporate benefits. As
examples, new initiatives to forge solutions to
todays growing energy and fuel crisis may
well give rise to the most dynamic and
profitable businesses of tomorrow. Companies
that aggressively fulfill their social
responsibilities are more likely to be viewed
with public favor than those that remain
socially agnostic. And from an
engagement perspective,
employees (as well as
customers) can embrace
feelings of pride and inclusion
when the organization they are
associated with is willing to
recognize and act on its
responsibilities to the community
at large.
At the industry level, travel companies are
stepping back and examining their own
practices and seeking opportunities to
demonstrate their commitment to CSR. For
instance, many organizations have pledged to
avoid working with suppliers who are part of
tourism that exploits children. On the up side,many are also selecting destinations that
reflect a respect for our natural environment
and seeking ways to enjoy the beauty without
doing harm. Corporations and travel
companies alike are researching new
methods of making their meetings and events
more green and less prone to leaving
environmentally intrusive footprints.
But avoiding harm is one thing, adding valueis another. And thats where CSR gets
exciting. Businesses are now using their
ingenuity, and their events, to make the world
a better place, while still meeting all the
demands of shareholders seeking short- and
long-term profit.
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The Keys to Locking in Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement can be elusive to define
and build in an organization. To add clarity and
insight to this challenge, Carlson Marketing has
designed a model which describes a culture of
positive engagement.
Innovationencourages creativity and opens all
areas of a company to new ideas and diverse
thinking.
Masteryfocuses on skill development and
performing at the highest levels. Its about having
expertise, putting it into action and ensuring that
skill obsolescence never occurs.
Achievementis having the courage to reach outand accomplish truly great things.
Appreciation is generating enthusiasm about both
purpose and task. Its also about experience and
feeling gratitude, which nurtures a service
orientation.
Connectionencourages employees to feel like
theyre part of the organization, and have the ability
to form substantial relationships inside the
company and with its customers. Its also about
being openly proud of who you work for and what
the organization represents.
Wellness fosters physical and mental health and
work-life balance, as building blocks for optimum
performance. An organization that actively
promotes these is one that displays realcompassion for its employees and their families.
The Opportunity Is There For All of Us
The benefits of positive engagement are
enormous, and the ripple effect of success
can cascade beyond the immediate
organization and impact consumers and
communities around the world. But it must
begin at home, with your employees, partners,
clients and suppliers. Thats where meetings
and events come into play. Positive
engagement thrives in a social setting, and
blossoms in a socially responsible one.